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Stress,
as viewed and defined by the standard medical
model is "the sum of all non-specific biological
phenomena elicited by adverse external influences
including damage and defense. It may be localized,
as in the Local Adaptation Syndrome (L.A.S.),
or systemic, as in the General Adaptation Syndrome
(G.A.S.)." This definition (from Dorland's
Medical Dictionary) isolates the process of
stress-induced physiological phenomena as they
occur within the human body. From this model,
clinicians can understand that measurements
taken of the biochemical patterns of the body
can be shown to be adversely affected, or thrown
into a state of imbalance, when subjected to
various negatively perceived "external"
stimuli.
The value of this view lies
in the fact that as various therapeutic interventions
are utilized to treat a stress-induced imbalance,
the effectiveness of that intervention can be
evaluated relative to the return of the internal
workings of the body to a more homeostatic condition.
One significant aspect of this model that is
all too often not taken into account in the
therapeutic process lies in the isolated perception
that the model itself engenders. This definition
of stress is focusing on the effects of a process
within a body. What the definition
does not take into account is the reality that
the body extends beyond the boundaries of any
one individual's biochemical makeup.
Over the past several decades
there has been an ever increasing paradigm shift
in health care away from seeing illness as being
caused by this or that pathogen. An understanding
is growing toward the awareness that imbalance
within the human body is much more due to the
susceptibility of the individual to a particular
stressor than it is due to the stressor
itself. It is this susceptibility that
is gaining greater understanding, and
with this understanding is coming a greater
awareness of why we become susceptible to imbalance,
and what we can do to guard against
becoming susceptible (i.e., victims).
The new paradigm that is
opening awareness to the manner in which
individuals become susceptible to diseases of
all kinds has been given many names. Mind-Body
Medicine, Wellness Care, Alternative Therapy,
and Wholistic Medicine are a few of the labels
which have been tagged to this movement away
from the standard medical model of health
care. The message of this new paradigm is that
wellness is linked to much more than "this
or that" pathogenic agent or stressor.
Wellness is seen as the individuals overall
relationship with both their internal and their
external environment. This "new" view
of being healthy has given birth to a burgeoning
industry that focuses on diet, exercise, and,
ever more increasingly, the spiritual nature
of man. This reemergence of awareness regarding
mankinds spiritual nature is leading to a different
way of understanding the so-called
stress-induced illnesses. As social structures
become more and more populated we are, by necessity,
becoming more and more aware that
we are not isolated beings. The sense of aloneness
is gradually being replaced by an awareness
that we must attempt to learn how to live in
balance with one another if we are ever
going to live in balance inside our own
selves. Knowledge and understanding of this
interplay and balance gives a significant opportunity
to therapists who work with victims of stress.
It is an opportunity that should be carefully
evaluated and utilized to its fullest potential
since the single most important factor when
working with victims of stress is to assist
them in finding freedom from feeling like a
victim. So long as an individual is trapped
in the label of "victim," it
is very difficult for any therapeutic intervention
to have lasting effect. With the unfolding of
the new paradigm of Wholeness Medicine comes
an opportunity to allow victims of stress
to be taught that those around them are also
affected by their experience.
In studies of survivors of
varying types of stress-induced trauma,
one consistent pattern that seems to play out
over and over relative to successfully overcoming
the effects of the trauma is the individual
sense of regaining control over aspects of their
life. One typical survival method is to find
some way to help others. This simple, but powerful,
survival tool frees the individual from overconcern
for self and serves to sublimate the fear factor
so often associated with
stress-induced trauma. Regardless
of the specific traumatic event that a person
may experience in their life, be it cancer,
abuse, or natural catastrophe, individuals who
do best at surviving the experience are those
who find some way to reach out to help other
victims.
Built into any therapist's
treatment regimen should be a plan to assist
clients/patients to find ways to help others
who may be either less fortunate than themselves,
or who are close to the individual. Helping
individuals understand that those close to them
often feel a deep sense of helplessness can
give the individual an opportunity to escape
their own feelings of fear, etc. by
acknowledging and reaching out in some way to
those around them. In this way, the sense of
being alone in their circumstance can be diminished,
and individuals can gain a sense of control
over their lives which can very often be the
key to freeing them from a damaging victim consciousness.
This sense of freedom can very often be the
difference between survival of stress-induced
trauma or becoming lost in an endless pattern
of increased symptomatology.
Susceptibility to the multiple
effects that traumatic stress can inflict on
an individual is very much linked to how the
stressful event is perceived. Assisting clients
to perceive their traumatic circumstance as
an opportunity to help others can have a profound
influence on how the body defends against the
particular stressor. As therapists learn to
understand and adopt the wholistic paradigm
of healing, they will gain a clinically provable
and powerful modality for assisting the healing
process.
©1998 by
The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic
Stress, Inc. |
