Distress

DISTRESS

A Weapon of Mass Destruction

Brian Magrath

Brian Magrath has edited or authored three books in the field of human society and the important subject of stress and how it impacts on human health. He practiced in Sydney as a psychosomatic therapist before retiring to the North of New South Wales, Australia.

www.distressdefence.com

DISTRESS – A Weapon of Mass Destruction

Copyright © 2013 Brian Magrath

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Smashwords Edition

The information, views, opinions and visuals expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the publisher. The publisher disclaims any liabilities or responsibilities whatsoever for any damages, libel or liabilities arising directly or indirectly from the contents of this publication.

A copy of this publication can be found in the National Library of Australia.

ISBN:  978-1-742844-25-1 (pbk.)

Published by Book Pal

www.bookpal.com.au

Dedicated to Wendy, without whose help and encouragement, the world would still be waiting for a secure simple safe defence against the rising tide of distress.

Acknowledgements

With congratulatory sentiments to all the people who successfully learned and use these ideas to defend their lives against incoming distress, and whose lives as a result, have become splendidly healthy and enjoyable.

In other words, people who subscribe to the belief that better health means a better life.

Thanks to Robyn Robertson for encouragement and comment.

Contents

Chapter One

The journey we took

The male human brain evolves:

The female human brain evolves:

The female human develops complex ideas

The female views males in a different way:

The human female makes big changes

Chapter Two

The Guardian Concept

Getting to know you

The things you do for me

Chapter Three

Time and Life

What is time?

The If word

An acceptable concept

Who is this A.P.E.?

Chapter Four

The Others and Life

Pain

The personal circle

Chapter Five

The verse

Examples in using the Defence Methods:

Using the methodologies

Dreams, hallucinations and other things

Conclusions

Author’s Introduction

I am setting out to present you with a book about a real danger to the human species; I am writing about Distress, and its disciple, stress. I believe that stress is, without doubt, the ultimate weapon of mass destruction since it has a potential to destroy the lives and wellbeing of any person not defending against it. However, nobody need have stress about a potential enemy using this weapon, since we produce it and are quite capable of turning it upon ourselves. Stress has the power to target any human being whose defence is not adequate to prevent it becoming unwellness.

Every human experiences Incoming Distress.

I will write in simple terms, because [a] I am a believer in simplicity; and, [b] because the methodology, once grasped, is simple to use, but highly effective; and [c], so that all those people who think it would be to their advantage will be able to take up and use the well-proven distress management principles I am about to describe for you.

It was at least four decades ago that I first wrote these things, and over many years of thought, experience and application, I have devised the principles I am going to introduce to you, therefore knowing them well and believing in their efficacy.

Our knowledge of the human body and mind is an increasingly complex subject, as the boundaries of scientific knowledge are pushed ever further by research into the tiniest portions of the cellular, molecular and atomic particles of the chemicals which make up our internal contents. However, by simplifying the defence measures I am going to describe for you to use, [should you choose to], I have no wish to be dismissive or derogatory to these scientific advances, or to lightly treat their import to us all. However, I firmly believe that there may be another way to look at the research, and the methods by which we can defend ourselves against a potentially overwhelming torrent of incoming distress to our lives. I take this view upon noticing a current research effort focussing on the particulate contents of human minds and bodies, becoming increasingly nanoscopic, and leading, I think, to the possibility of not seeing the wood for the trees.

Since these defence methods I am about to describe ought to be available to everyone, the level of my description will be my own; that of a relatively unscientifically trained mind, certainly not qualified in orthodox medicine and therefore put in simple but eminently usable terms, and potentially successful in the outcome.

I write for the encouragement of the individual who seeks a life of simple ordinariness, devoid of the colours of anger, satisfied with peace and comfort, self-content to consider adopting these principles, in order to maintain a secure and lasting personal defence against all the distresses of life as they approach.

I want to paraphrase Charles Dickens:

It is the best of times; it is the worst of times.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, people indigenous to a majority of the land masses of this world practised traditions and led lives dominated by rules whose origins stretched way back along the past river of life and time in those peoples’ history, which, it might be argued, preserved their health by keeping distress at a minimum. The changes subsequently brought to the lives and traditions of those people have not always aided good health and wellness.

In the short space of time since 1763, indigenous people globally, may now be seen wearing T shirts displaying I L NY, with the ubiquitous baseball cap on their heads.

Some of the peoples indigenous to Africa, the Asian-Pacific region, Australia, Europe, The Middle East, New Zealand, South America, and the U.S.A., jet around the world in fashionable clothes and meet in leading international hotels, instead of around a communal fire, under a tree, in the local marketplace or meeting house. They are sharing the prosperity of progress in the human condition, in addition to sharing an increased common enemy - distress.

