This is your place to publicly comment on the topics and issues addressed in Speaking of Faith programs. React in a personal way, and put into words what this program meant to you.

Submit Your Reflection about "Stress and the Balance Within."

Making New Memories (September 9, 2008)
Driving home to Grand Rapids Sunday evening after spending time with my 95 year old Father who is not retaining or "making new memories" (is how I like to think of it) I listened to Ester Sternberg talk about stress and realized that the hives I have been denying is probably stress related. It also makes me think of the driver's license renewal photo that shows the aging process on my face this past year — when I thought I had lost my license and then found the old and compared with the new … Yikes, it is taking its toll…

I have been making this trip, to and fro (120 miles one way), every weekend for the last five years. For me it has always been that getting up on Saturday, leaving Grand Rapids to make the trip was never a time I regretted in fact it was time I looked forward to spending time with my Dad. Now it hurts to leave him Sunday afternoons knowing that he probably won't remember the time we spent. And my biggest fear is that I will wake up on Saturday, and have to push myself out the door to make the trip to spend time with a shadow of the man I know as my Dad. Drat!

Deb F
Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA) (WBUR, 90.9 FM)

InterPlay (September 9, 2008)
I practice something called InterPlay, which is a creative community approach to unlocking the wisdom of the body. Through simple forms using movement, storytelling, song and stillness we find relief and renewal and build supportive affirming community.

InterPlay is in practice around the world, building peace and connection among cultures. It is practiced with those in grief and bereavement, with prisoners and children, with seekers and those in the last stages of life.
Thank you for the sensitive seeking that you bring to Speaking of Faith, regularly and consistently.

CC King
Concord, Massachusetts (USA) (WBUR, 90.9 FM)

Hope (September 9, 2008)
I enjoyed the program immensely. So much so that I was listening to it as I do every morning to NPR and my husband and I were getting ready to leave in the car. I told my husband to lock up as I need to run out to the car so as not to miss any of the program — which I did and I am glad I did.

I used to belong to a support group lead by a physcologist who always told everyone in the group that every physical illness is brought on by stress. I have found this to be true over and over again. Currently I am experiencing some stress in my life and along with it many physical ailments. Hearing your program gave me hope that if I can alleviate some of the stress the physical problems I am having will go away or at least get better. Thanks for the reminder and wish me luck on findiing more POP.

Linda M
Hiawatha, Iowa (USA) (KUNI, 90.9 FM)

Needed Change (September 7, 2008)
I listened to today's "Stress and The Balance Within", with Esther Sternberg, with interest — thankful in some respects that the airing is likely to nudge me closer to a lapsed set of routines I use to address the chronic stress that is available to us. I was pleased she mentioned our societal habits of "imbedded" stress generators. Not only our busy, plugged in, lives, but also advertising that reminds us we are vulnerable and should make some preventative purchase, and media headlines that rely on dramatic vocabulary to grab reader/listener attention. All these seem a steady influence, capped by "super triggers" related to fear of a political "enemy".

I became somewhat cranky, however, at the reminders that we are not to engage in self-prescribed approaches and treatments; that we must work in cooperation with medical consultation. "What consultations?" I wanted to call out? After 37+ years in the Canadian medical system, I now have the interesting proposition in my personal life of making it through whatever comes up with no coverage. A constant awareness for me is the frequency of public statements encouraging us to seek medical advice/treatment for various symptoms — as if this is routinely and readily available. A second constant awareness is that my own situation of lack of insurance coverage is amplified into the millions among my fellow citizens. A third awareness that is developing as I seek to share statistics and need for universal health care in the United States, is the disinterest in this topic among many (should I risk saying most?) who have coverage. In some ways, with a sense of irony, I recognized that I, myself, would likely not make this a "cause" if I had coverage, even if I found the coverage seriously lacking by Canadian standards. But here I am, making this statement as a call to interest, if not action. It may be possible in future interviews for you to enter a comment or question about those who are uninsured or underinsured in the United States when the advice to work in consultation with a medical doctor comes up. (Thank you!)

