What Causes Irritable Male Syndrome?

Stress and IMS

We all know the feelings. We've had another one of those days at work. One deadline after another and there isn't enough time to breathe. Someone always seems to be making more demands and no matter how hard we try to stay on top of things, we seem to be getting farther and farther behind. Many of us have lost our jobs. If we have a job we're often working more hours for less money. The economy is in turmoil. Our savings are dwindling and our hopes for retirement seem to be fading away. We all know the feeling of being stressed out. But what exactly is stress and why is stress-reduction so important?

In my experience as a psychotherapist, I have found that stress underlies most of the psychological, social, and medical problems people face in contemporary society, including IMS. For most of us, stress is synonymous with worry. If it is something that makes us worry, then it is stressful.

However, our bodies have a much broader definition of stress. To our body, stress is synonymous with change. It doesn't matter if it is a "good" change, or a "bad" change, they are both stressful. When you find you find your dream home and get ready to move, that is stressful. If you get a divorce, that also is stressful. Good or bad, if it is a change in your life, it is stress as far as your body is concerned.

We can't avoid stress, nor would we want to. Life is change and change is life. The problem is what happens when there is too much change in too short a time. We might think of the problem that leads to the Irritable Male Syndrome as "dis-stress" or "overstress." Stress is unavoidable, necessary, invigorating and life-enhancing. Distress and overstress can cause untold problems if not understood and prevented.

So, what can we do to relieve stress? There's actually a very simple answer. If you think about the kinds of stresses our bodies are designed to meet, they all involve physical activity. When a wild animal came into the camp of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, we either fought or ran away. Either way we utilized a lot of physical energy. It's physical activity that allows the body to attend to the stress and then to return to normal.

In our modern world, we usually don't have wild animals bursting into our living rooms. The stresses are more psychological than physical. Yet the reaction is the same. Our bodies release stress hormones that can only be dissipated through physical activity. So, if you build up stress every day, you must do something physical every day. Walk, run, take an aerobics class. As the saying goes, "just do it." You'll feel better and it's a sure-fire way to treat IMS.