Posted by Miguel (209.42.255.36) on September 08, 2000 at 09:55:32:
In Reply to: CH and Massive Stress Conditions posted by Q on September 08, 2000 at 02:18:19:
Long time no see....
I have repeatedly noted in the past that there is
a connection between CH and stress. Also, I
advocate the "distractive" techniques to at least
begin the recovery of the sufferer. The point you
made regarding denial is quite obvious. All one
has to do is look at the posts here. Lets consider
the common cures, or relief methods that many post.
There will always be respondents that agree with
the solution, while other will not. Somehow the
posters of negative results always have a question
or theory of why it did not work for them, and
"why doesn't the same thing happen to so and so
people that have the same life experiences and no
CH. Also, there is the other type
of poster that denies the solution as an absolute
and either directly or indirectly expect it to fail
for everyone else. The bottom line is that we are sick.
We have a disease. Disease requires treatment.
Consider how bad it is to go out in sub-zero weather
with pneumonia. Well, it is definetely far worse than
going out in the same type of weather without pneumonia.
The difference is that one person has pneumonia and the other
doesn't. The same thing applies to CH. For whatever
reason it might be, some suffer from the disease
and some don't. Therefore, when exposed to certain
conditions, be it dietary problems, stress, or other
aspects of life, some will have CH and will not. Denial is
abound, particularly among those who may have a
mental illness. This is in no way dissimilar to
alcoholism. How many alcoholics suffer from denial?
The stress issue is extremely important. Many seem to
believe that you have stress and wham! an attack is triggered
right then and there, or very shortly thereafter.
The body does not work that way. CH is not a heart attack
or a stroke. It is a complex syndrome, fed with
many variants, which develop over time. The syndrome
worsens for some to the point of becoming a chornic
condition, although some are apparently chornic from the get got,
or stays the same for the rest of our lives, or, in the
scenario, it goes away all together. I have noticed through
21 years of suffering as an episodic that stress does
play an important role in CH. Also, I have observed
that mental disposition, attitude and balance
play an important role in CH. Stress does not mean
an episode within a short period of time. It means that
you have been affected and should expect it, perhaps a month or two
down the line, depending of the duration of the stressful
period, as well as the intensity of such. Lets take for
instance the poster that claims that her CH started
during the best years of her life, getting married, etc.
I remind her that time and distance make the heart grow
fonder. What we felt at one time was a very stressful
time, ten, twenty years later may seem like a breeze because
of our maturity, and perhaps how complicated our lives have
become. Getting married is stressful. All the
organization, coordination, etc, etc, even if it
is just a couple with two bum drunks as witnesses
getting married in a courthouse on whim.
The point is that getting rid of denial is the
first step toward recognizing a problem. Recognizing
a problem is the first step toward finding a solution
for that problem. Finding a solution is far more
interesting and productive than counterclaiming
every possible situation that may help our condition.
Being an exception to a solution does not make it
a failure for everyone else, but only contributes
to providing more information to improve
on the available solutions.
Strees is an important factor in CH, thus mental well
being is essential and vital. Denying this axion
means that we want a solution to allow us to carry
on with a poor state of mind....because we like it so?
And, no...most things do not work instantly...keep at it
even if failure does happen often with the same
treatment. There is no magic bullet for CH, cancer
or the common cold. Why do many sufferers feel that
CH is like a two-aspirin problem? It is a convoluted
and complex problem that will take more than one
dose of whatever happens to be the drug-of-choice-for-
the-week, month or episode. The day we as sufferers
stop treating CH like a two-aspirin problem, that would be the
day that non-sufferers will stop treating it
the same way.
Miguel