So far we have discussed cases in which the nervous element is very obvious. Now we must consider a group of diseases which, although of nervous origin, appear at first sight, to have little in common with the complaints we have already considered. In those already studied, the mind has been chiefly affected, whereas bodily symptoms predominate in the group to be described.
The ‘stress diseases’ is the name applied to these conditions as it is widely recognized that they are the products of the stresses and strains, of our modern civilization.

Such diseases as thyrotoxicosis (toxic goitre), duodenal ulcer and non-renal hypertension (high blood pressure) are well-known members of this group.
In olden days when life was calmer and more leisured, such diseases were very rare. With the rush and hurry of modern life, they are becoming more and more prevalent.

Unfortunately, they attack the most useful members of society and therefore we find they are very common among the more intelligent, ambitious and hard-working. Those who are lazy, placid and without ambitions seldom suffer. Thus we find people living nearest to Nature, such as primitive savages, are completely free from these complaints. Nature, it seems, takes a heavy toll among those who disobey her laws; and the incidence of these diseases is greatest in the large industrial and city areas of highly civilized countries.

The familiar picture of the American ‘high-pressure’ business man dictating letters while gulping down quantities of milk and indigestion powder, as portrayed in the films, is no exaggeration.
Those who combine hard work with considerable responsibility and anxiety are potential victims of the ‘stress diseases’. Thus we find doctors and bus drivers highest on the list of sufferers from Duodenal Ulcer. Hard work, responsibility, irregular hours and hurried meals combine to produce that state of anxiety and nervous tension which leads to eventual breakdown.

Nobody can digest and enjoy a meal if he is worried and upset. Is it any wonder that a state of constant worry and anxiety can so derange the digestive process that a duodenal ulcer may eventually result?
Competition is fierce in modern times, and a person must first of all fight hard to make a place for himself in the world. If fortunate enough to obtain it, he feels that he must fight hard to keep his position. There is the constant fear that somebody else might come along to displace him, to drive him on. Right from the beginning there are frustrations and anxieties. He may have to choose a business or profession not because he likes it but because it happens to be the only one open to him.

For financial reasons, marriage may not be possible until long after it is really desirable. Often he may be embittered by lack of worldly success; and sometimes envy of those who have got on better than he has adds to his unhappiness. Usually there is little time for religion, and the gross materialism of this modern age provides scanty opportunity for the true appreciation of spiritual values.
Thus we have the situation where the individual is often forced to fight hard to keep a position in which he has no particular interest. Nevertheless, he is afraid to relax in case he loses his grip and is displaced by someone else. How different it was in days gone by, when life was more leisurely and a craftsman could take pride in his work, sustained by a strong sense of faith in himself and belief in the Almighty.
We have seen how the emotions can cause bodily symptoms.

Everybody knows that if a person is worried, he may get a nervous headache. Fright may cause the heart to palpitate. Unpleasant thoughts may cause the stomach to ‘turn over’ and even induce actual vomiting. Anxiety such as students experience before examinations is well known as a cause of bladder frequency or diarrhoea.

Therefore, although bodily symptoms usually predominate in these conditions we know as ‘stress diseases’, the fundamental cause is really mental, acting through the emotions. It is well known that thyrotoxicosis (goitre) commonly follows some emotional upset in young women: say, after an unfortunate love affair. It may even occur in men as a result of excessive worry. Duodenal ulcer is notoriously influenced adversely by worry.

One of the most characteristic features of the disease is the way the symptoms periodically wax and wane. The patient is always worse during times of stress and worry and almost certain to be free from symptoms when calm and relaxed. It used to be considered as a disease of men; but now that women are becoming more and more like men, in their habits of drinking, smoking, working and living generally, they have the doubtful privilege of sharing in this disease to an increasing extent.

Non-renal Hypertension - that is, high blood pressure, which is not due to kidney disease - is a new and increasingly frequent complaint of modern civilization. The exact cause is said by doctors to be unknown. It is known, however, that the arteries of the body are surrounded by a network of nerves. These nerves, working automatically, can cause the arteries to dilate or contract. For instance, when a person suddenly springs out of bed, the arteries in the legs must contract slightly; otherwise the blood in the body would drain suddenly down to the legs away from the brain and the person would faint. This is why soldiers may faint after standing to attention for a long time. As their nervous system becomes exhausted owing to fatigue, the nerves are no longer able to maintain the proper balance over the arteries of the legs. The diameter of the blood vessels increases and the blood tends to run away from the brain by gravity, thus causing the person to faint.
The proof of this is shown by the fact that the person can easily be brought round from the faint simply by raising the legs above the level of the head.

