Research due to be published this autumn in the USA journal Cancer suggests that too much stress can impact on surviving cancer. This study was a meta-analysis of 3.8 million people, cancer sufferers diagnosed between 1973 and 2004. Married people were found to have a 5 year survival rate of 63% compared to a 45% rate for those who were separated. The explanation offered is that the stress of a break-up in a serious relationship interferes with healing and recovery, and hence survival rates. The researchers suggest that the love and support of a partner is a key factor in battling illness, even one as serious as cancer, and their findings are supported by many previous studies. Of course, important other factors are also relevant – how many can you think of?
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We recently received the question above from Claire Matthews of The Castle School in Bristol and thought some of you would be interested in the answer: The SAM system concerns the adrenal medulla and the release of adrenaline/noradrenaline which has the effect of creating physiological (sympathetic) arousal and producing the fight or flight response. The HPA access concerns the adrenal cortex which produces corticosteroids such as cortisol, which help the body to recover after stress but also have negative effects e.g. reduced immune function. Now to the question – do they happen simultaneously or does the SAM system come first and the HPA second?
The answer is both. Essentially both systems are triggered by a stressor but one (SAM) is an instantaneous response like lighting a match, whereas the other (HPA) is much slower and doesn’t happen very easily (like lighting a fire). It is harder to achieve (needs a continuing stressor) and is only activated in more extreme circumstances. So in a sense the HPA response does come second because, even though it is triggered at the same time as the SAM, its response is seen some time later – well after the fight/flight response.
Nature – the great outdoors, trees, sky, flowers, water – has a psychological and physiological effect which can help lower stress levels; at least that is what researchers at the University of Washington have demonstrated. They had student participants who completed quite difficult mental tests. During these tests some had a view of trees and grass through the window, whilst others had the same view but on a huge plasma screen. The students were also linked up to heart monitors. All the students glanced up at the real life or televised view, but those with the real view through windows lowered their heart rates, which relate to their stress levels, the most.
So why don’t we all try and get a glimpse of the natural world, especially if we are working hard, anxious or worried, generally stressed, and see if this can help us manage our stress better?
We contacted Donald Meichenbaum, the man who developed Stress Inoculation Training (SIT), to get permission to use his photograph in the latest edition of The Complete Companion. He asked to receive a copy of the finished book and has written to use saying ‘Please send my congratulations to the authors Mike and Cara. The book is engaging and informative. I appreciate the attention they have devoted to my work on Stress Inoculation Training (SIT).’ However he did also point out that one of our criticisms might be a tad unjustified. We suggest that one disadvantage of SIT is that the treatment takes a long time. He says, in fact, it has been applied successfully in as short as one hour in helping medical patients prepare for surgery and for cardiac catherization examinations. He further points out that one of the strengths of SIT is its adapatability to meet the varying demands of populations. Finally he mentions his own website which you may find interesting.
Sigmund Freud argued that aggression could be represented as an ‘energy’ that somehow builds up inside of us, causing us to experience tension and psychological discomfort and maybe ultimately mental disorders, unless we could somehow ‘release’ it, by indulging in aggressive behaviour…. So if you’ve ever found yourself ‘boiling over with rage’ and have ‘taken it out on’ something or someone to make yourself feel better, then you’ve been indulging in a bit of Freudian thinking.. Freud called this process of release ‘catharsis’.
If you are studying aggression, this idea forms an interesting discussion point: Most of the social approaches imply to us that taking part in, or viewing, aggressive behaviours somehow increases the likelihood of our committing further aggressive acts, whereas for Freud the release of pent-up energy through a violent act actually decreases our inclination to be violent – So maybe you should go and beat up an inflatable children’s toy next time someone winds you up…
There’s an easy way to test this of course: Head over here and have a quick arm wrestle with the man himself. If you come away from the experience feeling noticeably more calm and relaxed, then Sigmund has the argument nailed. If you find yourself a boiling mass of frustrated rage with a broken keyboard, well… then maybe not, but please note that, either way, we here at the Cat & Dogs Book Publishing Company Inc. can accept absolutely no responsibility for damaged computer equipment and patrons take on the mighty Sigmund entirely at their own risk.