Coping With Stress: Stress Is Not A Psychological Disorder

Ask ten random people if stress is a psychological disorder, and you'll probably get ten affirmative responses.

Conduct the same experiment with ten psychiatrists, ten psychologists, and ten stress management experts, and you'll likely get 30 more "yes" responses.

But what if all 40 of these responses were actually wrong? Would that surprise you? Would it shock you?

Stress Is Not A Psychological Disorder

While it may appear that stress is primarily a psychological disorder….it is not.

Stress is actually a philosophical disorder. And while philosophical disorders often resemble psychological maladies, they actually arise from a different source. They arise from having a whole bunch of very poor philosophies.

For example, if you are a proponent of the philosophy that life is a "dog-eat-dog" competition, and the only way to rise to the top (and be happy) is to trample anyone who gets in your way….you're going to have lots of stress.

If you hold tightly (and with strong conviction) to the belief that your favorite personal theories about life are 98% true, and that there's very little chance you could ever be wrong…guess what? Yep, you're going to have loads of stress in your life.

And if you are a very manly man, and you believe women are the "weaker" sex…oh my, are you in for a whole heap of trouble!

How Good Are Your Personal Philosophies?

The examples above all represent very poor philosophies. They are deficient because they don't connect with reality. If you try to live by these philosophies, thinking they will help you succeed and be happy, you're going to be let down.

This is not a psychological disorder, like severe depression, severe anxiety, psychosis, or multiple personality syndrome.

Instead, it is needlessly suffering from bad personal philosophies!

Think About This…But Be Careful!

Take a few moments to reflect upon how good, or bad, your personal philosophies might be. But be very careful when conducting this type of inquiry.

You see, thinking about anything is determined, in large part, by your philosophies!

So if you've got any faulty ones inside you, they may keep you from honestly and accurately assessing this whole philosophical arena.

I wish this wasn't so, but after all—we're all human beings.

And to be human means, among other things, that whether we know it or not, ultimately we are all philosophers.

How happy, healthy, confident, and successful you are in life will be largely dependent on the quality of your personal philosophies. So, too, will be the amount of stress you experience.

That's because stress, at its roots, is primarily a philosophical disorder. It can affect any individual, whether or not they have a true psychological disorder.

Copyright (c) 2011 M.C.Orman, M.D., FLP

About the Author:
Doc Orman, M.D. is a physician, author, and stress coach who has helped people eliminate stress, without managing it, for more than 30 years. You can follow his innovative stress relief blog, and you can immediately download his free, 30-page, PDF stress mastery training Common Myths About Stress (no email or registration is required).

Coping With Stress: Stress Is Not A Psychological Disorder

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