As it happens I spent some time this morning, several hours before the airing of your program, thinking about Post-Traumatic Stress Syndroms (PTSD). From my point of view, not only are individual Americans carrying residual stress from personal history traumatic experiences, but our war efforts — the very source of some of the most troublesome PTSD — cannot help but create huge amounts of persistent dramatic-incident based stress in children and citizens of — in this case — Iraq. One of listeners who wrote in reminded us that Blacks, and citizens of "lesser standing" have, across long stretches of time in our national story, suffered deep and affecting fears.

My point in bringing up this broader, societally entrenched description of our stress experience, and our societally entrenched (accepted?) "triggers", is to remind that meds, meditation, and yoga will not be enough — unless we also believe that we can "tone down" effect of our societal triggers, by strength of personal intention alone. Believe me, I have been trying to do just that — and I'm discovering it would be a big help if our social/political intentions were a bit more geared to wellness! I am immensely heartened at every public presentation that encourages us to believe in the healing power within our own bodies. (In fact, I'm counting on it — a few symptoms, family history, my own research, and remarks of my Canadian physician some years back indicate that I could eventually run into RA issues myself. I have opted to work with potential auto-immune conditions without measurements and meds, possibly a giant mental "placebo" response, but so far across a decade or more, I seem to be OK.) . I am pleased at every public presentation that causes us to understand western science is "coming around" now that it has devices that allow required measurements. (Mildly annoyed that it is taking so long, but impatience is one of my personal "issues"!)

It is well documented that those of us without health care are not inclined to seek medical attention unless/until there are no alternatives. A mixed blessing, to be sure — on the one hand we begin to explore alternatives, on the other we are without recourse to financial outcome should an emergency arise. The truth is, and I've recognized this for several months since joining the cry for universal health coverage in the United States, "fighting to convince" is very stressful indeed. I would personally let the topic go, except for the many millions who may not feel free, or may not be able, to speak up.

Stress, as we know, is ever with us. The "damaging" forms of stress we would choose to avoid, and/or address in "blissing out" (I include myself in this!). I seem, however, in position to learn we cannot separate "societal practices" from a goal of "individual wellness". It seems to turn out to be true that every action/non-action has its influence — not only on the individual, but also on the whole — not only within our borders, but also throughout humanity. Some — for instance caregivers of very disabled individuals, and individuals caught in their own critical care needs — may not be available to "social action". It seems to be turning out to be true that the rest of us do have responsibility — in our communication to acknowledge the full conditions of "humanity under stress", (thereby spreading the word), and in our action to alleviate societally based "harmful stress" when we discover it: nationally in our own who lack medical coverage; in teaching ourselves to "n ot bite" on advertising and media trolling for fear response, (including political ‘advertising'); and internationally in war torn counties where we have set our own youth to unconscionable tasks, and have set up conditions that further remove possibility of "wellness" from that country's citizens.

We will never be rid of "stress", even the "damaging" kind. But we can embrace the imaginative goal of doing so, and can examine conditions for needed change, and can choose to "make it so" — even if the goal continually shifts into the future.

Maggie Pate
Trinidad, Colorado (KRCC, 91.5 FM)

Crete and Healing (December 3, 2007)
I found SOF when Dick Gordon of The Story mentioned it. This particular episode is very meaningful to me. I live on Crete and am working to ease stress because when I overdo my body shouts at me to slow down with a painful rash on my face! It isn't as easy to stay relaxed here as I had hoped! My husband is a high-powered environmental engineer teaching and researching around the world. I have two teenage daughters (I don't even want to talk about cell phones, and our house has a wireless environment so we can use our computers to access the Internet 24/7).

Crete has many wonderful niches to experience private, quiet, healing time in nature. We went to a wonderful celebration at a small church tucked away on a mountain top. The host had promised God that he would build a church on the spot if God would heal the cancer that had entered his body. And it happened! The man was shining with good health as he invited us all to join in a meal prepared in the courtyard of the church he had built in honor of God and Saint Osios Onoufrios the Egyptian, who aids in healing.

