Conquering Stress

by Ted Hamilton M.D

It was the morning after. The morning after her visit to the emergency room, that is. She was 27 years old, an attractive young woman who appeared in my office at 9:14 a.m. seeking an explanation for her symptoms. Now quite composed, she told me that she had experienced an episode of severe chest pain with shortness of breath and a terrifying feeling of numbness in her hands and fingers the previous evening. She had been rushed to the emergency room for evaluation and treatment, and later feeling somewhat better, released with instructions to follow up with her family doctor.
"Have you been under unusual stress or tension lately?" I asked.
"No. nothing out of the ordinary."
"How are things at home? Any family problems?"
"No, the man I'm with is good to me, not abusive like my former husbands."
"How many times have you been married?"
"Four."
As we talked, a story of incredible coping emerged. She told how she was attending night school but finding it difficult to study in the daytime because of her mother's recent hospitalization, which left her with responsibility of caring for her younger brother. Neither she nor her husband (who had just been arrested for shoplifting) was employed, and the landlord was threatening eviction. She had undergone two major surgeries in recent years, and was a heavy user of caffeine and tobacco.
Her body was trying to tell her what she was unable to understand or accept on conscious level-that she was under severe tress and in need of relief. Admittedly, her story, while entirely true, is unusually dramatic. Most of us aren't faced with the multitude of challenges confronting this young woman. But we all must deal with stress, and the manner in which we cope has far reaching implications for our health and happiness.

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