| Hans Selye is considered the first researcher who | | | | Dr. Daniel Hall-Flavin, board certified in general |
| was able to assign a meaning to a syndrome he | | | | psychiatry and addiction psychiatry, has special |
| discovered which was destroying productivity in | | | | interests in adult psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and |
| business and was causing burnout in many people. | | | | psycho genomics. He has served as medical director |
| Selye complained several times that if his knowledge | | | | of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug |
| of English had been more precise, he would have | | | | Dependence from 1986 to 1999. |
| gone down in history as the father of the "strain" | | | | His comment is, "With the pace of advances in |
| concept. | | | | medicine, informed collaborative relationships between |
| Although Selye was fluent in at least eight languages, | | | | knowledgeable, capable health professionals and |
| including English, and could converse in another half | | | | informed, proactive individuals we are finding their |
| dozen, his choice of "stress" to describe the | | | | families are more vital than ever in maintaining |
| non-specific response syndrome he discovered, was | | | | balance". What he discovered was many people |
| unfortunate. He had used "stress" in his initial letter to | | | | suffer from Depersonalization disorder: A feeling of |
| the Editor of Nature in 1936, who suggested that it be | | | | being 'outside' your body. What causes |
| deleted since this implied nervous strain and substituted | | | | depersonalization disorder? How is it treated? |
| alarm reaction. He was also unaware that stress had | | | | Depersonalization — a feeling of unreality or of being |
| been used for centuries in physics to explain elasticity, | | | | "outside" your body — can be a syndrome or a |
| the property of a material that allows it to resume its | | | | symptom of a mental disorder. It's often associated |
| original size and shape after having been compressed | | | | with anxiety and stress. These feelings can increase |
| or stretched by an external force. As expressed in | | | | existing anxiety by making you feel like you're losing |
| Hooke's Law of 1658, the magnitude of an external | | | | control. Although these sensations may be |
| force, or stress, produces a proportional amount of | | | | uncomfortable, they're not harmful. Episodes of |
| deformation, or strain, in a malleable metal. | | | | depersonalization usually last only a few moments. But |
| This created considerable confusion when his | | | | they may occur repeatedly. People with persistent |
| research had to be translated into foreign languages. | | | | stress or anxiety may have longer episodes of |
| There was no suitable word or phrase that could | | | | depersonalization that come and go over several |
| convey what he meant, since he was really describing | | | | years. Sometimes anxiety about having another |
| strain. In 1946, when he was asked to give an address | | | | experience with depersonalization may trigger these |
| at the prestigious Collège de France, where Bernard | | | | feelings. Accurate diagnosis of depersonalization and |
| and Pasteur had been friendly rivals, the academicians | | | | of any accompanying mental disorders is important. |
| responsible for maintaining the purity of the French | | | | My feeling is these experiences are caused by feeling |
| language struggled with this problem for several days, | | | | alone and not accepted by your family and peers. I |
| and subsequently decided that a new word would | | | | have seen clients who describe this feeling similar to a |
| have to be created. Apparently, the male chauvinists | | | | panic attack. . It makes no difference where they are |
| prevailed, and le stress was born, quickly followed by | | | | or what they are doing at the time. They feel unable |
| el stress, il stress, lo stress, der stress in other | | | | to cope with anything and have stop what ever they |
| European languages, and similar neologisms in Russian, | | | | are doing and sit back and do nothing until the feeling |
| Japanese, Chinese and Arabic. Stress is one of the | | | | passes. Most of the people feel anxious or stressed |
| very few words that are preserved in English in | | | | out, they begin to breathe more deeply and more |
| languages that do not use the Roman alphabet. Selye | | | | frequently (hyperventilate). This reduces carbon dioxide |
| was fond of sending colleagues and friends’ cards | | | | levels in your blood, which causes: lightheadedness, |
| containing his advice on how to conduct their | | | | dizziness and unusual feelings, such as being outside |
| professional and personal lives, as illustrated below: | | | | your body and observing your actions from a |
| S tress management: How do you react during | | | | distance. Most the people affected by this syndrome |
| stressful situations? No wonder you're stressed. | | | | usually have come from dysfunctional families where |
| You're doing more with fewer resources every day at | | | | they feel they have been rejected and abandoned. It |
| work, and deadlines lurk around every corner. When | | | | is caused by traumatic experiences that come up |
| you get home, you take out your frustrations on your | | | | spontaneously without any notice. |
| family. Weekends are booked solid with household | | | | Conventional medical an psychological practitioners |
| chores and errands. It's been months since you spent | | | | think cognitive behavior therapy helps you understand |
| an evening alone with your partner. There are very | | | | why depersonalization occurs and trains you to stop |
| few days off where you can get away from the | | | | worrying about the symptoms so that they go |
| stressors. So how do you handle it? Understanding | | | | away. My view is they will never go away until we |
| how you currently respond to stress — for better or | | | | address the issue which causes them to rise |
| worse — is the foundation for successful future | | | | unexpectedly and release the triggers, activators and |
| stress management. | | | | catalysts which activate their program. |
| Evaluating how you deal with stress is the first step in | | | | Of course, these examples are extremes. Most |
| effective stress management. Look for these behavior | | | | people who have stress responses fall somewhere in |
| patterns. Reactions to stress vary. | | | | the middle. When you feel confident, you're likely to |
| Some people seem to take everything in stride. Their | | | | take new stressors in stride. If you feel cornered or |
| naturally laid-back attitudes shine through in every | | | | unprepared, your stress level may rise. Look for |
| situation, another deadline? Bring it on. You needed to | | | | patterns in your coping strategies. |
| be there 10 minutes ago? OK, let's go. The dishwasher | | | | In the next four articles Dr. Art Martin is going to detail |
| is leaking? No problem, it'll be a simple repair we can | | | | what stress is and how to handle it so you can have |
| get it done today. Look up who we can call. These | | | | freedom from stress. We create stress by our |
| types of people never get stressed out because they | | | | reaction to it. In reality, there are only stressful people |
| take immediate action to solve a situation at hand. | | | | who react to stress. In the example above the |
| They look at most situations as a challenge rather than | | | | person who takes action and responds to the situation |
| a problem which can take care of by finding how to | | | | never gets stressed out. He or she takes control of |
| take care of it or outsourcing it to be done now. | | | | the situation at hand and solves the issue before it |
| Others get anxious at the first sign of trouble. They | | | | becomes a problem. Dr. Art Martin has been working |
| pace the floor or have difficulty concentrating on the | | | | with people to help them overcome the conflicts in |
| task at hand. Many times they procrastinate rather | | | | their lives for thirty years. He has developed a |
| than taking action. Any interruption or change in plans | | | | therapy process described as Energy Medicine and |
| may cause a problem for them. They are on auto | | | | Energy Psychology. The specific modality is |
| pilot following a set path. If they have to make a | | | | described as Neuro/Cellular Reprogramming. It is a |
| decision to take action, it upsets and stresses them | | | | process to take control of your mind and empower |
| out. | | | | yourself to take control of your life. |