is stress a myth? the experts disagree
A group of academics in the UK and the US has claimed that stress is a myth. One of their main advocates, Dr Rob Briner, senior lecturer in occupational psychology at Birkbeck College, London University, explains this argument here. His case is outlined below. And Roger Mead, who works as a stress management consultant helping organisations and individuals deal with workplace stress, hits back and explains why stress is a concrete fact for many people.
why stress does not exist
by Dr Rob Briner, Birkbeck College, London University
© Getty
Most of us sometimes feel we just can't cope. We may feel overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, frustrated or just plain exhausted – and for perfectly good reasons. When things like this happen we tend to say we are suffering from 'stress'.
Not only the general public but also experts, such as psychologists and medical doctors, use this term to describe the causes of negative feelings. In other words, 'stress' acts as an explanation of why we feel bad: we feel bad because we are suffering from stress or are stressed out. Many GPs will write 'stress' on sick notes and we all sense we understand what someone means when they say they are stressed.
Using the term 'stress' in this way seems like an ordinary and sensible thing to do. Of course people suffer from stress. What's the problem with saying that?
The main problem with doing so is that what we are saying is effectively meaningless because, in a technical or scientific sense, stress does not exist. There is no medical condition or set of physical symptoms that can be described as, or define, stress. There is no particular psychological condition or set of feelings that define what stress is or is not.
a problem of definition
So what's going on here? Stress is a widely used term that we all think we understand yet it does not, in a technical sense, exist. How can this be? The main problem is that most of us, including most experts, use what should be an umbrella term as if it were a specific thing. 'Stress' is actually, in a technical sense, an extremely wide term referring to a huge range of different feelings, symptoms, and situations.
So in this sense, stress does not exist, as it does not refer to anything in particular. This is not just an argument about using the right words for the sake of it. When things are actually different it does matter very much what you call them. For example, someone may have a serious heart condition and believe the physical sensations they are experiencing are 'just stress'. Likewise, someone may just be experiencing the normal negative feelings of everyday life but think that this means they've 'got stress', and there is something seriously wrong with them.
harmful effects are unproven
Another problem with stress is that there is relatively little sound scientific evidence supporting what most of us believe are the causes and effects of stress. For example, while there are no doubt complex links between people's feelings and their physical health, the general idea that stress is a significant cause of illness has never been well demonstrated.
Another example is the current view that work is increasingly stressful. While work can cause people difficulties, of course, there is little evidence that it has become more stressful and we seem to forget that what is known to be very bad for people's health is not working but rather unemployment.
So if 'stress' doesn't mean anything in particular and if the evidence about its supposed effects is not strong, why is stress such a popular idea? One of the main explanations for the popularity of stress is that people like simple catch-all ways of 'explaining' why bad things happen particularly illness.
In other times and in other cultures we might have gone to our doctor complaining of suffering from 'nerves'. The doctor would have duly agreed with this diagnosis and written 'nerves' on a sick note. But is nerves a serious medical condition? Does it mean anything technically? Of course not. Likewise, in other cultures we may explain illness through ideas such as bodily humours or demonic possession. What are acceptable culturally as explanations are not necessarily good explanations.
getting the words right is just the beginning
So is this just an argument about words? After all, it doesn't matter what you call it, does it stress is just stress? This argument is not about words. First, it is about trying to be clear and accurate about what we are talking about. Different feelings such as depression, tiredness, and anger are just that they are different and need to be understood and treated as different kinds of things. It's not all 'just stress'.
The second part of this argument is about separating fact from fiction. In whatever way we choose to define stress, there is limited and in some cases no scientific evidence for the claims made about the effects of stress.
If you can accept that 'nerves' is no longer a useful of meaningful idea and does not help us understand or deal with human suffering, then perhaps you can also accept – in precisely the same way – that stress is not a useful idea. Worse than that, it is now a major barrier to understanding the rich diversity of the feelings we experience and the complexity of their causes and consequences.
