Stress

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Stress – The Final Frontier

Preface

I am an entrepreneur, A Social Psychologist, Once Married, twice shy, a one time parent of two children. I have had better days, I have had worse days. Stress as with any one has been part of my life. It is an all together integral part of life. I firmly believe one cannot live without encountering it at all.

Years ago a friend decided to take his own life. Being one of two people who responded to the suicide and that day forever changed my life. A few years later the other person who responded to that scene past away, from a completely preventable situation. He happened to go over that bridge on the exact day of the suicide of our mutual friend. To Brendan Roche and Brandon (Gypsy) Birch This I dedicate in your memory, You both have touched my life in ways that have placed me on my current path. Brendan you said I was not hungry enough, well I did a thing. To Gypsy you have made me watch for that shadow, and Every time I see it I know you are there.

Stress What is it?

Stress according to many scholarly folk is a physiological response to psychological stimuli or is it a psychological response to physiological stimuli? Maybe it can be both. For the purpose of this paper we shall look at the prior statement

In 1936 Hans Selye wrote in the Journal Nature about what he referred to as “General Adaptation Syndrome” in relation to physiological effects his patients were suffering that were not related to the disease for which they were being treated. Selye for reference was an endocrinologist not a psychologist. His theory postulated there were three stages in this syndrome.

  1. The Alarm Reaction – The precursor where the body becomes aware of the initializing event
  2. Adaptation – Where the body begins to enable counter measures to guard itself from the event
  3. Exhaustion – When the body depletes itself of available resources to deal with the precipitating event

Stress in itself can be both negative and positive, the positive form referred to as eustress. Both can have similar effects. Yes You can have to much of a good thing. And good Stress does not cancel out bad stress.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

The technical term for this condition is Myalgic encephalomyelitis. What do we know about this particular condition? Well not that much surprisingly. We do know that it is believed to affect people in the 40 to 60 year age range, however this is not entirely accurate. There are about 836 thousand to 2.5 million americans with CFS, and possible 90 percent more cases that have not been diagnosed. CFS seems to affect women more than men

Researchers have been unable to determine the root cause of this condition. This may be due to the fact that little education is provided to doctors and the condition is misunderstood and is not taken seriously by some healthcare providers. I think possibly the researchers themselves misunderstand the condition, and its causes. I believe that CFS is more closely related to PTSD and possibly even an addiction issue but not to any manufactured drug or naturally occuring stimulant save that for which the body itself produces in reaction to self induced stress. I think the researchers are missing the zebra in the field of horses.

PTSD

Post traumatic stress syndrome is a relatively easy concept to wrap your head around, Selves concept of the general adaptation syndrome applies quite nicely here. Stress related event, body adapts repeated exposure of precipitating event causes trauma and an inability to adapt and defend itself creating a fight flight freeze situation upon further exposure to similar events. But what Selves theory or PTSD for that matter have anything to do with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? Simply Everything.

OK so What is the Relation?

Every person I know who had been diagnosed with CFS and a some things in common

  1. Extremely athletic
  2. Over Achiever
  3. Workaholic

They also had one other thing in common, at some point prior to acquiring CFS to add to that list they suffered from some form of injury or life altering event that prevented them from being what they were before. OK so what? Well lets analyze the day to day going on in the life of an over achiever, athlete or workaholic. And lets apply Selves theory to it. These people are constantly on the move, constantly pushing themselves to the limit and are literally ready to hit the gas at a moments notice. Hey that sounds like an Alarm reaction. Puck Drops, ball thrown, Alarm clock goes off and bang gone. We are off and running literally. What is the Bodies response, release the endorphines, get that body moving ah adrenalin rush were feeling good now. Wait feeling good sounds like a high to me. Put your body on that mode for a prolonged time say several years. After years of this your body becomes accustomed to the elevated endorphines, and you start pushing yourself harder and harder to get that same rush, you need more to be able to function. Then something happens, your body breaks… literally, you lose your job or your house and now well all things are stop, no go. All the activity you had been party to is no longer possible. And your Body decides hey endorphins you do not need them so we are not going to produce them, or we might but just not in the quantities you want. All of a sudden you are tired all the time, no G.A.S. To me CFS is a physiologically induced Psychological Stress.

Conclusion

As I am not a medical professional I cannot say categorically that my beliefs are true, it is just a personal theory. I believe CFS is a psychological addiction response to a physiologically self created circumstance. Slow down and smell the roses before you are pushing them up.

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Published by Lugh Sulian

Lugh Sulian Standing on the Ledge · Rebuilding from the Rubble Lugh Sulian is a working name for a working moment. This profile exists to hold Standing on the Ledge: Rebuilding from the Rubble—an ongoing, real-time record of what happens after collapse, when old rules stop functioning and new ones haven’t yet earned trust. This is not myth reenactment. Not spiritual bypass. Not curated healing. It’s a field journal from the threshold. The name Lugh points toward skill, clarity, and responsibility carried with awareness. Sulian gestures toward sight—what can be seen when illusion drops away and pretending becomes too expensive. Together, they frame the posture of this work: to look clearly, act deliberately, and refuse to rebuild what already failed. Through short-form video, spoken reflection, and long-form writing, this project explores: Collapse without spectacle Responsibility without authority Burnout as a systems problem, not a personal flaw Pagan cycles as lived practice, not aesthetic Small fires instead of grand rebuilds This space is intentionally unfinished. It documents: Standing still without freezing Moving forward without rushing Learning from rubble instead of hiding it Unplugged-Pagan.com serves as the grounding—seasonal awareness, ritual stripped of performance, and meaning built from experience rather than doctrine. Standing on the Ledge is one expression of that grounding, focused on the human cost of broken systems and the slow work of rebuilding integrity. This is not a teaching platform. It’s a shared watchpost. If you’re here, you’re likely between versions of yourself—tired, alert, uncertain, and still standing. You don’t need answers yet. You need honesty, boundaries, and permission to move at the speed of truth. No conclusions offered. No certainty promised. Still on the ledge. Still watching. Still working the rubble. Godspeed. Optional Short Versions (for profile headers or bios) Short bio (Facebook / site header): Threshold work. Pagan-rooted, process-driven. Documenting collapse, clarity, and the refusal to rebuild what failed.

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