Meanwhile, the richer and economically stronger nations of the world have developed standards of health care that were totally unavailable and probably undreamt of a hundred years ago, and in most nations on Earth, their indigenous humans share in these advances.

I guess we have to take a look at what we mean by good health. A person with good health may live in environmental conditions which some others might regard as ranging from unfortunate to desperate and/or deplorable, and this thought focuses on what I mean by good health.

To me the phrase means being in a physical and mental condition, in which no pernicious or chronic disorder is present, and which permits life to be lived fully and completely, no matter the circumstances being experienced in that life.

I have seen individuals obsessed by the pursuit of good health to the extent that they maintain a permanent state of distress about what they eat, drink and how they live. Such is not, in my opinion, good health

I have a total respect for the brilliant and extensive research being currently undertaken into the workings of the human mind and body. Therapeutic medicine achieves greater progress and provides better care for human disorders than at any time in our history as humans; yet the incidence of several major disorders including depression, diabetes and cancer are seriously on the rise. An example of this trend is a recent prediction by experts in the treatment of diabetes who see a tsunami of sufferers from this disease about to overwhelm the globe.

I believe, as do the people who regularly use the principles you are to read about in this book, that distress in the form of unwelcome events in our lives, if permitted to become stress, has the potential to interfere with the abilities of our minds and bodies to maintain our levels of health, to such an extent that several disorders may result.

I have thought for a long period, and increasingly believe, that diabetes, cancer, asthma, I.B.S., migraines, depression, P.T.S.D., and a gang of other nasties have a causative root in stress.

I have no gold standard evidence-based proof for this statement and theory, beyond the work I have done in psychosomatic therapy, together with the evidence presented by the unwellness associated with traumatic events in people’s lives. But equally, neither is there proof to disprove the idea.

During the past twenty years or so, I have put the possibility of stress-related causes of cancers to major fundraising organisations established for many years, with annual incomes in the millions of dollars, as well as several leading research authorities, and there still seems to be uncertainty as to the causes of many serious diseases, and rarely if ever, is stress considered as a notable and crucial factor needing examination and research.

Looking at studies and internet reports describing the causes of many illnesses, produced by State health organisations, charities and pharmaceutical companies, stress is barely mentioned. If it is noted, it is usually way down the list of possible causes. Yet ask the person-in-the-street, at random, as I have done, whether stress causes illness, a universal acceptance of the premise is firmly expressed. I don’t hold this out as proof, but merely as a guide to what people think.

Since writing the above comments, a study published by the State University, Columbus Ohio, in the U.S.A., has produced evidence that cancer and possibly diabetes may have a causative root in stress, by virtue of the effect of stress on certain important chemicals within the human body. Early days, yet going down the right road, I think.

As an older member of society, I have witnessed the extraordinary explosion during a few short years, the widespread use of many electronic gizmos. Walking in a city street, I have been approached by a total stranger talking directly at me as though in greeting, only to discover, as they passed me by without notice, that they had a device clutched to the ear through which they spoke with someone else.

I have seen many people, including myself on occasions, swearing and cursing in great distress at the fallibility of such devices. Mobile phones, with their amazing powers, now have the ability to bring distress continually to us; computers can do the same, particularly in terms of demonstrating by the exposing of huge volumes of information to the average individual [like me], how little we know.

This is not purely an Australian problem, it exists throughout the richer peoples of the world and begins to affect the emerging nations of the so-called third world, and in that case the problem expands as more of their populations achieve the material benefits and accompanying distresses of the wealthier areas.

The ready ability of distressful events to become stress within human minds and bodies, even in so-called primitive societies, has developed in tandem with that progress.

I am setting out to write a book about the philosophy of living whatever life you find yourself living, whilst enjoying the maximum degree of wellness available to you.

I want to mention the people who, in a way, participated in this work, and they number thousands. Most of them are the individuals who have used the principles described in this book, over many years for therapeutic purposes, and they contributed in a very real way to the development of its efficacy; for example, the people who took part in the studies,[¹

]which have demonstrated the possibilities of these defence methods.

There are previous works,[²

], which contribute to this entire subject of human contentment, peace and wellbeing.

Just by being alive in this incredible, ever-widening, information-rich environment that we have created, it is possible for any human being to notice that there is an interfering and overwhelming increase in the amount of Incoming Distress [I.D.], swamping the world and much of it is allowed by individuals to become stress within their bodies and minds. Since recorded human history began, many writers have seriously and continually alluded to the problem of stress in humans as a causative agent for disease. I think that the reasons for there being a paucity of study about stress in scientific terms, relate to the complexity of stress and its outcomes in individuals. The reasons why these prospects of research into stress seem to be so scarce in scientific terms are presumably, complex. Researchers who might want to look and venture deeply into the problem of stress, must find this difficult because of its complexity in individuals; if it could be widely attempted though, then perhaps the theories upon which this