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The Inner Game of Stress
Renowned sports psychology expert W. Timothy Gallwey teams up with two esteemed physicians to offer a unique and empowering guide to mental health in today’s volatile world. The Inner Game of Stress applies the trusted principles of Gallwey’s wildly popular Inner Game series, which have helped athletes the world over, to the management of everyday stress–personal, professional, financial, physical–and shows us how to access our inner resources to maintain stability and achieve success.
From Tim Gallwey
In every human endeavor there are two arenas of engagement: the outer and the inner. The outer game is played in the external arenas of daily life, overcoming obstacles in work, family, relationships and health. The inner game is played simultaneously within the mind, against such obstacles as fear, self-doubt, frustration, pain and worry, which produce stress and stifle fulfillment. When we master the inner game, we can handle the obstacles of the outer game without stress. This is the key to living well, no matter what curves life throws us.
The Inner Game of Stress is not about managing stress, but about building inner stability to prevent the consequences of chronic stress. The secret lies in knowing that you have choices about how you look at external events, how you define them, how you attribute meaning to them, and how you react to them mentally and emotionally. Every person has the internal wisdom to bypass those frustrations and fears that pull them into the negative cycle of stress. The Inner Game of Stress provides tools and strategies to help you do just that.
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Questions and Answers
What happens in the body when we experience stress?
StressThe brain perceives a threat and alerts the amygdala or the hippocampus, which along with the hypothalamus arouses the sympathetic nervous system, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands (located on top of the kidneys). The net effect is the production of the basic stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisone.
As a result of this hormonal activity, the heart rate and blood pressure increase. Blood rushes preferentially to the muscles. This is all in preparation for fight or flight. If there is a freeze reaction, the opposite occurs: both blood pressure and heart rate decrease.
The digestive system also gets into the act. The body understands that in a life- or- death situation there is no time to digest food. So the digestive process is turned off by reducing blood flow and decreasing digestive enzymes and saliva. The immune system contracts and becomes less active. The sexual and reproductive functions also diminish during periods of chronic stress.
The body is very smart. It knows what to do in response to a temporary crisis. But this systemic activity is supposed to be very short-lived. If the stress response continues and becomes chronic, the formerly protective activities become damaging.