Another example of the control of the nerves over the blood vessels is seen in the phenomena of blushing. A word or action may give rise to an idea. This arouses a certain emotion, and a stream of nervous impulses dilates the arteries of the face and neck, and by bringing more blood to the tissues, produces a blush.
The opposite state of affairs may be seen when a person goes ‘pale with anger’. In this case the arteries are contracted, and so there is less blood in the tissues of the face, with consequent pallor.

It is easy to picture the effect of long continued anger, worry and anxiety. The whole arterial system of the body is slightly contracted as a result of the nervous tension which is generated. As the pipes or arteries are narrowed down, it follows that the blood pressure must go up. It will be seen that in all these so-called ‘stress diseases’ the real cause is the nervous tension which is developed as the result of fear, worry, anxiety and other strong emotions.

The tension discharges itself in the form of nervous impulses which upset the autonomic nervous system. This nervous system works quite automatically and is divided into two parts, the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic. Normally, these two parts are perfectly balanced, although their functions are antagonistic to each other.
For example, in the heart the sympathetic system quickens the heartbeat and the parasympathetic slows it down. In the eye, the sympathetic dilates the pupil while the parasympathetic causes it to contract. The sympathetic causes the sphincters of the intestine to contract and so prevents movements of the contents, while it stops the movement of the intestinal muscle. The parasympathetic has the opposite effect.

The tremendous importance of this automatic nervous system is seen when we consider the effects it has upon the body. Consider, for instance, just one part of it: the sympathetic nervous system. This is concerned with preparing the body for a condition of stress and enables the person to be ready for either fight or flight. It is especially active under the influence of fear.

As we have seen, constriction of the arterioles (small blood vessels) causes pallor of the skin. Stimulation of the sweat glands causes sweating while, by acting on the small muscles in the skin, the hair can be made to stand on end. The pupils are dilated while the heartbeat is increased. Stimulation of the adrenal glands causes adrenalin to be secreted. This circulates in the blood and so stimulates the endings of the sympathetic nerves throughout the whole body.

As a result, the arterioles of the whole body, except the heart, are constricted. This causes the resistance of the circulation to be increased and so the blood pressure is raised. Blood vessels of the skin and bowel are mostly affected and the blood is redistributed from these parts to the heart and muscle. In the heart and muscles, the blood vessels are dilated, so bringing more blood to these parts. As a result the person is ready to fight or run away. In addition, the adrenalin circulating in the blood causes the glycogen which is stored in the liver to be turned into glucose. The glucose provides more energy and is used up in the process of muscular contraction.

From this brief description it will be seen how the emotions, by upsetting the balance of the nervous system, can bring about tremendous bodily effects. When this is considered, it is not to be wondered at that long continued emotion can cause organic disease. Consider duodenal ulcer, for instance. This always occurs in that portion of the duodenum on which acid from the stomach impinges. Disturbance of the nervous system can upset the delicate balance of the nerves of the stomach and so cause more acid to be secreted than necessary. As a result of a constant bombardment of increased acid, the delicate lining of the duodenum may give way and so produce an ulcer.

It is significant that all these ‘stress diseases’ benefit from rest. Sufficient rest is said to cure a duodenal ulcer no matter what treatment is given. Certainly this is borne out by the facts. The usual medical treatment is a strict milk diet and rest in bed.
Equally good results have been obtained with more liberal diets, and one specialist claims great success with a diet of pork chop and peas! Rest in bed and freedom from worry, however, are the things which really bring about the cure. Unfortunately, when the patient has to resume normal life, with its stresses and strains, relapse is very common. It has been said, ‘Once a duodenal ulcer, always a duodenal ulcer.’

Medical opinion fully recognizes the importance of rest and relaxation, especially in the stress diseases. Patients are frequently exhorted to ‘take it easy’, ‘relax a bit more’ and ‘stop worrying’. This is, no doubt, excellent advice, but unfortunately the patient is not told how to relax or how to stop worrying. The body may be put at rest in bed, but much of the good resulting from this procedure will be undone if the mind is left to fret and worry. Drugs can temporarily deaden the nerves, but are no real solution to the problem, owing to their depressing after-effects.
In the British Medical Journal recently there was an article by an eminent surgeon stressing the value of relaxation from strain. This excellent article dealt with the stress diseases and indicated the importance of the mind and rest. Complicated operations were described to deal with conditions such as duodenal ulcer and hyper-tension (high blood pressure).

