urce of the stress will be resolved and the body begins to recover and restore balance. This stage requires physiological resources, which, if not quickly resolved, can eventually be depleted and lead to exhaustion.
3. Exhaustion - This stage does not always occur, but if it does then the stressor has lasted too long and will start to cause damage to the body, including a depressed immune system. There can be damage to nerve cells in both tissues and organs. Thought processes and memory may become impaired. The mind and body are unable to maintain normal function even after the stressor itself has subsided and symptoms may reappear (sweating, increased heart rate, dizziness, sleep dysfunction, etc.).
If the stages of resistance and exhaustion last for an extended period of time both psychological and physical illnesses can manifest, including but not limited to diabetes, ulcers, digestive problems, immune system diseases, cardiovascular disease, anxiety and depression.
Good Stress versus Bad Stress
In 1975 Selye made a distinction between good and bad stress. The challenges or changes a person feels good about, he called "eustress"; those a person feels bad about was referred to as "distress." Both of these, he observed, resulted in the activation of the General Adaptation Syndrome. The basic difference between the two is in how an individual reacts and accepts the stressor. The same stressor can be perceived differently by various individuals - for one person a trip to a new place can be seen as an exciting adventure, for another it can be a fear of the unknown. It depends on the person's expectations as well as his or her previous experiences. Both eustress and distress, claimed Selye, will affect the body's defense mechanisms.
Modern Research Into Stress
It wasn't until the 1960s that academic psychologists began to incorporate Selye's ideas into their practices - seeking to calculate and understand "life stress" by creating methods to score significant life events. At that time researchers began to study and ultimately realize the correlation between stress and disease. Since then scientists and other researchers have focused on trying to understand how stress relates to all areas of physiology and human functioning in general.
Around the same time, and perhaps as an antidote to the newfound realization of the stresses of modern life, massage therapy was moving from the realm of the medical profession into the counterculture world, along with a resurgence of interest in Eastern philosophies, meditation and feminism. Between the 1960s and 1970s health and healing practices from the East, including yoga, acupressure and Traditional Chinese Medicine were introduced into the American mainstream.
In the 1970s the Esalen Institute in California introduced Rolfing, the Feldenkrais Method, Trager and its trademarked Esalen massage method to the human potential movement and the profession of bodywork.
Over the past 50 years more techniques and methods have been added to the repertoire of massage therapists, in part to deal with the physical ills of individuals, but mostly to counter the effects of stress on the body and mind.
How Does Stress Affect The Body?
If a person feels threatened, the body will reorganize its priorities to maintain homeostasis. Resources are moved from one area to another in order to better cope with the stress. These changes include:
• Reduction of digestion and elimination
• Lowering of immune function
• Release of neurotransmitters, producing heightened awareness
• Increase in heart rate and blood pressure
• Less energy going towards cell production and repair
• Hormonal shifts, such as an increased production of adrenalin and cortisol
If these changes are short term and end after the perceived threat has passed, the body will return to normal. If these changes persist well beyond the danger, the body will start to break down and react in ways that are counterproductive to good health, including:
• Abnormal sleep patterns (too much or too little sleep)
• Eating disorders (over or under eating to the