Stress comes in many forms. It can be good and beneficial or not so good and taxing to the body.

In the form of pressure, stress has some usefulness: goals may be attained through an improvement in motivation and mental focus. In this way, stress can positively be referred to as ‘ustress’ (C. Woolfenden, n.d.). Over time, excessive pressure accumulates and can lead to stress and distress. Somatic psychotherapists Cedar Barstow and Christine Caldwell discuss the impact of stress on the body. Barstow (2007, p. 205) states: Recent brain and energy research offers very specific data about the impact of stress on the brain. When stressed, blood flows away from the brain and into our extremities, in preparation for “fight or flight” which leaves us less able to be connected and creatively respond to challenging situations. Caldwell (personal communication, February 5, 2008) describes the very important division between the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the nervous system: the sympathetic branch is the one which “gears you up, excites you, gets you ready to be really intense and dramatic and defend yourself when you need to defend yourself” and the parasympathetic branch is for “rest, letting go, and recuperation.”

In Somatic Psychotherapy, the goal is to attain balanced tone in both branches of the nervous system so that one is neither overly sympathetically nor parasympathetically dominant. Western technologically based cultures, Caldwell states, are much more sympathetically dominant. That means that we, in modern western society, spend our days overly sympathetically dominant and thereby lacking sufficient time for our bodies to repair themselves and gain parasympathetic tone. Stress related illness, “really most chronic illnesses” (Caldwell, personal communication, February 5, 2008), stem from that lack of balance and tone. “So why,” Caldwell asks, “would the body have an entire division for the nervous system devoted to rest and recuperation if it didn’t really, really need it?” As a culture we need to begin to find, hold onto, value and understand the purpose of the parasympathetic branch. Convention has it that people in our society overwork and then either collapse or vegetate through television, eating, sleeping, drinking alcohol, or misusing drugs. Instead of slowly coming down and relaxing after daily stress, we enact physically harmful patterns of overexcitement followed by crash and catatonia.

Caldwell emphasizes exercise as one way to achieve tone and balance in the nervous system. Through exercise we can mentally and emotionally relax while the body remains active and then, upon completion, transition to parasympathetic dominance. Clinical neuroscientist and psychiatrist Daniel Amen (2005, pp. 170-175) gives several recommendations for soothing the brain after stress. He suggests that we recognize that too much stress can make us sick and hurt our brains. “It is okay,” he says, “to say no and to renegotiate your commitments.” He implores us to get enough sleep, to exercise regularly, to pray and/or meditate, and to practice self-hypnosis to calm the brain. He also makes recommendations for becoming “your own biofeedback machine,” avoiding substances that stress the brain (i.e., caffeine, nicotine, “uppers”), considering “stress-busting” supplements (i.e., B vitamins, St. John’s wort, 5-HTP, SAMe, L-theanine, or valerian), seeing a psychotherapist (as a “life consultant”), and to “get more laughter into your life.” References Amen, D. G. (2005). Making a good brain great. New York: Three Rivers Press. Barstow, C. (2007). Right use of power: The heart of ethics. Boulder, CO: Many Realms Publishing. Woolfenden, C. (n.d.). “Stress hypnotherapy.” Retrieved February 14, 2008 from the Self Growth Web site.

For more information contact Marlise Meilan