[Note: The following is based on my notes taken at a continuing education seminar in Everett, WA on May 19, 2016, resented by Dr. Angelo Pezzote.]

Chronic Stress

The human body is not designed for chronic stress, which is ubiquitous in our culture and throughout the world. All levels of society are affected. Chronic stress damages the brain and is implicated in all causes of death. Chronic stress kills.

There are many contributors to chronic stress. Only one in five Americans exercise enough to overcome the buildup of stress toxicity. Four in five Americans are not sleeping enough. There is little or no brain protection for the chronic stress effects of red wheat, bad fats, sugar, salt, and fast foods in the American diet. Eight out of ten Americans are addicted to various things that contribute to chronic stress. Almost all stress factors are treated with medications when the root causes are life-style behavior. Medications induce their own degree of stress, addiction and contributing factors to over-all chronic stress. Addiction to the Internet in its various forms is causing additional chronic stress overload. Brain studies show that the Internet “lights” up the emotional control centers and dampen the rational brain centers. This is a perfect storm for addiction and addictive stress and it is getting worse over time. This is particularly damaging for the child’s and the teen-age brain. Children and teenagers whose brains do not fully mature until age twenty will suffer permanent brain injury and increasing susceptibility to chronic stress in the future. The brain centers underlying addiction processes do not habituate. There is no “off” button.

Chronic stress leads to dysfunction of the immune system which produces increasing degrees of inflammation, and this leads to disease in all its various forms.

In the US, one in five children is molested. One in four is beaten by a parent or parents. One in four are addicted to alcohol and other drugs. One in three adult couples engages in physical violence. More than 70% of adults are suffering from some form of untreated trauma. We are not a “trauma conscious” country. Inner experience is avoided and deadened by the use of drugs and alcohol and other addictions (including work addiction). There is no education in schools or in the health care system for how to become resilient in relation to stress and trauma.

There is little or no place in the biomedical model for the healing effect of touch.

There is almost no awareness or knowledge of how to work with transgendered individuals. More than 20% suffer severe trauma from harassment, 2% are assaulted in doctor’s offices and hospitals, and 41% attempt suicide.

The Childhood Adversity Scale shows that how children are treated and raised (from trauma to diet) is the number one health issue. A score of 4 or more on this scale in childhood is the most accurate predictor of early death from all causes. Nothing is being done about this at all. Childhood stress is a major contributor to later susceptibility to illness and disease.

In general, medicines are useless in relation to treating causes.

In studies comparing straightforward “objective’ treatment and treatment where the doctor expresses kindness and compassion, the kindness-compassion group showed a drop in primary care visits by 35% over the next year compared to the objective group. When the doctors show real care and concern for the patient, the patient responds better by 80% than in the “objective” group in relation to prescribed treatments. This illustrates that a major factor in treatment response is the patient’s experience and belief factors—not the medications themselves.

The health care system is lessening the degree to which doctors can be involved in compassionate care and thus disabling a major health benefit. This is one reason why results of health care are worsening while costs are increasing.

Doctors must begin to learn what is important and crucial to the patient and not just fill in computer forms.

Mediterranean diet continues to show the best health benefits of all diets.

Relaxation response is the most effective personal device one can use against stress aside from turning off stressors themselves.

Do not let computer reality replace reality itself. There is no substitute for person-to-person conversation, eye-to-eye contract and touch. The brain responds differently to reality than virtual reality.