There's Good Advice for Me in Here Somewhere

Brain Is a Co-Conspirator in a Vicious Stress Loop, by Natalie Angier, New York Times, 8/17/2009, Page D2 of New York ed.

The Times has been reading my diary again:

chronic stress has been shown to raise blood pressure, stiffen arteries, suppress the immune system, heighten the risk of diabetes, depression and Alzheimer’s disease and make one a very undesirable dinner companion.

The article reports on new research that indicates that natural stress-fighting techniques can be habit-forming, even when they are no longer needed and actually may inhibit positive outcomes. In other words, chronic stress can become a self-sustaining feedback loop. No duh.

There's hope, though. It seems that rats subjected to Gitmo-like torture regimens that subsequently lost their ability to see any situation as non-stressful and turned into little automatons were able to regain their natural brain function by going on an extended stress-free vacation. That seems like a good prescription (doesn't it?), until you recognize one crucial difference between rats and humans:

In humans, though, the brain can think too much, extracting phantom threats from every staff meeting or high school dance.

I've been able to find small stress-free islands of calm and luxury, but maintaining that state is difficult. It takes a lot of focus to keep the nagging worries at bay, especially when one is engaging in a completely self-indulgent manner (such as soaking in a hot spring, my current favorite stress therapy) that holds no promise of providing a real-world way out of the rat maze.

Still, it is a little comforting to know that, when I feel better during and immediately after another 24 hours at my spa, it may be because I am better; a little bit of brain healing may have taken place.