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June 21, 2004 Periferia: External world is a terrible mess. Nobody can deny. Everybody is under pressure. Countries are in the abysses of a war. People are dying, children are suffering, climate seems out of control…but all of these matters have nothing to do with distress. Our souls, our interior lake reflecting the face of our Creator. That is what He wants from us. There resides the hope . We must generate contentment within our brains and hearts. No matter whatever occurs in the outside. Females, those adorable creatures, are possibly the answer to many questions and the beginning of a promising future. Because of the six sense, their intuition is capable of great expectations and innovative solutions towards a peaceful worldwide organization. Children are watching. They need to feel secure, to have trust in the future. While men fight and their feet stand on the green grass, and blue and yellow flowers disappear, women will create a new world for the little ones. A liveable world, a loveable nest, a forecast of freedom and calmness. 1.- Life is the most relevant value. Life can be considered the most important building block of personality. Death is the ending of natural life, although it means the opening to supernatural possibilities. Therefore, the important thing is to determinate dangers that could be a menace to existence in the sense of everybody’s safekeeping. Illness, accidents, terrorism and pollution are post-modern enemies. However, in these times there is another adversary whose potency has not been sufficiently analysed: Bad stress. 2-Good stress and bad stress: Stress means “pressure”. If you are under stress, you are constrained by a situation that enforces you to feel tired enough to want to “throw the towel”. But this enforcement is a good friend of your health. It generates a painful sensation and acts as a regulator of your energy. He will not leave you emphasise the effort up a to the limit of your entire vigour. It works as fever does. When a child has influenza, fever is the unique sign which obligates us to react immediately and call the doctor in time. Then, fever is a good friend of mothers. The good stress is caused by adrenalin. This substance is liberated in our blood with the unique purpose of being an advice-giver. Adrenalin tells us that a danger is near. That is a good thing because our muscles and reflexes begin to work at a higher speed. It causes signals like the increasing of speed in heart- beating or headache. Those signals are there to be listened at, not to be ignored. The bad stress is called “distress”. It appears just when you are under too much pressure and you are not more able to handle it. The stress overflow your limits like a river out of its course and signals increase their power enormously. Everything is out of control. Circuits are in red alert. Neurological system breaks down and your nerves explode. A circumstantial case of distress not necessarily can shorten your life, but…what happens when after an episode or two, your organism begins to be accustomed to it and explodes time by time… Illness arrives to stay for a period of time. Then you be obliged to employ a lot of energy (and money for the doctor) to get rid off disagreeable consequences of this new situation. 3.-The fable of the zebras and the leopard: Three zebras were playing merrily in the African wild forest.. They did not know that a leopard stared toward them, ready to eat the meal of the week.. Green eyes brilliant of fierce, the beast prepared himself to devour at least one of them. Abruptly, all of them noticed the presence of the enemy, but only one could escape from the monster.. One stayed paralysed by fear and the emotion controlled her muscles and reflexes. The second one was too much unperturbed because of her lack of experience. She did not urge herself to escape. She begun to calculate possibilities...when suddenly everything finished for her. The third one was enough worried about, and acted faster than her shadow. -First zebra had bad stress. She was extremely astonished and resulted overwhelmed by a mixture of fright and surprise. Second one was not clever enough to recognize signals of good stress which were able to guide her to the conservation of her life.. The third zebra used the signals in her own benefit and ran away quickly. The conclusion is: stress bothers you, but could be the unique way to subsist. Its advice ought to be considered and listen. When stress knock at your door…open it. 4.-How to recognize Good and Bad Stress signals: ------------------------------------------ good stress: -increase of heart beating -sensation of alert -muscles become more tense -attention is more specific -thinking is more speedy bad stress or distress: -sensation of tragedy -unhopeful thoughts -painful and sustained headache -muscle contractions -stomach-ache -depression -weakness -fatigue -impossibility to concentrate in something difficulties with attention 5. -Causes of distress: a. -Environmental situations: The possibility of a new terrorist attack, imminence of war, and even the remembrance of last events of 9-11 are now diminished in front of the sorrow produced by the tragic spatial accident. Many persons must confront even worst realities connected to their economical situation. Far away in time, Dr. Sigmund Freud was worried about cathartic methods to support and attend conveniently the anguish of his patients. Today, psychologists are more interested in the resolution of distress, because external world has suffered modifications that are the basis of psychological and even physical modern illnesses. b. -Frictions caused by relationships: In my job as a family counsellor, I have each day consults related to husband and wife conflictive relationship. In addition, there are disagreements between mother and daughter, father and son and even the entire family with the family of someone else. Anguish and sorrow, even resentment produced by these situations is carried on for years until the breakdown occurs in the body and appears somatic collapse. c. -Post -traumatic distress: After a car accident occurs, there are many cases of post-traumatic distress. Symptoms are the following: Fear Perspiration Anxiety Bad dreams Troublesome eating and sleeping Phobia Headache Gastritis 6. -Consequences of distress: when it endures excessively: -Bad performance at work -Loss of memory -Diminished attention -Somnolence -Tiredness -Desperation -Unhope -Death thoughts 7. -Unequal fight: How can we fight against an enemy that lives inside our own brain, like an alien of the movies? How can we annihilate it without destroying our own structure? How could we possibly live without distress in the middle of a difficult era, and dealing at the same time with a worrying relationship or even economical troubles? Is it achievable to reach happiness in the middle of pain and sorrow? Possibly it s an unfair battle but reality does not ask first. She blows and then asks: are you OK? Intelligence is the unique weapon? Certainly not. We have another associate: Willpower. Exclusively, man has received reason and will. Then, let us go ahead and use both. The ogre is menacing to exterminate us in a slow, painful manner. However, we can win the quarrel developing ingenious strategies in combat. Judo fighters know that when you need to throw the enemy to the ground, you can use his own force. Let him advance with fury and then a little touch from behind could be enough. So, what counts really, is not a matter of power, other than a matter of tactic. 