Press Release

Press Release

Description

There's a whole new way to think about stress. Sure, some stress is inevitable, but being "stressed out" isn't. In fact, we can learn to rechannel the powerful stress activators in our lives to make us even more effective.

Hamlet spoke of "suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." These days we simply use the word "stress" to describe that feeling. And if you ask 10 random people if they feel stressed, chances are that at least 9 will reply with a resounding, "Yes!" Indeed, the very way we use the word implies that we are its victims as in, "I'm under so much stress" or "I'm completely stressed out." There s now a better way to look at this picture, a way to move from victim to victor. The first step is to look to the science behind it all because in the science lies a whole new message about stress. Science allows us to understand what the stress response is and why our bodies react the way they do. Like all living creatures, we're mapped to respond instinctually in certain ways, and generally for good reasons. We know, for example, that in times of emergency, we effortlessly shift into a different biological mode. Based on our perception of the crisis, our brains initiate the "stress response" or the "flight-or-fight reaction." Our attention becomes keenly focused. Our heart and lungs accelerate to ready us for action. Our glands mobilize extra energy resources and summon the immune system to battle stations. This whole process is Nature's way of empowering us to respond swiftly, sometimes dramatically, to sudden events, while remaining mentally alert and physically prepared to meet a challenge.

But what if the crisis situation does not present us with a foe to be fought? Or if fleeing is not the answer? Too often in modern times, the situations that bring on the stress response require neither the fight nor flight response for which our bodies are genetically programmed. The stress response is nevertheless likely to kick in just as it's programmed to do even though it cannot help speed us toward a resolution. Deprived of its natural successful result, the very system that s designed to protect us begins to cause wear and tear on our bodies actually bringing on illnesses as diverse and severe as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, ulcers, and increased susceptibility to colds and infections.

The good news is that there are definite things that we can do to prevent this process from ultimately taking this wrong turn. New research in brain functioning allows us to understand the reactions our bodies have to various stressful circumstances. That knowledge is power the power to harness the energy stored within us and to channel it in positive ways. The End of Stress as We Know It leads us to a new appreciation of the mind body connection so that we learn how to reduce stress and increase our overall sense of health and well-being and even turn aside the slings and arrows of life.

Co-published with the Dana Press.

Reviews

"McEwen's book is skillfully written and will appeal to a wide readership."
-- Library Journal, November 1, 2002

"McEwen tells a story rich with historical anecdotes... the authors contribute to a growing and welcome 'neuroscience news you can use' genre. They even tackle some broad issues like stress caused by socioeconomic inequalities..."
-- Nature Neuroscience, January 2003

"...the subject matter and writing are basic enough to be of interest to anyone interested in how to reduce stress."
-- Foreword Magazine, 2003

"...a good pick for students entering the field of neuroscience, as well as scientists in other fields who are seeking to learn more."
-- Publishers Weekly, October 28, 2002

"...[a] very readable book. ... I found this book to be a compulsive read. Although it is aimed at the general public, it is a serious work that will appeal no less to medically sophisticated readers."
-- Nature Medicine, June 2003

"It is the treatment of allostatic load that makes McEwen's book such a fascinating read. It is not so much the wealth of facts that have been brilliantly summarized in an often entertaining manner, but the concise and sharp conceptualization of the findings that show the reader how to improve both physical and mental health. McEwen artfully arranges the many pieces of the physiology of stress into a holistic mosaic with a paradigmatic leap towards holistic medicine. It is this leap that makes this work useful not only to the reader who is unfamiliar with the topic, but also to a reader who is aware of all the individual facts, but who perhaps has never bothered to compose them into the picture of allostasis."
-- Nature, January 2003

"a comprehensive review of the latest research on the biology and neuroscience of stress. The book is well written and, despite its technical treatment of the topic, interesting and enjoyable to read."
-- Personnel Psychology, October 2004

"...deals with the biology and psychology of stress, explained in everyday language... Each chapter is peppered with experimental evidence, animal and human studies, to back up the concepts, all explained in a light-hearted way. ... Overall this book is a great read. It is concise and scientifically authoritative but does not patronise. While reading this book, the endless hours of commuting through London did not seem so daunting. It was the end of stress, as I knew it."
-- Chemistry in Britain, review of Maria Pupulete, May 1, 2003

"The chapters reviewing the mechanisms by which stress leads to illness are written in detail, yet clearly and simply for an audience without a strong background in biology. ... Recent scientific findings are discussed with a clarity that would be accessible and interesting to introductory-level science or health psychology students, but the style of writing, in places, resembles that of a popular, self-help book for those interested in psychology, hormones, and health. Summing Up: Recommended."
-- CHOICE, April 2003

"Neuroendocrinologist McEwen translates scientific research on the brain and the immune system into lay terms for the chronically stressed-out. ... He describes simple, grandmother-approved steps--exercise, a healthy diet, regular sleep--that can keep stress in check, and then explains precisely how they work to calm a body down."
-- Book News, December 2004

"This is a rare and delightful kind of book. It is serious science, the psychology and biology of stress, explained by a leading neuroscientist. But it is also engaging and accessible, and it reads like a novel. If one wants to explore the legitimate science of this area, and also understand it, this is the book to read."
-- Larry R. Squire, Professor of Psychiatry, Neurosciences, and Psychology at the University of California, San Diego, and Career Research Scientist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego

"You think you know what stress is, but not like you will after you've read The End of Stress as We Know It. Bruce McEwen, arguably the world's most renowned expert on the biology of stress, tells you everything you need to know, including ways of dealing with stress. It's very informative, and a great read."
-- Joseph LeDoux, Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science, NYU, and author of Synaptic Self and The Emotional Brain

"Bruce McEwen's book tells us how thoughts and emotions get into the body to influence health. This outstanding scholar gives us a grand tour of the world of stress, based on the author's groundbreaking research; he tells us what stress does to us and how we can keep ourselves from being stressed out. An outstanding volume by a premier researcher, he is articulate and entertaining. Highly recommended!"
-- Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, Ph.D., and Ronald Glaser, Ph.D., Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research Ohio, State University College of Medicine

"Famed stress researcher Bruce McEwen draws on a vast amount of research (much of it his own) to explain in everyday language everything you need to know in order to make your life less stressful. Most encouraging are his suggestions for transforming unavoidable stresses into challenges, and his finding that 'a healthy attitude can confer a high degree of protection and resilience, despite one's circumstances.'"
-- Richard Restak, M.D., author of The Secret Life of the Brain and Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot

Author Biography

Bruce McEwen, Ph.D., is a professor and Head of the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at Rockefeller University in New York City. He is a pioneer in tracking the specific ways in which the brain influences the glands and the immune system and has appeared on major network programs in the United States, England, France, and Japan to discuss brain science and stress. McEwen lives in New York City.

Elizabeth Norton Lasley is a science writer with a specialization in neuroscience. Formerly a senior editor at The Dana Press, her freelance articles have appeared in numerous publications including Science. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she lives in Connecticut with her husband and daughter.

Authoring Organizations

• Joseph Henry Press (JHP)
• More Titles from JHP

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