Coontrolling Stress and Tension A Holistic Approach
- New Jersey Prentice-hall, Inc. 1979
- 242p
includes index and biblioraphy
Part I Body and mind in health and disease ...1 Introduction ...2 1.The evolution of mind -body unity ...3 2. What disease is ...8 Disease ..8 Organic disease ...9 Conversion reactions ...10 Psychosomatic disease ...11 3 The psychosomatic theory and the holistic approach ...15 Intervention points ...20 Techniques to minimize the frequency of the stress response ...21 Techniques to minimize the intensity of the stress response and reduce emotional reactivity ...24 Techniques to use stress and promote body consciousness ...25 Treatment of overt symptoms surgery and drugs ...26 4 Systems that control stress arousal ...28 The nervous system ...28 The endocrine system ...35 5 The Body`s response to stress ...37 The muscles response ...39 The gastrointestinal response ...42 The brain`s response ...44 The cardiovascular response ...46 The skin`s response ...49 Part II What causes stress and what is your stress profile ...51 Introduction .... 52 6. Psychosocial causes of stress ...54 Self -assessment exercise I ...55 Adaptation ...57 Self -assessment exercise 2 ...62 Frustration ...63 Self -assessment exercise 3 ...67 Overload ...68 Self -assessment exercise 4 ...72 Deprivational stress : The effects of boredom and loneliness ...73 Conclusions ...74 7 Bioecological causes of stress ...76 Biological rhythms ...76 Self -assessment exercise 5 ...88 Nutrition : The stress -Prone dict ...89 Self -assessment exercise 6 ...98 Noise ...100 Conclusions ...102 8 Personality causes of stress ...104 Self -assessment exercise 7 ...105 Self -perception ...106 Sef -assessment exercise 8 ...108 Patterns of behavior ...109 Self -assessment exercise 9 ...112 The anxious reactive personality ...113 Summary ...116 Conclusion : Causes of stress ...118 Personal stress profile summary sheet ...120 Part III How to prevent and reduce stress : Intervention and management techniques ...123 Introduction : The holistic approach to stress management ...124 9 Social engineering ...125 Strategies for adaptive stress ...126 Strategies for frustration ...128 Strategies for overload ...132 Strategies for deprivational stress ..137 Strategies for bioecological stress ...138 Greating your personal social engineering analysis form ...139 10 Personality engineering ...144 Strategies to enhance self -esteem ...145 Strategies for type Abehavior ... 150 Strategies for anxious reactivity ...153 Conclusion ...154 11 Altered states of consciousness ...155 The altered state ...157 Self transcendence ...159 Cosmic consciousness ...160 Roads to transcendence ...160 Conclusion ...166 12 Meditation ...168 Concentration ...170 Contemplation ...171 Meditation and the reduction of stress arousal ...172 How to meditate ...175 13 Biofeedback ...180 Interaction with the interior self ...182 How biofeedback works ...183 The many uses of biofeedback ...187 The mechanical gurus ...197 Summry ...199 14 Relaxation training ...200 Neuromuscular exercises ...202 Autogenic relaxation training ...215 Summary ...219 15 Stress reduction through physical activity ...220 Physical activity as treatment ...222 Physical activity in the prevention of disease ...223 Exercise for well-being tranquility transcendence ...224 Summary ...224 Activity self- assessment ...228 Epilogue : The inner nature of the holistic approach ...232 Bibliography ...235 Index ...239