Is Stress as bad as its repute? Does one get addicted to it? And why? Why stress? Does stress have a good side? Is stress inherent to the mental creation process? (Yes it is!)
“Stress” as a word is very old, but the modern notion of stress as a psychological condition is very recent. I reckon that this has to do with the state of the world.
The word “stress” comes from Old French estrece from Latin “strictus”, a narrowness or oppression and the French French destresser, distress, “afflict with mental or physical pain, make miserable.” 1400s…. In mechanics the meaning of stress as “physical strain on a material object” is from mid-15c. The purely psychological sense in reference to a cause of anxiety is attested only by 1955.
So the notion of “stress” in the modern sense is very modern -1955. How come?
Human life is of course a disaster that ends up in death, and blessed are those who are spared enormous physical and, or psychological pain. So why should we stress out about stress in the modern age? Why didn’t stress exist before 1955 as a psychological condition and why the analogy with a material ready to snap?
One could say the condition, characterized by some elevated neurohormones [1], was not diagnosed before.
Maybe, but unlikely. Indeed these neurohormones released during stress are those of Jihad, combat, effort, struggle and human beings enjoyed those for millions of years.
So why the problem since 1955? Not enough outlets for Jihad, combat, effort, struggle, and release from suffering?
Stress involves the body’s autonomic nervous system, triggering a readiness for “fight or flight” …to deal with the stressor with these arduous physical ways.
Are soldiers of democracy fighting the blood thirsty fanatics, stressed? Not really: they are at war, in war mode.
Stress is supposed to arm, in preparation to bring release through combat or flight.
The occurrence of stress in modern society may be an indication of inability to reach release, that is to fight for one’s cause, or to escape to a better world.
So stress as a malady is an indicator of impotence. Stress is the chronic infliction of what should be an ephemeral condition.
But stress as a preparation for an effort, a struggle, a worthy jihad, some sort of humanely profitable heroism, is at the core of what made humanity possible… Because humanity self-evolved, self-created, by always demanding the impossible… From itself! We are going to Mars because our distant ancestors, ten million years ago, longed for the stress of the savannah.
That sort of stress, and even addiction to it, because we aspire to superhuman efforts, is not just good, it renders the human condition possible. For millions of years stress, as a preparation for the worst, made it possible to dine and drink… But also to evolve our capacities for our better ways, means and values… By putting pressure on the environment (stress!) which in turn favored the genetics it fostered...
Some will sneer that stress can become an addiction… So what? Most of the greatest human thinkers had to lead incredibly stressing lives to be who they were, and contribute as they did. Only stress enables to accomplish crazy feats… which themselves are symbolic of the divine character of the human condition:
Benjamin Vedrines, the world’s “ultra-alpinist” went down the nearly vertical, nearly a mile high north face of the Pic Sans Nom, Hautes Alpes, May 2024… [Here is his partner, the highly concerned Nicolas Jean, is pictured by Benjamin who just passed where Nicholas is] Notice the near vertical snow caused by a storm (“placages”). This is maximally rated extreme skiing. Smallest mistake, death. This was the second such face the two descended that day, after climbing them The ultra expert friend sounded more than a bit worried in a video. That face had been descended once by one ultra expert, ten years earlier... Nobody had been crazy enough to repeat it. Until now.
The unexamined life is not worth living, said Socrates, and yet, when properly examined, his life was found so unworthy, it was terminated. Life is a tangled knot. And in any case, stressful in the moment, and then vivid with action. Or at least so it evolved into. The latter part is now missing and mental life has become amputated. Meaning may have vaporized, gangrene may even have set in.
Patrice Ayme
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[1] Stress hormones and neurohormones are many, the stress system is very complex, and those who say stress is bad should wonder why something so bad is so incredibly complex:
Cortisol: The archetypical “stress hormone,” cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands (pyramids on top of kidneys). It helps regulate metabolism, reduce inflammation, and control the body’s sleep-wake cycle. During stress, cortisol levels increase to provide the energy needed to respond to the stressor by raising blood sugar levels and enhancing the brain’s use of its fuel, glucose.
Adrenaline (Epinephrine): Secreted by the adrenal medulla, adrenaline prepares the body for combat, flight, fight and Armageddon. It increases heart rate, blood pressure, and energy supply by facilitating the breakdown of glycogen to glucose in the liver. It was given to me, among other injections, by doctors as I was going into cardiac arrest consecutively to my left brain being flooded by the poison of the largest flying hymenoptera.
Noradrenaline (Norepinephrine): Also released by the adrenal medulla and by certain neurons in the brain, noradrenaline complements the effects of adrenaline. It enhances alertness, arousal, and the body’s readiness to act, while also constricting blood vessels to redirect blood flow to essential Armageddon organs like the heart and muscles.
CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone): Produced in the hypothalamus, CRH initiates the stress response by stimulating the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). ACTH then travels through the bloodstream to the adrenal glands, prompting them to release cortisol.
ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic Hormone): Released by the pituitary gland in response to CRH, ACTH stimulates the adrenal cortex to produce and release cortisol.
These neurohormones work together in a nonlinear complex feedback system known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. It enables the body to respond to stress, ensuring that energy and resources are allocated to optimize survival… or damage to the enemy. Chronic activation of this system without release into action, however, has an adverse effect. can lead to health issues such as immune suppression, weight gain, hypertension, and mood disorders… and thus cancer and cardiovascular disease (from immune suppression)
Patrice Ayme's Thoughts 