EXERCISES IN DISCOMFORT FOR THE SELF-MANAGEMENT OF PAIN: MENTAL EXERCISES FOR THE RELIEF OF PAIN
April 29th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: Anti Depressants-Sleeping AidNo Comments
We proceed with the relaxing mental exercises in exactly the same way as. The only difference is that in the case of pain we have to go a little further, but the principles are just the same. For instance, in discussing phobic anxiety we saw the importance of gradually testing ourselves in the phobic situation. If our phobia concerned going into shops, we went into shops, little by little, easily and naturally, and all the time we concentrated on keeping our calm and relaxed state of mind. We follow the same procedure in dealing with pain.
In doing this there is one point which we must be clear about. The idea of testing out our reaction in the phobic situation by going into the shop seems to us a perfectly natural and common-sense thing to do. But when we come to testing ourselves with pain, we are likely to feel complicated about it. We would rather avoid it as something unnatural and not quite nice. We must not do this. It is just as natural and sensible to test ourselves with pain as it is with anxiety; and it is a very important step in overcoming our pain, just as it was with phobic anxiety.
We let our bodies relax; we feel the calm that goes with it; we feel it all through us, in our body, in our mind; we let ourselves go; we let go and we drift; we drift in the calm of it, the natural calm and ease that is all through us. We practise this until we can do it quite easily and naturally. Then we do it in increasingly uncomfortable situations. This is the beginning of our use of the relaxing mental exercises in the direct control of pain.
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BACKGROUND MANAGEMENT OF STRESS: MAN AND WOMAN
April 23rd, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: Anti Depressants-Sleeping AidNo Comments
In our discussion of stress you will have noticed that there has been a recurrent theme that those things which we do in life, which are in tune with our natural biological heritage, are a help to us in the matter of stress. So it is with man and woman.
Our relationship of man and woman fulfils our biological needs at quite different levels. In carnal sex the massive discharge of nerve cells in orgasm temporarily relieves the individual of the tensions of stress. Sex as an expression of love has a similar effect. The tranquility of the togetherness which follows helps our brain to run quietly, allowing the integration of matters which were previously so disturbing. But our experience of man and woman in its effect on stress extends far beyond our physical intercourse together. All those aspects of our life which fulfill our biological needs make it easier for our brain to sort things out. Sleep, rest, leisure. And of equal importance is our experience of man and woman together.
In the simplest possible terms of biology, woman bears our child and nourishes the baby, while man provides food and shelter for both. Through this division of labour, and by the process of evolution, man and woman have developed certain qualities to suit them to their life’s task. Woman must understand the needs of her child before it can speak to her, so she has developed a natural understanding of others. Man, because of his biological role, has developed greater physical strength.
The basic biology of man and woman fits into our pattern of coping with stress in several ways. If this division of labour is our basic code of life, then our brain is doing things that it has learned to do over countless generations, and so has learned to do them without much hassle, and the tendency to stress is so much the less. This is a basic principle. But we must remember that patterns of life change, and sociological practices grow and develop from one generation to the next. Hence we have a tendency for woman to move from the biological creativity of the home to the material creativity of the outside world. At the same time man is moving towards a much greater participation in the care of the children. Both man and woman can benefit by this. Woman gains from her new vantage point to see wider horizons. Man gains by learning something of the intuitive skill of woman in handling others. But we must remember that these gains, great as they are to both man and woman, are valid only so long as the primary biological role of man’ and woman is still maintained as a basis.
This leads us further into the effect of the togetherness of man and woman in stress. Woman is strong in the intuitive understanding of others which she has inherited to help her with her children in their pre-verbal years. Man is strong in logic to help him as provider of food and shelter. The effect on stress comes through the closeness of man and woman together – the being with, the physical contact, the cuddle, the lying together – this physical closeness which brings with it our mental and spiritual closeness. In this man becomes aware of her intuitive understanding. He picks up something of it himself. And his brain runs profoundly quiet. Woman becomes aware of his strength. It gives her a sense of security, both physical and deep within her, and her brain runs profoundly quiet.
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MAJOR PROBLEMS CAUSING STRESS: REDUNDANCY
April 23rd, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: Anti Depressants-Sleeping AidNo Comments
“The writing is on the wall. Anyone can read it. There will be a take-over. That’s not the problem. The problem for me is that I shall be found redundant. Will be paid off. Thrown to the wolves. The wolves that would tear the flesh from your bones. Don’t know where I can turn. Very few jobs about in my particular field. Very few, and my age is no help. Can’t sleep. I jitter inside. Can see my work going off. That only means the sack is more certain than ever.
‘Had planned an overseas trip. Just the two of us. The wife and I. Every night she is reading about places to visit. Haven’t told her the worst. Haven’t told her the truth. Just vaguely suggested we put it off for a year or two. There’s a chill in the air. I just don’t know what to do.”
The major problem and the associated problem are clearly marked. He needs all the help he can get in the home, or he will come under stress and probably develop psychosomatic symptoms.
The kind of help that he needs is understanding. If she rails against his employers and the injustice they are inflicting on him, it will only increase his level of tension, and make his performance at work so much the worse. On the other hand, she may try to bolster his morale with talk of his ability and experience, and that he will certainly get another job, equal or better, just as soon as he wants it. If she talks like this, he realizes what she says is out of tune with reality, and the gulf between them is so much the greater.
If, however, she can communicate her understanding in that very simple and wordless communication of man and woman, his level of anxiety is reduced and his performance at work is so much the better.
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