The preceding sections have given a number of suggestions to reduce stress. In this section, we will cover a technique that is quite controversial but claimed to be effective. This technique, advocated by the psychologist David H. Barlow for treating anxiety disorders, is surprisingly simple to explain, although its philosophical and clinical implications are anything but.
He aims to reduce anxiety not by teaching any of the customary relaxation techniques discussed previously involving calming mantras or soothing imagery, but by doing just the opposite: forcing the patient to repeatedly face his most dreaded situation, so that, eventually, he becomes accustomed to the sensation of terror. This treatment promises to be psycho therapy’s ultimate fast track. While many clinicians praise its well-documented results, others take a dimmer view of what one clinician characterizes ‘torture, plain and simple.’
To give an idea of Barlow’s technique, we will look at an example of one of his patients. The patient is a 30-year-old woman who is afraid of flying. Barlow’s technique calls for her to take repeated plane trips till she overcomes her fear. In this particular case the patient was cured after eight trips or so. This technique can be compared to vaccinations for infectious diseases. In vaccination, we take a dead or weakened virus so that the body can learn how to fight the real thing.
Barlow’s technique claims to vaccinate the mind. There is considerable clinical research to show the efficacy of this treatment method. The supporters of this method claim that modifications of this technique can be applied to other psychological diseases like depression. However, this is not very convincing. After all, depression is precisely a problem of meaninglessness, whereas anxiety, one might say, is a problem of excess meaning. What good would it do to teach a melancholic patient that her thoughts are null and void? She already believes that acutely.
Furthermore, those in a state of severe sadness would probably lack the high, hopeful motivation that characterizes Barlow’s anxiety patients. You can get a jittery, willful person to fly repeatedly to overcome the fear of flying, but could a depressed person really find the energy to care?
I will conclude by saying that for some stressors (fearful situations), Barlow’s technique may help some people in over-coming their fear. If it does not work for us, we should not feel that we are weak or do not have the mental strength to just overcome our fear—that reasoning would be totally incorrect.
In conclusion it is important to note a few things. Stress is everywhere. Every twinge of dysfunction in our bodies is not a manifestation of stress-related disease. It is true that the world is full of bad things that we can cope with by altering our outlook and psychological makeup but it is also full of awful things that cannot be eliminated by a change in attitude no matter how heroically, fervently or ritualistically we may wish. Here is the important point, once we are actually sick with the illness, none of the stress management techniques can provide immediate relief.
Once diabetes has set in or the depressive attacks occur, treatment with medicines is our only option. Stress management should be used as a preventive treatment. We have the capacity to lead our lives and make such changes that we prevent some of the stress-related problems before they turn into full-fledged diseases.