The 10-Step Method of Stress Relief: Decoding the Meaning and Significance of Stress

195 Pages·2000·3.66 MB·English

by  Albert Crum

The
10-Step
Method
of Stress
Relief
Decoding
the Meaning
and Significance
of Stress
Albert Crum, M.D.
CRC Press
Boca Raton London New York Washington, D.C.
FM.fm Page 1 Tuesday, August 22, 2000 10:50 AM
The
10-Step
Method
of Stress
Relief
Decoding
the Meaning
and Significance
of Stress
FM.fm Page 2 Tuesday, August 22, 2000 10:50 AM
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Crum, Albert
The 10-step method of stress relief : decoding the meaning and
significance of stress / Albert Crum
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8493-0063-0 (alk. paper)
1. Stress (Psychology). 2. Stress management. I. Title: Ten-step
method of stress relief. II. Title.
BF575.S75 C78 2000
155.9′042—dc21 00-009774
CIP
This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material
is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. Reasonable
efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and the publisher cannot
assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the consequences of their use.
Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or by any information storage or
retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
The consent of CRC Press LLC does not extend to copying for general distribution, for promotion, for
creating new works, or for resale. Specific permission must be obtained in writing from CRC Press LLC
for such copying.
Direct all inquiries to CRC Press LLC, 2000 N.W. Corporate Blvd., Boca Raton, Florida 33431.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation, without intent to infringe.
© 2000 by CRC Press LLC
No claim to original U.S. Government works
International Standard Book Number 0-8493-0063-0
Library of Congress Card Number 00-009774
Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Printed on acid-free paper
FM.fm Page 3 Tuesday, August 22, 2000 10:50 AM
Preface
Welcome Reader!
You are about to embark on an important journey into an area of human
endeavor that, before now, was only a hunch or hope: expanded brain power
and stress relief, which many great minds have been able to achieve. It is no
secret that the full potential of the human brain is untapped in the course of
our daily lives and that even the scope of possibilities available to us repre-
sents an unmapped territory of infinite dimension. So it should come as no
surprise that the stress we confront in our lives—from the daily search for car
keys to the fear of losing a job to the death of a loved one—is not given the
full benefit of our problem-solving and coping abilities.
One of the most perplexing human challenges is the imposition and per-
plexity of stress on our lives, our relationships, our work, and our happiness.
And, while there are easily hundreds of books available to teach us how to
feel better in our stressful world, they focus mainly on our response to stress
and the symptomatic relief of stress, instead of on the source and the function
of stress. That can create, at the very least, a cyclical or repetitive pattern of
negative feelings, anxieties, and fears that must be addressed again and
again. It could also ignore the important perceptual/informational and pro-
tective function of stress.
By the time you finish this book and gain a fuller understanding of how
stress works, it is hoped that you may be able to view your stress feelings as
a friend who is only carrying out a perceptual function and urgently attempt-
ing to gain your attention. The often-noxious quality of stress feelings collab-
orate with their goal of winning your attention. To what end? That you may
be protected from harm and other less-than-optimal conditions. This takes
place by a remarkable and responsive process within your own body. When
you recognize how creative and informative stress feelings can be, you may
be prompted to comment: My stress feelings really look out for me. Their con-
stant watchfulness seems to say “You are being loved, warned and protected
by a dear friend.”
On the other hand, if we do not understand why stress feelings exist and
how they function, we can be overwhelmed by them. We can jeopardize our
ability to function effectively, make ourselves ill by physical hyper-reactions,
render ourselves ineffective by paralysis of thought processes, and lose a
sense of integration with the world around us.
The Percept Method®, developed by the author and detailed in this book,
provides a new process in the traditional stress management model. It
engages the intellectual problem-solving energies of your brain to accurately
identify the source of stress—the stressor. The brain has the capacity to char-
FM.fm Page 4 Tuesday, August 22, 2000 10:50 AM
acterize the stressor in terms of how important the problem is, how much
attention it deserves, what there is about the stressor that actually causes the
problem, what the actual feelings associated with the stress are (depression,
anger, suspicion, worry, apprehension), and what resources will be appropri-
ate and successful in helping to resolve the problem.
The benefits can be both immediate and focused on the present chal-
lenge—stress management—while also offering a path to expanded brain
power by utilizing unused reserves in the brain. In addition, with essential
behavioral reeducation, you can also learn to retrain your sympathetic ner-
vous system to respond more appropriately to a stressor.
One caution however: The Percept Method isn’t a quick fix. You will be
asked to work hard, and the more stressful the problem, the harder the work
may be. But, the rewards are commensurate with the energy you invest,
increasing your efficiency and success in coping with the challenges you face.
You will be asked to sharpen your perceptive skills, as Dr. William Osler
asked the young doctors who studied with him over a century ago. Largely
because of Dr. Osler’s “observation methods,” which became widely
adopted by clinics and hospitals across the country, American medicine was
revolutionized and became a model for the world. Under the tutelage of Dr.
Osler, the young doctors were taught “to use their senses in a simple and
orderly manner” (Bliss, 1999). His “observation classes” elevated perception
to an art. Now, you can apply the same principles of perception to self-obser-
vation, self-monitoring, and self-help, just as the young doctors were taught
to apply those skills to others.
Accurate perception and identification of the stressor along with accurate
