The Rural Voice, 1982-02, Page 15sive worry and insomnia. and difficulties
in communicating with or having relation-
ships with other people. These stress
reactions can lead to the development of
aches, pains and malfunctions of various
parts of the body such as headaches, stiff
muscles, high blood pressure and pro-
blems with internal organs such as the
heart or the stomach.
But a great deal is now known about
stress; its causes, its effects and its cures.
This knowledge has helped to dispel the
many fears that people had had in the past
about stress- the fear and guilt they felt
that their stress problems meant they
were "weak" or inadequate as persons,
that it was "all in their head" or that they
were "crazy". We now know that there
are many real and logical reasons why
your heart pounds with excitement, why
your stomach knots with fear or why your
hands tremble with anticipation.
Our individual sensitivity to stress has
to do with two major factors -the kinds of
work we do and the kinds of people we are.
Because a farmer does farming, there are
many special seasonal demands and
pressures upon him which are specific to
farming. But, both the farmer and the
office worker may react in similar ways to
very different kinds of demands or
pressures. The farmer may develop
tension or migraine headaches, or per -
the weather is not conducive to his getting
the crops in on time. The office worker
may develop similar headaches, or per-
haps stomach pains, because of a
personality conflict with his boss. The
reason they both may react in similar
ways to different pressures is because all
of our minds and bodies are wired
together, and tend to react, in the same
basic way. The analogy is that there are
many different kinds of viruses which can
cause a runny nose, but only a few
different kinds of runny noses. But. each
of us is also a unique personality and so we
will have very specific personal stresses,
or reasons, that make our own personal
mind and body wiring react the way it
does- that trigger our own personal
headaches or stomach pains. These
personality reasons have to do with our
own past history and upbringing, our own
ideas and feelings and how we get along
with other people.
Much is now known about how we can
come to better understand ourselves and
others, and how we can better manage our
stress reactions to life, to our jobs and to
each other. And the core of this knowledge
is the understanding that the stress
reaction, the arousal of mind and body, is
a normal, natural and necessary function
of the human being. Without some stress,
you would have no motivation to get out of
bed in the morning, or go and do anything.
Distinguishing between what is good
stress and what is bad stress for us is
something that can now be learned. And,
there are many techniques available for
helping us to deal with and overcome
those stress reactions which cause us
distress or illness.
No one today, because of lack of
available knowledge, need be stuck with
upset of illness caused by stress. There is
something that can be done for virtually
every type of stress reaction. And the
best part is that a very great deal of what
can be done involves what we can learn to
do for ourselves.
Dr. Terry Burrows is a Toronto
Physician with a special interest in
Psychosomatic [mind and body] medicine
and stress management. He is a 1968
Graduate of the University of Toronto
Medical School. In addition to his private
practice, Dr. Burrows writes and lectures
frequently on the subject of stress
management and successful living.
What's going on
in agriculture?
Check
"Up and Coming"
page 24
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THE RURAL VOICE/ FEBRUARY 1982 PG. 13