As for the brain science: All our wiring is tied - directly or indirectly - into our stress pathways. The illness episode, we are learning, is often the downstream effect of stress.
The ancients and moderns are all telling us the same thing: Manage the stress. That way, you manage the illness.
So is there hope for CountryGirl? Yes. It turns out that she has come to the realization that she is an over-achiever. She often sprints when she needs to be pacing herself for a marathon. Can she change? Who knows? Undoing a lifetime of programming isn't easy. This is a job - ironically - for an over-achiever. My money's on you, CountryGirl.
As for Colleen, the good news is she has identified the issue. In fact, she is very adept at recognizing problem areas in her life. You might say she is a master of Recovery Principle Number One: "Know Thyself." She knows about the bean balls flying out of nowhere. She knows they are not going to stop. But she will start learning to duck. If she gets out of the way of just one in ten, well - 10 percent is very high interest.
Third rule of managing stress:
Some of the time is still a good result.
We all want complete turn-arounds right now. But recovery happens in increments - small changes over a long time. Nevertheless, increments have a way of adding up and multiplying - like compound interest.
All of us - whether we know it or not - successfully employ various stress-management techniques and strategies. It could be your own personal quiet time, such as a long soak in the tub. It could be a change of scenery such as a drive in the country. It could be a break in routine, such as a long lunch.
But it all starts with seeing it coming. By the time we are aware that a mood episode is coming on, it may be too late. But often we can catch the episode before it occurs, in the precursor stress stages. Think of managing stress as fighting Hitler in 1931 rather than 1941. Believe me, being proactive about 1931 is far less trouble than being reactive to 1941.
