Chapter 8
COPING WITH STRESS

In 1990, as reported in Alan Rees and Charlene Willey's Personal Health Reporter, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine invited 192 men and women between the ages of 35 and 64 to experiment with managing their stress levels. Each of the participants had two or more of the following risk factors: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and a smoking habit of 10 or more cigarettes a day. The volunteers were then divided into two groups: one group took eight one-hour lessons in relaxation, meditation, stress management, and breathing exercises, while the other group received no instruction.

After eight weeks, the doctors discovered that blood pressures were significantly lower for those in the group who were taught to relax and breathe correctly compared with those who were given no instruction. Four years later, those who had taken the lessons still showed lower blood pressure readings. Compared with those who had no instruction, they were less likely to be in treatment for hypertension and were also less apt to show symptoms of heart disease, or to have died of a heart attack–medical conditions that have been linked to stress.

Most people experience some stress in their lives. The December 1993 issue of New Body magazine, for example, states that a 1993 U.S. Public Health Survey estimates that 70–80% of Americans who visit a physician suffer from a stress-related disorder. Job-related stress costs U.S. businesses $60 million a year, and stress-related disability cases have doubled since 1981.

This chapter discusses how the body responds to stress and the various holistic therapies for reducing stress and its effects, including nutritional, vitamin, and mineral therapies; exercise; guided imagery; yoga; mediation; biofeedback; massage; and group support.