For more about Dr Rob Briner's work visit the website of Birkbeck College's department of organisational psychology at www.bbk.ac.uk/manop/op.
stress is a fact of life
by Roger Mead, stress management consultant
Is stress a myth? In taking the extreme view that stress does not exist, Dr Rob Briner seems to want everything in life to be ship-shape and Bristol fashion. Those of us who spend most of our lives in the world outside of academia would take a somewhat different view. Life is never perfect, and expecting to have a perfect definition of something as complex as 'stress' seems to be illogical.
Stress as a term, is taken to mean different things by different people. Is that so wrong? By its very nature, human stress is an individual response to perceived pressure.
Individuals who are stressed will have their own understanding of what it means. It is important that people in need of help can start to describe their feelings and symptoms in a way that can be understood by others.
Once they recognise that they are suffering from whatever they understand as 'stress' they can then start to seek help. They might purchase a self-help book or do a web-based search for sites such as this one. Or they might seek help from their GP, another health professional or a stress manager. They can then start to understand their feelings better and take the first steps towards bringing some balance back into their lives.
stress and physical health
Most of the people I see suffering from stress can identify other simultaneous changes that have occurred in their general health. These include headaches, gastric upsets and flare-ups of skin conditions such as eczema. In the main these are caused by the well-documented hormonal changes that stress brings about in an individual.
Whether stress causes long-term physical damage may well be the subject of differing views by researchers. But this is a red herring. It is sufficient to know that an individual who is stressed is unhappy in their life and that they can take actions that will, to a large extent, let them live life to the full again.
If everyone was encouraged to take appropriate action to minimise the effects of stress, we would not need to worry so much about the possible long-term physical effects. Even so, there is a considerable body of evidence suggesting that physiological damage can be caused to individuals who suffer long-term stress.
stress at work
It is true, as Dr Briner says, that there is a common view that work is becoming more stressful. In reality, what seems to be happening is that stress at work is becoming better recognised. At the same time responsible managers are beginning to accept that there are some aspects of job design and culture that may cause stress to some of their employees.
There is a greater understanding that employers can now take actions which will enable them to help reduce stress at work while also meeting their legal obligations to maintain the mental well-being of their workforce.
Apart from the obvious advantages of a happier workforce, there are considerable cost benefits from tackling stress at work. Recent figures from the CBI show that absence caused through stress is costing UK businesses £10 billion a year. The Industrial Society has found that nine out of 10 organisations have had their productivity reduced by stress. Private health company Bupa calculates that 270,000 people take time off work every day due to stress.
All these organisations have no problem in quantifying the costs of the stress which, according to Dr Briner, does not exist. It is in the area of workplace stress that it is important that there should be shared definitions. In the UK, employers should use the Health and Safety Executive's definition of stress. This describes stress as:
'The reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them. It arises when they worry that they can't cope.'
This definition explains both the individual nature of stress and also the difference between pressure and stress.
will 'stress' go the same way as 'nerves'?
It may well be, as Dr Briner suggests, that one day the term 'stress' will seem as out of date as the expression 'nerves'. Perhaps in future we will find a better word. However, for the time being, it is all that we have. And at least it means we are at last getting to a situation where individuals who are stressed can begin to understand and describe for themselves their own situation. To take that away from them and to say stress does not exist seems to me to be a major backwards step, which could do serious harm to some individuals.
Roger Mead is a stress management consultant based in London. You can visit his website at www.beatstress.ndirect.co.uk or e-mail him on rogermead@beatstress.ndirect.co.uk.
help and info
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organisations
STAND
E-mail: editor@defeatdepression.org
Website: www.depression.org.uk
An information service that provides support and understanding plus the latest news, research and literature for people affected by stress, anxiety or depression.
websites
Stress – The Real Millenium Bug
www.isma.org.uk/stressnw/millbug.htm
Article by Caroline Raymond outlining the concerns of government bodies and UK employers over the effects of stress on their employees and the impact it is having on their health, their productivity and the economy.
The Stress Myth
www.pearsoned.co.uk/Bookshop/article.asp?item=72
An article arguing that there is no stress epidemic in Britain's workplace.
reading
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Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at Work: Simple Ways to Minimize Stress and Conflict While Bringing Out the Best in Yourself and Others |
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Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Men: Simple Ways to Minimize Stress in a Competitive World |
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(March 2001, resources updated April 2005)
