Aug. 6, 2006 - I don't know about you, but a lot of people I know are feeling that life is increasingly stressful as our world seems to be spiraling out of control.  We watch helplessly as parts of our globe descend into madness and terrorism.

 

Middle East meltdown.  Global warming meltdown.  Nuclear meltdown.

 

What can you do?  Get involved politically; make your voice heard.  You're not as powerless as some people would have you believe.  As Margaret Mead once wrote, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

 

While you can't always change what's going on in the world, there is a lot you can do about how it affects you.  Stress comes not only from what's going in your life, but also from how you react to it.  When you practice some simple stress-management techniques on a regular basis, you can be in the same job, the same environment, even the same family, but react in more constructive and healthful ways.

 

These stress-management techniques are not about withdrawing from the world; they enable you to embrace it more fully and effectively.  When you're feeling less stressed, you can think more clearly and creatively, making it easier to find constructive solutions.  As a patient once told me after learning how to meditate, "I used to have a short fuse and I'd explode easily; now, my fuse is longer.  Things just don't bother me nearly as much.  So, I get more done and have more fun."

 

What can you do to manage stress more effectively?

 

1. Exercise:  Physical exercise is a great way to discharge stressful feelings that accumulate during the day.  Just walking for 20 to 30 minutes per day makes you feel better and look better.  Incorporate exercise into your daily life: park a little farther away, take the stairs, have more vigorous sex.

 

2. Enhance social support: The most commonly prescribed drugs in this country are antidepressants.  People who feel lonely, depressed and isolated—the silent epidemic in this country—are many times more likely to get sick and die prematurely than those who have a strong sense of connection and community.  Call a friend.  Get a dog.  Volunteer in a hospital.  Make love with your spouse or significant other.  Go to church or synagogue.  Have dinner with your family.

 

3. Breathe: Your breath is the link between your mind and your body.  It both reflects and affects your level of stress. One clue to let you know when you're feeling stressed is that your breath becomes more rapid and shallow.  When you become aware of this, remind yourself to take some slow, deep breaths, which will reduce your stress level almost immediately.

 

4. Meditate: You can meditate on almost anything—a sound, a word, a prayer, a song, an image or your breathing.  Interestingly, different cultures meditate on words that sound very similar—beginning with an "ah" or "oh" and ending with an "m" or "n," like a parent humming to a baby. Om. Shalom. Salaam. Amen. Ameen. These words are often translated as meaning "peace" because they help make you feel that way.  Close your eyes, sit in a comfortable position.  Take a breath, and say the word out loud, emphasizing the humming sound at the end.  When you come to the end of the breath, take another one and say the word again.  And so on.  When your mind wanders, just bring it back to the meditation.  Over time, your mind quiets down and you begin to experience an inner sense of peace and well-being.  You can also access your inner wisdom, the still, small voice within that speaks very clearly but quietly.

 

5. Try yoga: Gentle yoga stretches can relax chronically tensed muscle groups and increase both physical and mental flexibility.  Just as your mind affects your body, so does your body affect your mind.  When your body is more relaxed, your mind feels less stressed.

 

6. Cut down on stimulants (both physical and mental):  Caffeine, found in colas,  "energy" drinks, coffee, tea and many medications, potentates stress—in other words, it shortens your fuse and makes you more reactive to stress.  If you don't think you're addicted to caffeine, just try to stop drinking it; your body goes into withdrawal, and you may feel tired, irritable and fuzzy.  It's not pretty.  Slowly draw down your intake of caffeine.  Re-experience what it feels like to live without the constant stimulation of the television, radio or iPod being on 24/7.  While it's important to stay informed, give yourself a break from the news continually droning on about disasters.

 

7. Practice forgiveness, altruism, compassion, service: Chronic hostility and hatred are among the most toxic forms of stress.  When you are really angry with someone, you empower the person you hate to make you stressed out or even sick.  That's not smart.  When you forgive someone, it doesn't excuse their actions; it frees you from stress and suffering.  This is true for nations as well as individuals.  Otherwise, the cycle of violence continues and escalates from country to country and from generation to generation, fighting in the name of peace.  It takes strength and courage to forgive; those who are afraid to look weak are often the ones preaching vengeance and violence.  We remember and respect those who had the courage to be nonviolent, whose lives inspired lasting change for the better: Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr.  Similarly, altruism and compassion are powerful ways of reducing stress and transforming our lives.

 

You have a spectrum of choices; it's not all or nothing.  In my experience, consistency is more important than duration—even a minute of meditation each day can make a difference.  If you can't walk for an hour, walk for five minutes.  If you indulge yourself one day, eat more healthfully the next.

 

These techniques and teachings are part of all cultures, and all religions, in one form or another.  The ancient swamis and rabbis, monks and nuns, mullahs and maharishis didn't use these approaches simply as powerful stress-management techniques, although they are.  They are tools for transformation and transcendence, providing a direct experience of what it means to be happy and peaceful if we simply stop disturbing our natural state of inner peace.  These techniques do not bring peace and happiness; they simply help us to experience and rediscover the inner peace that is there already, once we stop disturbing it.  As the ecumenical spiritual teacher Swami Satchidananda often said, "I'm not a Hindu; I'm an Un-do."

 

In a way, this is a radically different perspective than the messages that we often receive, especially via advertising: that we are supposed to get happiness from outside ourselves by getting more, buying more, doing more.  Paradoxically, when we are more inwardly defined—i.e., when we realize that peace is our natural state until we disturb it—then we can go out in the world and accomplish even more, without getting so stressed and sick in the process.  People have power over you only if they have something that you think you need.  The more you experience inner peace, the less you need, and the more power you retain.

When you embody peace, people around you feel it.  You become an example for others to emulate.  When you meet hatred with love, fear with hope, that transforms yourself and those around you.  As Gandhi wrote, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

 

 

 

Dean Ornish, MD, is the founder, president, and director of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, where he holds the Bucksbaum Chair. He is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Ornish received his medical training from the Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts General Hospital. He received a BA in Humanities from the University of Texas in Austin, where he gave the baccalaureate address.