Prevention, not reaction, the key to minimizing stress

Five myths about stress

By Dana Becker, WashPost, Published: March 29

Dana Becker, a professor of social work at Bryn Mawr College, is the author of “One Nation Under Stress: The Trouble With Stress as an Idea.”

Stress is seemingly everywhere, a reaction to woes as disparate as war-induced trauma and the battle against rush-hour traffic. Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil say too much of it can be hazardous to our health, and we’re inundated with stress-management advice. Life coaches talk about working toward emotional fitness, as if we can perform Pilates on our psyches. But some ideas about stress and its risks are simply wrong.

1. Getting enough sleep, exercising and eating right can reduce stress.

To borrow from Bill Clinton, the answer depends on what the meaning of the word “stress” is. We use the term to refer to unsettling conditions or situations, such as unemployment, as well as the experience of being unsettled — feeling anxious or overwhelmed.

While it’s true that taking care of ourselves can help us feel good, steamed broccoli and 30 minutes on the elliptical won’t come close to mitigating stress. If that’s our goal, we’d be better off defining stress in terms of those unsettling conditions rather than our internal states.

(More here.)