Dealing with stress.docVIP

12 Coping with Stress [Dr. Hans Selye is a leading authority on stress. He has been doing research in this field for 40 years, and his book stress without distress is printed in nine languages. Dr. Selye is a member of the University of Montreal faculty, and he is now organizing the International Institute of Stress in Montreal. ] 1. Q: Dr. Selye, is it true that there is more stress in today’s society than in years past? A: People often ask me that question sometimes comparing our lives with that sort of the cave man -- who didnt have to worry about the stock market or the atomic bomb. They forget that the cave man worried about being eaten by bear while he was asleep, or about dying of hunger -- things that few people worry much about today. In the end, I doubt whether modern man experiences more distress than his ancestors. Its not that people suffer more stress today; it’s just that they think they do. 2 Q: But isn’t everybody subject to stress? A: Thats right. Few studies have been done that permit me to answer in strictly objective, scientific terms, but as far as I can tell from talking to diverse groups, from businessmen to airtraffic controllers, everybody thinks he or she is under the greatest stress. The truth is that everybody actually is under stress because -- and this may be shocking to take--if you really managed to avoid stress completely, you would be dead. 3 Q: Then stress is a normal state of affairs? A: Yes, and its important that people understand what they are talking about when they speak about stress. Whenever anyone experiences something unpleasant, for lack of a better word they say they are under stress. Yet there is such a thing as pleasant stress as in the case of the Olympic winner at the moment of his glory, or a conductor as his orchestra performs particularly well. They are just radiating excitement, acid they are secreting all the stress hormones exactly the same as if they were objected or had just heard of a deat