perception and self-monitoring of stress feelings are fundamental principles
of The Percept Method. Attempting to manage stress without accurate iden-
tification of the stressor is like erecting a building on an unsound foundation
or establishing a thesis with erroneous assumptions. To pursue that course is
to be like the “man who built his house on sand” (Matthew, 7:26).
Without accurate self-monitoring, stress feelings cannot be readily per-
ceived in their initial stage. These feelings can then escalate and become pro-
longed in their effort to gain your attention. In the meantime, they can often
cause needless physical harm.
Various modalities or therapies may assist you to manage stress, but the
answers and abilities are usually within you. Do not hesitate to use whatever
professional, pastoral, or natural help is necessary to bring out your inner
answers. And, should you be in counseling or therapy, it could be helpful to
discuss the various premises and your questions with your trusted advisor.
Further, this Method is not intended for individuals who are required to
take psychoactive prescription medications, who have Sensory Integrative
Dysfunction, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or any psychiatric disorder.
Bon voyage!
Albert Crum, M.D.
FM.fm Page 5 Tuesday, August 22, 2000 10:50 AM
Overview of The Percept Method™
The Percept Method™ details the vital perceptual/informational/protective
mission of feelings. It focuses on stress feelings, because of their immediate
urgency. It shows why Nature made stress feelings the way they are: why
they need to be noxious; why we so often view these feelings as enemies; the
extensive means we employ to avoid the information they want to give; and
the consequences that can result to our bodies when we try to suppress or
impede the function which Nature gave these feelings to perform. It explains
why decoding the meaning and significance of stress feelings is often difficult
and why the process of changing physical hyper-reactivity is often slow.
Finally, it describes the benefits we can derive from allowing perception to
work. Examples from the lives of historic persons demonstrate their special
coping skills.
In The Percept Method, certain concepts and terms are presented either for
the first time or in a different light. The terminology of The Percept Method
includes the following which are defined in the Glossary.
Accuracy of Stress Data
Action Plan
Agression-Fear Stress Response
Alternatives
Basic Reassurances
Belief System
Cerebral Cortex
Change (essential, but slow and perplexing)
Code of Sentience
Cognitive (Cerebral) Engagement
Cognitive Evaluation
Cognitive Participation
Concept Crisis or Concept Danger
Continuum
Curiosity Response vs Anxiety Response
Danger invited by stress
Decoding
Dialogue of Feelings
Emotion
Emotional Literacy
Emotional Literacy Categories
Feeling
FM.fm Page 6 Tuesday, August 22, 2000 10:50 AM
Feelings exchange
Identification
Imaging-in the stressor
Introspection
Meditation
Message
Messenger
Misdirection Stress
Monologue of Feelings
Natural Relaxation
Neural Sensations
Neurogram
Noninterference
Nonmyelinated fibers
The Percept Method
Perceptual Function of Stress
Perceptual System
Perceptus Expansus
Perceptus Interruptus
Performance Stress
Personal Authenticity Test (P.A.T.)
Physical Reeducation
Pressured Thinking
Rapid Introspecter
Reciprocal Feeling
Retrieval System
Runaway Stress
Self-Evaluation
Sentience to Cognition
Sentinel Cognition
Sentinel Stress or Sentinel Alert
Sentinel Value
Stages I and II of Perception
Stress
Stress Accuracy Test (S.A.T.)
Stressor
Stressor Compass
Time and Distance Principle
Transcendental Principles
Unfulfillment Stress
Uniqueness
Virtual Reality
Vocabulary of Feelings
FM.fm Page 7 Tuesday, August 22, 2000 10:50 AM
Foreword
As a clinical neuropsychologist and educator for 39 years, I have been search-
ing the world for great teachers during my entire professional life. Fortu-
nately I found Dr. Albert Crum to be, as will you, like my dearest and closest
friend. He is the exemplar doctor archetype, a term that we may have forgot-
ten means “teacher or rabbi.” You will be touched by his clear explanation of
sentinal cognition, expressed with articulate precision, demystifying intuition.
Indeed, your new mind doctor radiates the truest definition of philanthropy
for the human spirit during our tumultuous plight, when stress is formally
confronted for what it is, “the hidden killer.” Dr. Crum warmly offers an invi-
tation to your psychological temple’s door for proper physical and mental
well-being to climb or skip over a few steps on your own self-directed path.
Dr. Crum’s program decodes the reader’s stress. Following each step, self-
assessment exercises provide individualized diagnostic checkpoints. The
Percept Method is written for everyone because it offers solid “self-help
intervention.”
As a distinguished internationally acclaimed scientist and humanitarian,
Dr. Crum teaches us to transform stumbling blocks into stepping-stones.
Both the conscious and unconscious minds are skillfully self-explored in sim-
ple language. When new terms are introduced, precise psychological expla-
nations blend with structured self-evaluation to achieve “combat strategies.”
Applied psychotherapy is offered to you as his reader (not as a patient) like
secret “acres of diamonds.”
Socratic logic through scientific information gives answer to our most com-
plicated predicaments through a “code of sentience.” This ancient language
of feelings is learned enjoyably and sometimes gleaned painfully. New keys
are individually cut for the reader, squarely prescribed on sequential evalua-
tion to disarm and eliminate harmful stressors. To counter unlocked neu-
rotransmitters, such as catecholamines, which can impede or destroy the
immune system, Dr. Crum carefully mixes an alchemical ingredient for “self-
help autoimmunity” through cognitive behavioral modification. Synap-
tic/axonal neural reorganization occurring with physical rejuvenation is
plausibly explained by the ancient Greek mind–body concept, as he clarifies
our symptoms and etiology. These symptoms regrettably enhance needless
physical overreactions and impair our intellectual performance through self-
imposed handicaps, but our author employs Virgil’s old adage, “Mind…
sways the whole mass.”
In our accelerated and frequently despairing world of rapid technological
change, mankind somehow evolves through crucial adolescence to a poten-