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American industry fully 2 percent
of the gross nationaJ product. In
Britain, 2 percent of gross domes–
tic product is also lost annually.
Up to 1O times more workdays are
lost to industry through stress than
strikes, with coronary heart disease
accounting for half the cost of
stress-related illnesses.
According to the U.S . National
Center for Health Statistics, more
than
18
percent of all Americans
have definite hypertension. (The
term
definite hypertens ion
refers
to a blood pressure higher than
160/95.) Figures are comparable
for other highly developed, fast–
paced industrial societies.
Clearly defined physical prob–
lems are to blame in 5 to 1O per–
cent of the hypertension cases .
Most hypertension, however, is
related to life-style-how people
think, act and care for them–
selves.
Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Many people are seeking to dull the
pain of the 20th-century "disease"
of stress by using alcohol and
drugs. But the supposed cure has
itself created an epidemic. Organi–
zational development consultant
Karl Albrecht aptly summarizes
today 's state of mind in these
words:
"The use of mood-altering chem–
icals in America, and to sorne
extent in other developed countries,
has run completely wild.
"Cultures we are pleased to !abe!
'primitive' all without exception
reserve the use of tobacco, drugs
and intoxicants for special occa–
sions such as celebration and
rituals. Only in the so-called
advanced cultures do we use these
chemically induced altered states of
awareness as routine means for
escaping reality."
Many turn to alcohol or drugs to
anesthetize the stress produced by
emotionally upsetting events or sit–
uations such as marital quarrels,
poverty, fear, loneliness and job
tensions.
These individuals fail to realize,
however, that using alcohol or
drugs to cope with stress only
creates further stress, contributing
to a vicious and harmful cycle in a
person's life.
Using alcohol or drugs is not an
20
effective measure for coping with
pressures. lt 's like trying to kili a
fly by exploding a stick of dyna–
mite-the cure may be even worse
than the original problem.
For instance, one important key
to coping with stress is relaxation.
More and more psychologists and
physicians are coming to view
occasional recreation not just as a
help but as an essentiaJ part of a
balanced life-style. Relaxing by a
change of activity res tares us.
People with drug or alcohol
problems do attempt to relax, but
only by turning to a bottle filled
with either alcohol or pills. The
drug abuser, rather than learning
how to properly relax, relies on
drugs to relax him. He is confront–
ing his problems in the wrong way.
Here is why.
Drug reliance, which can devel–
op into addiction and cause a host
of other related problems, spawns
more stress. The drug user
becomes trapped in the cycle. He
uses drugs to cope with stress, and
this use only creates more
stress.
Relaxation should, rather, in–
volve exercise, a change of pace,
momentarily getting one's mind off
whatever is causing the stress (and
that by mental choice, not with
self-prescribed alcohol or drugs).
Alcohol is safely and temperately
used only by one who is
already
mentally relaxed. Alcohol should
never be used to regularly induce
relaxation.
Physical Points to Consider
Since stress involves a person's
mental or emotional reaction to
externa! events, any effective pro–
gram must involve, to one degree
or another, a cbange of mind-a
reorienting of life priorities .
Besides relaxation, there are other
effective measures for reducing
the debilitating effects stress can
have:
•
Be realistic.
Let's face it: We
know we are going to have disap–
pointments in life. None of us can
succeed every time at everything
we try.
The stressful person often fails to
accept this simple fact. He may
mentally magnify his problems out
of proportion . He becomes so
wrapped up in his difficulties, real
or imagined, that he cannot see
anything else.
Certainly, a person's problems
may be real and serious-a broken
marriage, unemployment and lack
of money, problems with a chi ld,
illness. But dwelling on them to the
point of becoming paralyzed by
them-unable to take action-does
not solve them. The solutions must
come through emotional maturity,
seeking wise counsel and getting
control of one's life.
Complaining about constant
hard work, for example, only rein–
forces the stress. Focusing on the
reward obtained from the work, on
the other hand, will make the work
a source of satisfaction rather than
tension. Developing this kind of
positive attitude toward stress-pro–
ducing pressures will ease inner
tensions.
Don't be crushed when you fail,
because you certainly will fai l
from time to time.
If
you indulge
in self-pity, you'll not put yourself
in any pressure situation again–
and you'll never accomplish any–
thing!
A person who increases bis or
her efforts to master a situation he
or she can never control is bound to
be frustrated.
For instance, consider the par–
ent whose well-intentioned advice
to grown children falls on deaf
ears.
If
the children, now adults
themselves, are unwilling to listen
and heed, the parent will only
frustrate himself or herself by
continuing to be assertive and try–
ing to enforce his or her will in
situations. It is a case of effort
without accomplishment, and it
produces stress.
The best course in this and,other
examples would be to act where
possible, but also to reaiize and
accept limitations when and where
they exist.
People prone to battle on stub–
bornly in no-win situations sorne–
times know they have every reason
to change, yet, through habit, they
resist alteration.
If
we become more goal
oriented and look to the ultimate
rewards for our efforts, pressures
we daily undergo will not seem as
difficult to bear. Take control of
your life. Realize there are things
you can do to make a difference.
The PLAIN TRUTH