Also it is easy to find well-educated caring medical doctors with all the most recent technology. I have found it so easy to find the medication and medical support I need here. In the U.S. the situation was just the opposite. So I'm happy to hear Dr. Steinberg's wonderful information. I agree with the two step solution; I find it easy to find scientific help and believe spiritual help is within my own power to embrace, especially here on Crete. I hope she will visit here again!

Vicki Nikolaidis
Chania, Greece (Listens to SOF OnDemand)

Personal Experience of the Impact of Stress and Health (August 22, 2007)
As a child living in India, I contracted a non-specific liver disease that, at the time, damaged my liver. After moving the USA at the age of 4, my parents and I found that a regulated diet and relatively quiet life kept the liver deterioration under control—so much so that by the teenage years, I was considered perfectly normal. With the exception of minor common illness, my health remained more or less normal. This was until about 5 years ago, when a series of hurtful and traumatic incidents led to severe depression and the gradual deterioration of my liver. I am now being considered for a liver transplant, and neither doctors nor I have no other explanation for degenerating health other than stress.

Mohan Sagar
Denver, CO (Listens to SOF OnDemand)

Stress Response Off-Switch (August 6, 2007)
I'm a clinical psychologist long teaching patients to use what Dr. Herbert Benson, a Boston cardiologist,researched and described in the 1970's as the 'relaxation response'. I'm surprised Sternberg did not discuss this in the excellent program on stress and the body mind connection. Benson further refined his research by studying what happened when subjects used a faith based word in their practice of the relaxation response—the effects were even larger and this is described in Benson's book, Beyond the Relaxation Response.

This information has been available and standard practice in the field of Behavioral Medicine since the 1970's and 80's. It was beautifully presented on video by Bill Moyers video series in the early 1990's, Healing and the Mind. I have long taught patients suffering from anxiety, depression, PTSD, and medical conditions to breathe, relax, and train their physiology to switch off the fight or fight response (sympathetic nervous system) and switch on what Benson named the relaxation response (parasympathic nervous system). Jon Kabat Zinn has also done copious research at University of Massachusetts on using the meditation practice of Mindfulness to obtain the same, measurable physiological effects. I'm just curious why Sternberg did not highlight this in her talk. She so articulately described the problem and new research, but left the solution fairly vague, when we really do have as much information about that as well.

Helen Daly
Brattleboro, VT (Listens to SOF OnDemand)

A New Healing (July 20, 2007)
I am 27 years old, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when I was 22, and was devastated to have this lifelong disease as an active young woman. With many pills of medication, I have come to a virtually pain-free existence, but have phases of time where my arthritis reminds me that I have a disease working in my body.

I was listening to Esther Sternberg's thoughts and research as I was driving to Iowa (to visit my mom who also has RA). Her thoughts inspired me to look into a more holistic approach to my health. While pill after pill helps, I do believe that I need to pay attention to my soul and mind as well. My rheumatologists do not prescribe meditation, just medication. I also related to her words about finding peace and how that can lead to healing.

I become discouraged at times when I think of how this disease weighs me down, but her words gave me hope. That is healing in itself.

Katie Hahn
Minneapolis, MN (Listens to SOF on Demand)

Illness, Germs, Work, and Accomplishment (July 18, 2007)
This was a very interesting program. It reminded me of a few notions I picked up along the way. It seems that modern science-based medicine is finally learning what others have known for millennia. You mentioned this in the program, but it's so "remarkable" that it bears repeating.

In most instances when I, as an adult, have gotten an infectious illness, I can attribute it to a shortage of sleep or to stress. This leads to my own "germ theory" of disease: germs are always around; they are available whenever you need them. You get sick when you let them take over. Of course, exposure is an important factor, and when medicine discovered germs, it made great strides by trying to reduce the transmission of germs. But that is, as you know, just a part of the story.

One of the strongest factors in making one feel good is accomplishments — that is, doing some work and successfully completing what one has set out to do. Conversely, a great source of work-related stress is not being able to finish my tasks. That might be a matter of the work load, or it may be about my abilities, but I often find that what I most need is the time and space to finish my work. Thus, to "get away" from my work — presumably to relax — is the exact opposite of what I need. (Now, I'd better quit this and get back to work.)

