Stressed Out? You're Not Alone... and Neither Are The Alpacas Or Lamas!

By Cathy Spalding
www.gentlespiritllamas.com

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One dictionary defines stress as an action: “to place emphasis on; to accent.” Another describes stress as being “any deviation from the accustomed environment.” Dr. Hans Selye, renown for his work on the subject, described stress as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it.” Synonyms for the word “stress” include consideration, priority value, seriousness, anxiety, imperativeness, nervous strain, tense and tautness. Do any of those descriptive words feel familiar to your mind and body? They certainly do for me. Without a doubt, neither you or I… or the alpacas and llamas… are alone! A familiar discussion of humans and stress can lay a foundation for understanding how it is our camelids might react to stress.

The forward movement of time has just moved us through yet another fast paced holiday season. Lurking amidst the genuine excitement and joy can be a number of stress triggers both obvious and subtle. The obvious may be financial considerations, traffic, shopping in crowded malls or perhaps the feeling of inviting more visitors and/or visiting more different places in a few short weeks than we may have experienced over the entire previous 11 months. The more subtle and less obvious can include the rearrangement of our living environment. Our favorite mantel clock, oriental wood carving, rocking chair – those personal items we enjoy viewing and experiencing in our daily lives – are necessarily moved aside to make room for holiday decorations. This disruption of the habitual and comfortable norm in our daily environment can make a significant, yet often quietly unnoticed, contribution to stress levels.

While we all could freely acknowledge that the holiday season can bring on notable stress, what might be some ongoing stress triggers during what would seem our more “normal” times of the year? Some triggers are obvious such as moving, divorce, loss of work, death, weddings or serious illness. To a lesser degree there are situations such as waiting in long lines, co-worker issues, dental appointments, project deadlines and the flat tire. What might be some of the more subtle stress triggers? There are many. It could be the addition of a new puppy, shift in the weather or changes in diet. Some feel stress when on vacation or when a partner takes an unexpected day off.

We are all familiar with stress in humans. Dr. Hans Selye – known as the “father of stress” – first wrote about the idea of a stress syndrome in the British journal, Nature, in 1936. It described the process through which the body confronts stress. He explained that the body passes though three universal stages of coping. There is initially an “alarm reaction” wherein the body prepares itself for “fight or flight.” As this higher level/condition of excitement in the body cannot be ongoingly sustained, a second stage begins by building adaptation and resistance to the stress. If the particular stress continues over a longer period of time, the body will enter the third stage of exhaustion and eventual breakdown. Chronic stress changes chemical blood levels in the body that can have a very significant effect upon the ability of the immune system to appropriately function at healthy levels. Not all stress is detrimental to the body. Dr. Selye’s definition of stress being the nonspecific response of the body to any demand includes situations such as the body response to a good physical workout. A stimulus that may be pleasurable to one individual could be very stressful for another. For me, a ride on one of those colossal roller coasters comes to mind!

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