The Stress Myth by Serge Doublet

Table of Contents


Published in Australia by Ipsilon Publishing 10 Sellicks Beach Rd Sellicks Beach SA 5174 South Australia Australia ISBN 0646393707	Published in the US by Science & HumanitiesPress ISBN: 1-888725-36-2 $24.95 286 pp. includes index, Table of Contents ISBN 1-888725-36-2

CONTENTS

PREFACE VIII
INTRODUCTION 1
POPULAR VIEWS 5
The existence of stress 8
Definitions of stress 14
The stress reaction 17
The nature of stress 19
Causes of stress 20
The effects of stress, including diseases 23
Dealing with stress 29
Contradictory views of stress 35
Conclusion and consequences 37
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 41
Early history: magic, the supernatural and astrology 41
The Greeks And The Romans 43
The Dark and Middle ages 45
The Renaissance 46
The 17th century: the Enlightenment 46
The passions, vapors and nerves 49
The nervous century 52
The 20th century 65
Summing up 77
LINGUISTIC CONSIDERATIONS 81
Definitional difficulties 81
Definitions of stress 82
Stress: an abstract concept 86
Abstract concepts: assumptions and implications 87
Vagueness of broad abstract concepts 89
Reification 92
Personification 93
The use of metaphors 94
Synonyms and interchange of words 95
The real meaning of 'distress' 96
The confusion resulting from the use of 'distress' 97
Language in the social context 98
Summing up 100
THEORIES AND THEORETICAL ASPECTS 101
Hans Selye's theory 103
Other aspects 107
Summing up 121
OTHER THEORIES AND CONCEPTS 123
Life events 123
The transactional model: appraisal and coping 127
The information processing and arousal model 134
The engineering model 136
Goldstein's homeostatic theory 142
Work stress 145
Summing up 148
OTHER THEORETICAL PROBLEMS 151
The teleology of homeostasis and stress 151
Summing up 157
Physical and psychological 'stressors' 158
Specific effects of physical 'stressors' 159
The search for the common non-specific effects 160
Common and predictable features of physical 'stressors' 160
Physical 'stressors': concrete and measurable 161
Usefulness of a classification of physical 'stressors' 162
Confusion between physical and psychological 'stressors' 163
Types of psychological stress and their characteristics 164
The use of animals in studies of stress 169
Summing up 172
PHYSIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF STRESS 175
Rationale and problems with the choice of 'stressors' 176
Alternative explanations for 'stressors' 182
Self-reports 184
The choice of 'stressors': summary 186
Rationale and problems associated with the choice of 'stress responses' 187
Physiological measurement of stress 189
Fluctuation of secretion 197
Attempts to explain decrease or lack of increase 198
Summing up 198
STRESS AND DISEASE 203
Introduction 203
The immune system 204
Disease in general 212
Summing up 226
AN ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION 227
The impact of life on health 227
The various use of the term 'feel' 230
Consequences of our reactions 232
The importance of feelings and emotions 232
The role of reactions in our life 234
Factors that affect appreciation 235
Fulfilment of expectations 237
Reactions to events 237
The role of imagination in "mental conditions" 239
Putting it together 242
The danger of prescription 243
How to deal with discomfort 244
Lowering the level of expectations 244
Intensity of the reaction 246
The duration of the reaction 246
Summing up 248
CONCLUSION 251
BIBLIOGRAPHY 259
INDEX 283

Biography of Serge Doublet
Definitions of Stress
Causes of Stress
Bibliography on Stress
Highlights of The Stress Myth
Table of Contents The Stress Myth
The Stress Myth- Home page

website - stressmyth.com
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