David Kantor
Baltimore, MD (WYPR, 88.1 FM)

Trauma Therapy (July 17, 2007)
I was so excited when I listened to Dr. Sternberg. I am an incest survivor and as I was going through trauma therapy to reprocess the traumatic memories into one's regular memory system — with the intense stuff I would often get a cold that would last for weeks and weeks. I finally made the connection that with all the negative energy, one must consciously choose to rebalance. Go to Gentle Touch's Web page, to Stories by Survivors and read what I wrote entitled "What is a Survivor." That is the piece that came to me first, but then I realized there was much more to write. So go to the folder "Incest...a Journey to Love" for it is a roadmap of my healing process. These are a series of writings that end with "The Impossible Dream."

Mary Ali
Beaver Falls, PA (WYSU, 88.5 FM)

A Couple of Thoughts (July 16, 2007)
You mentioned that since September 11, 2001 we have become a nation which is in fear, which is something we are not used to, whereas the rest of the world has been accustomed to this for centuries. It has not been that long since we were also elsewhere in the world. I believe we are in fear very much because of the commercial and political opportunities which arise out of creating this particular form of stress.

But what I really want to say is that I am glad to hear that "science" is finally progressing to the point of accepting the truth about the role of emotional well-being in our image of "good health." This is something which has been known for many centuries. I hope that there will be a lot more positive work done on the subject of achieving and maintaining balance in our lives. I only hope that the drug companies do not get a patent on it before it becomes "common knowledge."

Tom Cook
Asheville, NC (WCQS, 88.1 FM)

Unplugged (July 16, 2007)
I was very (very!) surprised at a moment in your discussion with Dr. Esther Sternberg about stress. Dr. Sternberg in an off-hand way mentioned that she couldn't use her computer when she went away with her friends because she didn't have the right adaptor. The conversation sped along about her miraculous recovery, etc. In an off-the-cuff way, in fact, she mentioned that her hosts were disappointed that she couldn't use her computer to record all of her insights that occurred on this break.

It seems to me that a nice long scientific look (or at least a sentence or two in your conversation) might be addressed to the topic of not able using a computer for days on end. And how this might have contributed to the quality of her insights, to having more physical activity which is beneficial, to being able to focus and sustain a thought, to being away from electromagnetism (debatable and yet), and so on.

Jane Nisselson
New York, NY (WNYC, 93.9 FM)

Healing Balance in Prison (July 16, 2007)
Today's SOF sparkled for me, so many truths lighting up and highlighting fundamentals I so often use in the work I do. I work to help others heal, but not physically. I work with prison inmates, striving toward personal healing of a more social nature. I teach with the Thresholds program, teaching incarcerated individuals decision-making skills. Thresholds emphasizes gaining self-control through conscious decision making, resisting reacting on just emotions.

We teach a specific six-step decision-making process, but we also teach many ideas and concepts that underlie the idea of decision making and self control. So many things Esther Sternberg says correspond with and reinforce the things we teach in Thresholds. We talk much about how our perceptions influence our feelings and behaviors. We teach "objective self-awareness," stepping back and looking at oneself and one's situations. We talk about "gifts and limits" in situations and "internal elements and external elements" or "facts and feelings" in a situation. These things are about balance, how the external influences the internal and vice versa, and when an individual recognizes all this and how it works he or she can use it in the decisions he/she makes in life.

The neurological aspect of things is interesting. At the state prison where I volunteer, teach, and coordinate the Thresholds program, many of our clients are drug offenders. Of course drug and alcohol use is very much about neural connections, synapses, and neurotransmitters. Being in prison and learning to handle life so as not to return is very much about healing and disease.

And as for finding beauty and awe inspiring experiences in life, that is all well and good, but poor folks in the inner city cannot see ocean vistas or even sunsets. Prison is even more limiting. Finding beauty for them can be hard — maybe not impossible, but with so much that is frightful and ugly around them, finding places and moments for peaceful wonder is a real challenge. Yet wondrous beauty is indeed there: in their children, music, art, true friendships. They do need to learn the importance of finding it and using well what it gives them.

