The contemporary alibi

Stress, the contemporary alibi for every malaise: nervousness, dissatisfaction with the world or horror of oneself. Some people attribute this malaise to tiredness, to illness (stress, precisely) the lack of meaning of one's existence, hostility towards society and those who come to terms with it. Stress in English means "difficulty", "adversity", "pressure", "tension". In the collective imagination, then, this word triggers representations linked to effort, discomfort, in short, to any human difficulty overcome or to be overcome, even if the illustrious Hans Selye already in the years immediately following the Second World War succeeded in demonstrating that stress is also vital energy, an adaptive response, confirming that he knows how to keep his inner balance unchanged concerning the continuous external aggressions. His famous phrase from 1974 "Life would be boring without the challenge of stressful situations". And he divides stress into positive and negative: eustress the former, distress the latter. Selye means positive all functional and psychologically appropriate responses of the individual to internal and external stimulations. In practice, it is positive (eustress) the use of sufficient energy to overcome problems without affecting our homeostatic balance. And it is negative (distress) the use of excess energy to overcome a certain difficulty without respecting a personal inventory of one's values and problems.

Of course, perhaps there have never been so few moral defences against the labours of living, all the more so since intellectual honesty forbids us to adopt them, for our convenience and comfort, without perhaps finding a way out. To recover from this illness means to find the courage to enter into communication with ourselves and with the world, at the cost of a total or partial change in our own opinions; at the cost of finally having to admit that we have the right to make mistakes, that we can say no, that we know how to recognise the need to take care of others. etting away from work problems and spending time with the family can be an excellent source of emotional and moral support, but avoid abusing alcohol, smoking and other substances, which cause conditions that lead to constant stress. Develop positive attitudes towards stressful situations in life. Give up negative mental traits such as attitudes of fear, anger and revenge, which germinate stress. Try to return to holistic relaxation and techniques such as meditation, breathing and exercises (taking relaxing walks in nature), listening to music, healthy eating, buying a plant, reading a book, laughing and smiling more, in short, reshaping your lifestyle. In the case of chronic stress, however, it is always advisable to consult a professional. My way out of this disease so current, I found it in the importance of friendship, of the group, the fatigue of being people not too old-fashioned or too up-to-date, the terrible energy of being intrusive or conquering.