Exercise : self-explanatory; demonstrated to reduce stress in numerous studies. Socialization : the more time you spend with friendly people — the right people — the less time your body will think that it needs to fight someone or flee from somebody else. Find an outlet : find something that gets you back to normal; it can be anything depending on the person; in our case, is playing or watching soccer. But something similar worked more than perfect for both the Stoics and the numerous people who know the Serenity Prayer by heart.
There is a strong relationship between stress and some illnesses and a moderate one in the case of some other diseases. However, stress is almost always just a part of the equation. Everything bad in human health now is not caused by stress, nor is it in our power to cure ourselves of all our worst medical nightmares merely by reducing stress and thinking healthy thoughts full of courage and spirit and love.
Would it were so. And shame on those who would profit from selling this view. Like this summary? Sustained or repeated stress can disrupt our bodies in seemingly endless ways. Click To Tweet. As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria.
Instead, the diseases we fear-and the ones that plague us now-are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way-through fighting or fleeing.
Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humor and practical advice, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more.
A number of people were instrumental in getting this book off the ground and into its final shape. Much of the material in these pages was developed in continuing medical education lectures.
These were presented under the auspices of the Institute for Cortext Research and Development, and its director, Will Gordon, who gave me much freedom and support in exploring this material. Bruce Goldman of the Portable Stanford series first planted the idea for this book in my head, and Kirk Jensen recruited me for W.
Freeman and Company; both helped in the initial shaping of the book. Finally, my secretaries, Patsy Gardner and Lisa Pereira, have been of tremendous help in all the logistical aspects of pulling this book together. I thank you all, and look forward to working with you in the future. I received tremendous help with organizing and editing the first edition of the book, and for that I thank Audrey Herbst, Tina Hastings, Amy Johnson, Meredyth Rawlins, and, above all, my editor, Jonathan Cobb, who was a wonderful teacher and friend in this process.
Liz Meryman, who selects the art for Natural History magazine, helping to merge the cultures of art and science in that beautiful publication, graciously consented to read the manuscript and gave splendid advice on appropriate artwork.
In addition, I thank Alice Fernandes-Brown, who was responsible for making my idea for the cover such a pleasing reality. This book has been, for the most part, a pleasure to write and I think it reflects one of the things in my life for which I am most grateful—that I take so much joy in the science that is both my vocation and avocation.
A band of research assistants have been indispensable to the writing of this book. Page 10 articles into coherency. In the line of duty, they have sought out drawings of opera castrati, the daily menu at Japanese-American internment camps, the causes of voodoo death, and the history of firing squads.
All of their research was done with spectacular competence, speed, and humor. I am fairly certain this book could not have been completed without their help and am absolutely certain its writing would have been much less enjoyable. And finally, I thank my agent, Katinka Matson, and my editor, Robin Dennis, who have been just terrific to work with.
I look forward to many more years of collaborations ahead. The African fieldwork described herein has been made possible by the long-standing generosity of the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.
Finally, I heartily thank the MacArthur Foundation for supporting all aspects of my work. Finally, as will be obvious, this book cites the work of a tremendous number of scientists. Contemporary lab science is typically carried out by large teams of people. There is a tradition among stress physiologists who dedicate their books to their spouses or significant others, an unwritten rule that you are supposed to incorporate something cutesy about stress in the dedication.
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