Stress pot!
It's a strange beast stress. On the one hand it makes people depressed, insomniacs and starvation victims. Then on the other hand you've got people who excel when under stress. They go from mild mannered to hero status and all as a result of a reflex that is supposed to invoke a fight or flight reaction in nature.
I am more than a bit stressed at the moment. Life changes and adjusting to new scenarios take even me out of my comfort zone. It has been an enlightening experience seeing how life continues irrespective of what happens and that we are actually able to control how we react to things, although only seemingly to a limited extent.
For instance, my brother had a devastating car crash now over 10 years ago. I was at university in Scotland at the time far from where he lay in the hospital in the US. His injuries caused him to fall into a 3 month coma and it was a year before he was rehabilitated enough to be released from the hospital.
The first time I saw him after the accident was almost 9 months later. I, of course, was kept abreast of his status and progress by my parents and spoke to him whenever I could. I soothed my sadness with alcohol and mountain biking (no, not at the same time!). However, what really helped me get through those dark months was a visit to an old host family of mine in Germany. As soon as they saw me, they put their two 3 month old babies in my arms and asked me to look after them. All I can say is seeing life in tragedy was the best therapy anyone could give me. The experience is one that I don't wish on anyone; however, it did invoke a change in me that has stayed with me since.
What is interesting is that there have been a number of situations and experiences that have shaken me since that crash and I have had a different reaction each time even though I thought that I'd cracked the "sensible" coping mechanism. Why, despite thinking I was becoming more laid back and relaxed, did still I sometimes react in the traditional way (e.g. drinking, insomnia, etc)?
I think it's because sometimes we want or even need to suffer. It has a cleansing quality like having a shower after something bad happens or a hard run after an argument. It strange that we have such masochistic tendencies and that they are actually to a certain extent healthy.
One thing that I have found out about my newfound laidbackness is that we all sometimes need a blow-out to let off steam. It's just a matter of finding what the healthiest way of doing that is. I have taken up cycling and hope that does it for me. Otherwise, there is always a nice cold pint of Erdinger…