Rest in peace, Stress

	Stacy Innerst, Post-Gazette Click photo for larger image.

Before we begin, a show of hands please. How many of you experience stress on a regular basis? OK, it appears stress is a near universal phenomenon in the Pittsburgh area, with a few hold-outs in Sewickley and Fox Chapel. Well, we have news for you. You're not experiencing stress. You're experiencing life. Stress is dead. It's had a good run, rising from scuffling for spare change in the '70s to becoming one of our biggest industries. It's a catch-all responsible for our ills -- physical, emotional or any combination thereof -- not to mention the budget deficit, world hunger and the Pirates' sustained ineptitude. But stress is over, caput, finito, maybe even stressed out.

We know this from a new book, "The Truth About Stress," reviewed in The Scotsman. British writer Angela Patmore argues that stress is a myth and that the "stress epidemic" of the last two decades is "not only bogus but deeply harmful to society. Rather than encouraging individuals to confront routine concerns and thus overcome them, it turns them into 'sufferers.' " In short, life is, uh, stressful. Stop whining, and get on with it.

Any questions so far?

From the AP
• Man Buys Smoker, Finds Human Leg Inside • Coach Stops Runaway Horse by Biting Ear • Man Allegedly Tries to Use 'Blurry' $100 • Police Break Up Brawl at Chuck E. Cheese • Suggestive Card Ruffles Farmer's Feathers • Nerds to Auction Themselves to Women • Toilet to Tap? San Jose Probes Plan • Seattle to Allow Pygmy Goats As Pets • Yankees Rookies Dress Up in Oz Costumes

I see a hand up in Shadyside. Your question, please? "Does that mean no more lavender oil, Chinese herbal capsules and whale music CDs? No more getting our deep tissues massaged, our chakras rebalanced?" Not necessarily. All that is fine as long as it doesn't keep you from embracing life head on, Angela seems to be saying. She is dismayed that "stress" is part of our daily vocabulary, used to describe everything from a bad day at the office to the death of a loved one. "It's actually giving people the impression when they have negative emotions that they're suffering from a particular disease when they are just suffering from normal emotions." Avoidance will only worsen the problem. Take action. "It involves doing things that make people feel uncomfortable, so that people becoming tougher and they learn about themselves. That's the opposite of stress management, which tells people to remain calm and protect themselves."

Stress quote

"You can't tell me that cowboys, when they're branding cattle, don't sort of 'accidentally' brand each other every once in a while. It's their way of letting off stress."

-- Jack Handey, "Deep Thoughts"

Stress defender

Cary Cooper, a British psychologist: "It's silly to say that stress doesn't exist. It's always been in the human condition. Sometimes the pressure reaches a point where we can't cope. That's not debatable, it just is the case."

Robin Sieger, author of "Natural Born Winners": "Stress draws attention to things that need attention. But I would never say that stress is good. It can eat away at the core of yourself."

Phillip Hodson, a British psychotherapist: "The kind of stress we have got now is the stress that comes from being wired all the time. We are stressed by technology, we are overstimulated for far too long. . . There is such a thing as overload, but life without pressure is called death."

Job stress

Angela Patmore: "If the problem is bad management, poor training or overwork, calling it 'stress' can lead to the action necessary to improve the situation not being taken." Of course, being unemployed is worse for one's mental health than having a stressful job.

Cross-section of British stress

From BBC discussion forum:

"I quite enjoy stress caused by deadlines, etc., as they make me work hard, which is fun. However, I see people getting bent out of shape about the most absurd little things. The coffee machine is busted, and it's the end of the world. The printer has run out of paper, and you'd think someone's life was in danger. What's the solution? Import angry elephants to give people something to really worry about?" -- Rachel

"There is no way that any stress is good for you. Pressure might work for some of us, but stress is a negative state which causes biological and social illnesses. Good stress? There is no such thing." -- Nikolai

"I think we need to distinguish between pressure and stress. Pressure is good, helps us grow, builds character and makes our lives interesting and worth living. Stress is the inability to cope with the pressure. People today don't want to cope with pressure. They just want an easy life. NEWS FLASH: Life ain't easy; that's what makes it fun." -- Ben

"As an engineering student with relationship difficulties, I find attacking a filing cabinet with a claw hammer to be very therapeutic." -- Rob

"I think the person who used the word 'stress' instead of 'busy' should be shot. People are using the stress term too freely. When I have a 1,001 things to do in little time I am very busy, not very stressed." -- Nigel

"Angela Patmore, I suspect, has a comfortable and organized life where she controls her own work. Well done to her for spending years learning to a point where she can tell everyone who works for a living that they are imagining any stress they feel, and it's just because other qualified experts are telling them they are stressed that they feel so. What a relief! Thanks, Ange." --John

"The arguments that stress is imagined and people should just pull themselves together, are quite convincing. Indeed, I would have agreed myself had I not suffered from stress a couple of years ago. It was a real illness to me, and I would say that these people could not possibly understand it unless they suffered it themselves." --Bob

"Stress schmess. Drink more beer." -- Geoff