8.-Strategies: a.-Self-consciousness b.-Mental-control c.-Innovative Thinking d.-Directing the river of energy A.-Self-consciousness In our struggle against negative consequences of stress, self-awareness is the most important item to be considered. We cannot fight against an invisible enemy, because danger could possibly increase its level enormously. Stress is like a bomb-man ready to appear at any moment to do the most horrible disaster. Is necessary to identify the dangerous points of our mind and particularly our emotional system. There lives the occasion of illness and even death. Nevertheless, what are the tips we must think about in the route of self recognition? - Scale of values - Virtues - Defects - Habits - Fears - Ideals - Objectives - Feelings - Character - Reactions - Profoundness - Are some of the elements to be observed carefully. B.-Self-control -Learning structures of thinking that guide the mind towards happiness. -Situating the emotions under the govern of the reasonable consideration of reality. -Organizing heart, brain and will in a harmonic concert and not in a chaotic mood. -Differentiating problems: those which have a solution and those which have not. .-Integrating information originated in books or conferences, serious journals or magazines. -Integrating information originated in the wisdom of scientists and experts. -Opening the mind to a profound change when it is necessary enough. -Learning to avoid extreme reactivity to environmental stimulus. and so on. C.- Innovative thinking: The solution of a problem depends on the outline of it. When you change the point of view of the problem, a rainbow of solutions appear in front of your eyes. Example: A woman feels very sad and depressed because she sees a negative reality in all aspects of her life. If she could use a different point of view, imagining that her dead husband is seeing her from above, she would comprehend that she must put her energy in a movement towards a positive direction. So, he would not be disappointed on her lack of willpower. D.-Directing the river of energy Energy is like a river in its normal course. Sometimes rain effects cause the river to overflow. This is the metaphor for distress attack. Sometimes the force of the water declines and in other instance the strength comes back. In human beings, as in the Nature, willpower has no intervention in the process of overwhelming and distress.. However, we must learn to control the vicissitudes of our energy for the good benefit it means for our life and health. A person who is in govern of his forces is someone who is capable of help and assistance for those who are circumstantially weakened. Neurosis makes our brain to function in false circuit and the energy is not directed to the frontal point. The patient feels fatigued and even exhausted without doing any effort towards his targets. Distress appears in a person who is subjected many times to this situation. That is the reason why is so important to control our possibilities and calculate our strategies to avoid this nasty way of loosing two precious hands capable of helping someone else in peril or sadness. When somebody wins the struggle against stress, a new soldier of solidarity is recruited, because a wealthy soul is strong enough to be a solid stone where the pilgrim can rest his head during the worst part of the journey. Example: A woman in her sixties suffered of insomnia since her son went to live very far away from her. She was tremendously sad because she could not see or embrace him. She spent all night, and even part of the day, thinking chaotically on the events of her life, depressed and pessimistic in her point of view. Finally she decided to make a consultation and take some advice. She had a great chance to reorganize her life. The syndrome of the “empty nest” is a very common cause of distress. She found that she was not aware of the lot of energy she left without any use, while crying for an unimportant matter. Her son was healthy and had an excellent job. He tried to avoid her because of her illness and bad attitude. She understood clearly all the points and begun to change her reactions slowly but securely. Today, she is working as a volunteer in a hospital, reading short stories to the blind children. She sleeps well and her happiness is profound and strong. She irradiates energy to all sides. Her son frequently calls her and wants to know when she is going to visit him. He also wants to be irradiated by her new spirit. ------------ About the author: Maria Cristina Azcona is an argentine novelist and poetess. She is writer and editor. She has received two university degrees in: Psycho - pedagogy and Family Counselling, one in Argentina and the other in Spain. Since then, she works as a Psychotherapist in Buenos Aires. In 1998 she won First Prize in poetry at one of the most important contests of her country, organized by the Argentine Centre for Development of New Authors, (C.A.D.D.A.N.). Since that moment she has had published four printed books in Argentina, and has participated in many international anthologies around the world, especially at USA, UK, India, Jordan and Spain. Her work is also known in Algeria, Pakistan, Chile and Romania. Today, her poetry is considered as one of the most creative and original of postmodern times. Author of the following books: DOS TALLES MENOS DE CEREBRO MUNDO POSTMODERNO LA VOZ DEL ANGEL ESTAR DE NOVIOS HOY Joined to her husband ERNESTO CASTELLANO Visit the following websites: www.authors-inc.com/mariacristinaazcona.html www.bilingua.4t.com www.mcristinazcona.4t.com http://www.mcazcona.4t.com http://www.itunet.com.ar/Altuna Email: azconacristina@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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