Chronic stress syndrome

Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, is a frequent subject in the news, a disease about which we have become more aware after nearly three decades of wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Its effects reverberate in our communities and too often in our own families. We think of PTSD afflicting mainly combat veterans and survivors of traumatic events, manifesting itself in well-known symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, irritability, insomnia, misuse of drugs or alcohol, and angry outbursts. It is a serious, often catastrophic illness.

Similar symptoms affect many people who have never experienced traumatic events, however. Irritability, trouble sleeping, alcohol or drug problems, bursts of anger at family members are common ailments. Since these problems are not a result of traumatic events but rather are due to the uncertainties, complications, and convolutions of daily existence, a better term than PTSD is CSD, chronic stress disorder.

Chronic stress and our reactions to it are epidemic. We see examples every time we take to the road in our cars: drivers who tail-gate, continually switch lanes to gain a few yards of advantage, honk out of frustration, give the finger to other drivers, and too often succumb to violent road rage.

Stress seems to be an inextricable part of the workplace, too, as employees worry about the whims of their bosses (who themselves are often under great stress), the health of their company or organization, incoherent policies of management that add frustration to each day and sometimes even result in people being fired or laid off.

The news is another source of stress. Radio, television, and the internet are filled with stories of looming disaster, rampant corruption, crime, and terrorist attacks, as well as accounts of all manner of tragedies: auto accidents, mass shootings, earthquakes, and fires that destroy entire communities. Taken together, it seems as though we are living under a damoclesian sword.

Then there is the issue of money, the precarious balance between income and expenses. Our economic well-being is, in reality, a fragile equilibrium that is subject to disruption due to loss of job, illness, or the vagaries of local and national economies. Moreover, in this consumerist society, there seem to be an endless array of expenses sucking at our bank accounts—car or mortgage payments, attractive “necessities” we see at the mall or on line, rent, tuition for ourselves or our children, car repairs, unexpected medical expenses that that our insurance does not cover for inexplicable reasons. For many people, the monthly credit card bill is a punch in the gut.

Adding to the stress is the increasing complexity of our lives. It seems that nothing is simple, whether it is our cars, dealing with doctors and insurance policies, understanding computer programs, or simply contacting a business or government agency. Our lives are dominated by fine print, call centers staffed by people who don’t care, assembly or operating instructions that are basically unintelligible, and gizmos that are expensive toys that add little to the quality of how we live. Every day we face “higher than normal call volumes” and “menus that have recently changed.” Not only are our calls being “monitored for quality assurance purposes,” but so are our entire lives.

The film Koyaanisqatsi, made almost forty years ago, captures many aspects of these factors that contribute to CSD. The title is taken from the Hopi word meaning “life out of balance.” The film is elegantly simple: a series of short, slow motion and time-lapse scenes of modern life. The sound track is a haunting composition by Phillip Glass.

There are few easy ways to address Chronic Stress Disorder, although there are many sectors of our economy trying to profit from it either through treatment (psychological therapists, yoga instructors, religious organizations, tavern owners, drug importers and sellers, gyms) or distraction (movies, television, sports, political movements, religious organizations—again). Ultimately, though, the best way to address this disease is to become aware of the situation and to try to avoid being caught up in the societal madness. The latter is, of course, impossible because we are immersed in a maelstrom of absurdities that pass for “normal.” Nevertheless, we can ameliorate the effects in several ways. First, we can try to understand that what often passes for normal is ludicrous, even if we are ensnared in it. Second, we can try to separate ourselves from it psychologically as much as we are able to do so. Third, we can protest to organizations that contribute to the complexity and bureaucratic hell that is so frustrating. Fourth, we can bear witness to others about these societal pathologies, particularly by laughing about it, which is a salubrious act in itself. Fourth, we can be alert for opportunities to subvert the System and act on those opportunities when practicable.