The ups and downs of stress.

The Ups and Downs of Stress Christian Lifestyle Magazine host Dan Matthews interviews psychologist and author Dr. Archibald Hart on teh critical link between adrenalin and stress.

Matthews: Dr. Hart, what is the real source of the stress problem among humans?

Hart: The stress problem begins in the mind--in our attitude towrd life and time, and in the things we say to ourselves. As a psychologist, I emphasize very strongly how important the way we think is in determining our feelings and how we take on life whether with peace and ease or hurriedness and stress.

Matthews: When does stress become harmful?

Hart: Stress is normal. It becomes harmful when it is continuous, unremitting, and unrelieved. We can have as much arousal as we like as long as it is followed by a period of relaxation, of rest and recovery. The body is designed for activation and then recovery--the mountain and valley phenomenon. Distress occurs when we cannot get down off the mountain and the valley isn't deep enough to allow adequate recovery. We begin to accumulate the effects of stress.

Matthews: What are those effects?

Hart: The most common one in our day is tension headaches. A lot of people think that they have migraine headaches, but that's not true. Most people suffer from tension headache. They result from the buildup of tension in the muscles above the eyes and in the back of the head, together with the buildup of certain stress hormones that produce pain. High blood pressure that has no physical causes is also a consequence of the hyperarousal of the adrenal system. That is a symptom of stress. Another major symptom is disturbance of the gastric system: stomach ulcers, excessive acidity, chronic diarrhea.

Matthews: You have written a book entitled The Hidden Link Between Adrenalin and Stress. What is a definition of adrenalin?

Hart: By adrenalin, I mean the whole group of hormones that are produced by the adrenal glands to mobilize us to emergency action. These stress hormones circulating through the body prepare us for a fright, flight, or fight reaction. Adrenalin circulating excessively is what causes a lot of our stress. It increases the clotting capacity of the blood in case the body gets cut and bleeds. It increases the cholesterol that is circulating in the blood to mobilize it for action; it sends cortisol to the various joints of the body to fight inflammation.

Matthews: We usually think of cholesterol in terms of eating too much fatty food. Is there a connection with stress?

Hart: Yes. Our diet contributes 11 or 12 percent of the cholesterol in our bloodstream. The rest of it comes from the mobilization of the adrenal system. It's very essential to life that we have it. The reason we have a problem with cholesterol today is not just because of our diet, but also because we are living overaroused, over-extended lives.

Matthews: Are there specific types of depression or anxiety that are related to adrenalin overarousal?

Hart: Yes. The form of anxiety that is stress-related results from prolonged adrenalin arousal, when the brain becomes depleted of brain tranquilizer. It is part of the body's protective mechanism, so that if you are active too long, you start to get anxious and uncomfortable. At a critical point, anxiety and panic disorder attacks will begin.

Matthews: How can we monitor our adrenalin arousal?

Hart: Most of us recognize the surge of adrenalin whenever we get excited. It also causes our heart to beat faster. Also, cold hands usually indicate that the adrenalin level has gone up.

Matthews: Adrenalin arousal feels good. Is that bad?

Hart: Most people who die of a heart attach enjoy the process right up to the last minute. Adrenalin feels so good that we actually become addicted to it. It becomes an energizing force. When most of us ke up in the morning, we don't feel very good until we can get our adrenalin going. So we reach for the cofee with the caffeine that will stimulate us and give us an adrenalin high. If adrenalin arousal is not followed by recovery time, if it is continuous and never lets up, then it is bad.

Matthews: Are some people more susceptible than others to adrenalin over-arousal?

HArt: I think that some people are more reactive to adrenalin recruitment than others. Their systems are more sensitive.

Matthews: Is it a physiological or psychological phenomenon?

Hart: It's both. There's got to be a physiological underpinning -- that's why it often runs in families.

Matthews: Some of us are under constant deadline pressure. Should we change those kinds of schedules?

Hart: No. I think it's a fact of life. What you have to do is build in adequate recovery time to allow your system to relax and reset itself, to restore a low level of arousal. I like to think of stress management as a series of valleys and hills. We live on the hill; our days are active and energetic. But they have to be followed by valleys of rest and recovery. If you can build in the rest and recovery, then you have a balanced life.

Matthews: How much recovery time do we require?

Hart: That differs from person to person. I know some people who, with one day of rest, are able to fully recover from the effects of a very heavy week. Myself, I need a good rest period every single day. The God-given provision, I think, is good sleep.

Matthews: You suggest in your book that most of us need a lot more sleep than we get. Isn't it a mark of laziness to stay in bed too much?

Hart: I think that is a myth we have perpetuated in our culture. Most of us are rushing headlong to our own destruction because we do not allow ourselves adequate recovery time. Every hour should have a sabbatical few minutes. Every day should have a sabbath-type rest in sleep; every week should have a restful time. People who go, go, go seven days a week are the ones who are experiencing the most significant stress destruction. They need to relax!

Matthews: Tell us about relaxation.

Hart: The more we are adrenally aroused, the more we need relaxation of all sorts. I don't mean recreation -- jumping on a set of skis or behind a motorboat, getting more adrenally aroused. Relaxation means having time for yourself, tiem when your physical activity is low, time when you are not challenged by a book or stimulated by some television program. If we can build that into our busy lives, we will find that we have a lot more reserve adrenlin to go on.

Matthews: Doesn't God provide rest time?

Hart: I think that we have lost something very significant by not heeding the Sabbath commandment. I have come to appreciate very much how intentionally God has planned for our lives to be healthy. For most of us who are living busy lives, who are on to go all the time, it is vitally important that we build in sabbath times, rest times.

Matthews: When a person comes to you, a psychologist, with a serious adrenalin mismanagement problem, what do you do?

Hart: First, a therapist will try to stabilize the situation, providing whatever symptomatic relief he or she can. Perhaps the therapist then puts the person on an adrenalin blocker, or may be a minor tranquilizer, to reduce the anxiety. That's because the symptoms themselves become stressors and create a spiraling effect. You've got to break the cycle. Then the therapist begins to work at the underlying issues -- the expectations, attitudes, self-talk, life and time management skills. Assertiveness training is sometimes crucial, and relaxation training is always essential. You're looking at six months to a year of therapy for most people whose adrenalin is out of control and whose stress symptoms are severe. For some of them, adrenalin management may become a life long process.

Matthews: In your book you emphasize faith as a part of stress management.

Hart: I think that the stress problem is in the ultimate sense a faith problem. It has to do with our values and with what we're chasing after in life. It aslo has to do with our ability to forgive and to deal with the hurts that come our way. Anger and resentment have been shown by a number of seculr researchers to be the most damaging emotions from a stress point of view. On of the characteristics of the type A personality, a person who is prone to develop cardiovascular disease, is that he or she is very irritable and has a low tolerance for frustration. I believe that God's antidote for anger is forgiveness, to be able to surrender my right to hurt back. It restores my composure, resets my system, lowers my adrenalin, and helps me to live a happy and fruitful life.

Matthews: How would you summrize your advice to stressed people today?

Hart: Balance is the key word -- balance your life. You need to know what it is you want out of life. If you pursue the wrong things, you are going to be more stressed. You need balnce in relationships and a balance between work and rest, between activity and recovery time. If you can build in that balance, you can live a long and happy life.