| 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. |