Procedures varied from cutting out portions of the stomach and duodenum to complicated operations on the sympathetic nervous system. Most of these operations were major ones and involved considerable risk of death. It is strange that no mention was made of hypnotism, although the importance of rest was stressed.
As we have seen before, extraordinary control over the autonomic nervous system can be obtained by this means. Blushing, for instance, can be easily cured. Worry, fear and anxiety can be simply abolished with consequent improvement in the patient’s condition. Perfect relaxation can be induced and the patient taught to relax himself and so dispel nervous tension at will.

Speaking of duodenal ulcer, this surgeon said that the condition could be occasionally cured if stress was relieved. But, he said, this may not be possible medically as it may mean changing the patient’s business, doubling his income or stopping his cigarettes! With all due respect to this eminent surgeon, it is suggested that by hypnotism it is perfectly possible to induce calmness and peace of mind without drugs.
Further, the patient can be taught to relax himself by auto-hypnosis and so dispel nervous tension. In these circumstances he can resume his normal life untroubled by worry and anxiety. He can even give up smoking or drinking without any particular hardship.

The following case is typical and well illustrates the value of hypnotism in the treatment of a stress disease such as duodenal ulcer. The patient, a doctor, had suffered from duodenal ulcer for many years. The condition had been frequently proved by X-rays and the patient had been invalided from the armed Services.
During his travels abroad, the doctor had witnessed many cases of cure by hypnotism and, as he had lost faith in ordinary medical treatment, he decided to try hypnotic treatment himself! He approached the matter in a rather sceptical frame of mind, but reasoned that ‘even if it did no good, it could do no harm’. Owing to the worry and anxiety over his condition for many years, he had gradually become addicted to taking large doses of sedative drugs.

When seen he admitted taking up to six grains of phenobarbitone a day over a period of years. As the result of hypnosis, the patient learned to relax and adopt a calmer attitude to life. Further, he developed the technique of self-hypnosis to such good purpose that the duodenal ulcer healed very rapidly although the patient continued with his medical work, which was of an exacting nature. Further, he was able to give up drugs completely as well as cigarettes and alcohol.
The patient was so well that when war broke out he was accepted for service abroad, X-ray showing no sign of duodenal ulcer. As the result of several years’ service in the tropics under arduous conditions and with no leave, the patient was eventually invalided from the Services as the result of tropical disease, not duodenal ulcer. In spite of his trying experiences, the patient was able to make his way in civilian life; and X-rays over a period of years have shown no return of the duodenal ulcer.

Any method which can produce such a result is worthy of consideration by the medical profession. Rest and relaxation are recognized and prescribed as essential in the treatment of the stress diseases. Hypnotism is the method par excellence of inducing complete relaxation of both mind and body, yet it is shunned by the great majority of the profession. Surely it would be only reasonable to give it a chance in combination with other methods of medical treatment, if necessary?

There is no reason why a patient should not have rest in bed and diet to help the ulcer to heal under the best conditions. At the same time, a few sessions of hypnosis could, by inducing complete relaxation, dispel nervous tension and so assist the cure. By removing worry and anxiety concerning the future, it could induce a calm and philosophical state of mind. If a patient knows he has a ‘secret weapon’ in his mind, as it were, which can enable him to let ordinary worries and anxieties of life bounce off him ‘like water off a duck’s back’ then tremendous confidence in himself is developed.

It is impossible to avoid situations which could cause worry and anxiety in modern life, but It is possible by hypnotism to make sure that they cannot upset the nervous system and so indirectly cause stress diseases. It is not necessary to ‘change a patient’s business’ or ‘double his income’ in order to cure his duodenal ulcer.

Such methods, besides being completely impracticable, savour too much of the defeatist attitude shown by people who, for instance, give a baby a dummy to suck to ‘keep it quiet’. We cannot all go through life wrapped up in cotton wool. Few people escape worries and anxieties under conditions of modern civilization. Many, however, manage to survive very well without developing ‘stress’ diseases, because they take the right attitude towards their worries and troubles. Those who are unable to adopt this attitude naturally can be taught to do so by hypnosis.