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Stress-Related Diseases

Dr. Swami Karmananda Saraswati, MB,BS (Syd)

Today there is an epidemic of stress-related disease in the technologically advanced

countries, and the developing countries are inheriting the same problems as they
adopt the faster western lifestyle. Hypertension, coronary atherosclerosis and cancer
are by far the biggest killers in western societies, and each is known to be causally
related to stressful living. Add to these the myriad other stress disorders: asthma,
allergic phenomena, peptic ulceration, ulcerative colitis, thyrotoxicosis and thyroid
deficiency, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, mental illnesses and many more, and you
begin to see the dimensions of the stress problem we are facing today.

In dealing with this epidemic, the doctors of the world are adopting a new systematic
approach to the classification, diagnosis and treatment of stress-induced illnesses in
their patients. Doctors now realize that the major diseases which they encounter
every day are the end result of poor adaption to stress.

Stress disorders are now recognized as a continuum spanning a number of years. In

a recent study, Dr. K.N. Udupa of the Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu
University, Varanasi, India has proposed the following classification of stress
disorders. * 1

1. Psychic phase

Here the individual develops psychological changes resulting from excessive psychic
trauma. As a result the central nervous system becomes overactive. He becomes
irritable and hyperactive and may develop mild tremors. His sleep patterns are
disturbed and he becomes increasingly anxious. He looks worried and may dwell on
impending disasters. The state can be objectively measured by estimating levels of
the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the blood, which are usually remarkably
elevated. This phase can extend from a few days to a few months, depending on the
type and severity of stress phenomena, and on the type of body constitution and
personality.

2. Psychosomatic phase

Here certain physical manifestations become evident such as palpitations, tremor,

raised blood pressure and rapid pulse.

3. Somatic phase

Here there is an increased function of the target organs. The stress disease usually
settles upon a particular organ, depending on a person's hereditary background and
environmental factors. One individual will develop a hyperthyroid state, another an
elevated heart rate and high blood pressure, another hypercholrhydria or elevated
acid level in the stomach, and so on. This phase can be objectively measured by
recording elevated levels of catctcholamines (adrenalin and noradrenalin) in the
blood.

4. Organic phase

Here disease fully settles down into a particular organ. The earlier psychosomatic
and somatic excessive functions settle down and chronic inflammation and organ
destruction begins. The individual develops the signs and symptoms of coronary
insufficiency, thyrotoxicosis, bronchial asthma, peptic ulceration or some other
clinical condition. There is plasma cell and lymphocyte infiltration in the target organ
and tissue destruction. Fibrosis progressively impedes the function and destroys the
organ. The end result is that disease states such as diabetes mellitus, myxoedema
(chronic thyroid insufficiency), emphysema and cardiac insufficiency develop.

These diseases are well known clinical entities and medical and/or surgical treatment
is indicated. However, the background of stress is often overlooked, whereas with
awareness of the disease continuum from phase 1 through 4, earlier therapy can
arrest the disease at a less serious stage. In this light, greater emphasis is now
being placed on preventive and community health as a way of confronting the stress
problem before it manifests in irreversible disease states. Doctors are taking the lead
in this direction, for they have both the respect of the community and the best
knowledge of the overall dimensions of the stress problem in our lives. Doctors are

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Stress-Related Diseases http://www.yogamag.net/archives/1979/ajan79/strdis.shtml

responsible for the health care of the community in the widest sense, and with them
rests the responsibility of leading the community back towards a more healthy
lifestyle and of providing more effective methods of coping with stress.

Dr. Udupa has found yoga therapy, programs of asanas and pranayamas combined
with relaxation in shavasana or yoga nidra, to be most effective in treating psychic,
psychosomatic and somatic phases of stress disorders. When these techniques are
combined with competent psychotherapy (using tranquillizing drugs on a short term
basis in extreme exacerbations of stress symptoms), most disease processes can be
arrested in the earlier phases before the irreversible organic phase begins. This is an
infinitely preferable course of action to the necessary medical or surgical intervention
which alleviates symptoms once the organic phase is manifest. Even in these cases it
is noted that psychotherapy and yoga therapy produce marked subjective
improvement in the patient's condition.

Many doctors are becoming familiar with yoga. But if the stress epidemic is to be
arrested, more doctors must know how to utilize yoga in their medical practices.
They have a duty to their patients who look to them for guidance and help with their
difficulties and problems. The long term use of tranquillizing and psychoactive drugs
does not get to the root of the problem, but yoga does. With instruction in the
correct yoga practices during the early phase of illness, both doctor and patient can
come to terms with the harmful effects of stress, paving the way for a happier, more
fulfilled life while nipping a major stress illness in the bud.

*1. K.N. Udupa, "Pathogenesis and Management of Stress Disorders", Quarterly

Journal of Surgical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Vol. 13, no. 2, June 1977.

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