I was speaking with a good friend of mine the other day. J. Brent Forward, MD is a well-respected and loved medical doctor with a very busy practice in Northern New Jersey. We often talk about the mind/body connection and how many patients come in for appointments due to illnesses that are caused by stress in their lives. I am sure he is right. We have many doctors refer their patients to the Center for Mindful Change. We help them adjust their reaction to the stress in their lives to become healthier and happier. I decided to do some research to see exactly how much of a problem stress is for doctors in their caring for their patients.
According to webmd.com, long term emotional stress can result in physical symptoms like headaches, stomach aches, insomnia, weight problems, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, heart problems, asthma, chest pain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, inflammatory diseases like arthritis, fibromyalgia and lupus, eye problems, sexual problems, anxiety, and depression. Just to name a few.
I read that 43% of all adults have adverse health effects from stress. People are unnecessarily visiting their doctors’ office each year due to these effects. According to Taylor Lynne Trentwood, over 75% of patients who find themselves in their doctors’ offices are there for stress related ailments and complaints. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) writes: “Stress is a hazard of the workplace, costing industry more than $300 billion per year”.
According to the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, approximately 55% of all Emergency Room visits are unnecessary. An average visit there costs $560, so if you are there unnecessarily, say for chest pain and heart palpitations that were caused by anxiety (rather than a heart attack), that is a high cost, either to you or your insurance company. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services (2006), the average cost of a doctor office visit is $121, also quite a price to pay for uncontrolled reactions to stress. And we can probably talk forever about the frustration and sadness we feel when our doctors say: “I can’t find anything really wrong with you”. We will visit somatization, which is a physical distress to the mental response to stress in a later post.
The human body is designed to accept some stress, whether is it physical (heavy lifting or being out in cold weather), or mental (trying to figure out how to make a shelter or trying to catch dinner). Humans have done this very well in the past, which has allowed us to live in our present situation. But when there isn’t a break in the action, and we don’t have appropriate coping skills for very demanding situations, we are likely to develop adverse health effects. A lot of people don’t realize that happy stress can be just as bad as unpleasant stress. I know someone whose Grandpa dropped dead at his surprise birthday party, right in front of all the happy celebrators. It is very important to become mindful of unhealthy stress in our lives and, without judgement (is this good or bad, fair or unfair), use acceptance of the situation as it is what it is.
We at the Center teach meditation techniques, being mindful of triggers for our reactions to stressful situations present, and how to develop a healthy detachment from things that cause stress, especially the stress about which we have no control. If your doctor suggests that you are under the influence of an illness that is an ill reaction to your stress, rather than an actual illness, it may be time to get some great advise about how to change that around.
http:/www.webmd.com/mental-health/effects-of-stress-on-your-body (2012)
http://www.healthylife.com/template.asp?pageID=75 (2010)
Trentwood, Taylor Lynne (2010) http://www.examiner.com/article/80-of-doctor-s-visits-may-be-unnecessary-the-health-care-budget-re-visited
National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (2006)