I have long asked my clients what their sources of strength are. Maybe I should also ask them where they can find beauty and peace. It all does take practice and true belief, another truth that struck me on this morning's show. Those clients I work with who believe in what they learn in Thresholds and practice it, who practice finding strength to make and implement decisions in their lives, who practice finding beauty and peace so they can really make good decisions, those are the ones who will make it and not come back to prison and will not be in a prison of their own making on the outside.

Tina Stanton
Rutledge, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

Breastfeeding and Stress (July 15, 2007)
I loved the interview with Esther Sternberg, which I heard this morning while puttering in my garden — a big-time stress-reducer for me. I have been fascinated with breastfeeding since the birth of my first child in 1968. Most of my working and volunteer career has been as a lactation consultant and breastfeeding advocate. Recent scientific evidence is showing more and more that the mind-body link is very strong in lactating women.

Breastfeeding can be a huge stress if it is not going well, but when it is functioning normally, it's a great stress-reliever for both mother and child. Of course this stress-reducing effect has multiple benefits on the survival, growth, and development of both partners in the breastfeeding couple, including the immune system. One example: recent studies show a lower incidence of diabetes later in life for both the breastfeeding mothers and the children they breastfed. A key researcher in this area is Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg, a Swedish gastroenterologist. I first ran across her work (where else) in a Scientific American article.

The hormones that are central to breastfeeding include GI hormones like cholecystokinin and reproductive hormones like oxytocin. These hormones turn out to have big effects on the brain and behavior as well as on the breasts.

Chris Mulford
Swarthmore, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

I Could Have Listened for Hours (July 15, 2007)
I wanted to say how much I enjoyed today's show with Esther Sternberg. As I listened I sat still and reclined and went into a state of total relaxation. I could have listened for hours more. It is so important to "allow" ourselves to float in life occasionally and to let go of the need for constant productivity and the guilt that comes with not being constantly productive. I thought the topic was great and her insights that married the science with the emotion were fascinating. It is a topic that could be expanded on endlessly it seems. Thanks for the great programming.

Jean Laughton
Interior, SD (KZSD, 102.5 FM)

Self Study and a Personal Story (July 15, 2007)
When my late husband was diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer in 1997, the prognosis without treatment was six months to live. Since stage IV kidney cancer does not respond to chemo, radiation, or surgery, we opted for medical immunology (Interferon), augmented by adjunctive therapy. The Interferon improves survival from something like 2 percent or 10 percent to 36 percent or something like that, as I recall we were told at the time.

To devise something useful, I conducted a self-directed study of psycho-neuro-immunology, the branch of medicine that studies the mind-body connection. In a far less scientific way than the Scientific American article, this is what I learned: when we're under stress, we tend to tense our muscles. Our blood pressure goes up and respiration is suppressed. As a result, oxygen and nutrients have a harder time reaching cells, and cellular destruction begins to take place. Thinking relaxing thoughts can help to reverse this process. Thus, many cancer patients are told to "visualize" events that yield happy, relaxed, positive feelings.

In Jim's case, we used a combination of individual therapy, group therapy, music therapy, art therapy, relaxation response, and play therapy to distract his mind from the functional losses he was experiencing and hopefully reverse, or at least slow, the progress of the disease. Whether it was a result of the Interferon or the adjunctive therapy, Jim lived 18 months with a fairly high quality of life and very little pain.

With all due respect to Ms. Sternberg, I think it's well established that the split between medical healing and religion took place with Galileo, when science agreed to study the natural world in scientific ways while the Catholic Church (the only Christian church at the time, I believe) pursued care of the soul. I really enjoy your program every week. Keep up the good work!

Norma Bauer
Lansing, MI (WUOM, 91.7 FM)

The Balance Within (July 15, 2007)
Your program this morning has been so very enlightening and well presented. This is my one day off from running my business out of my home. Not being a particularly religious person, other programs have been interesting but this one was much more interesting to me. This topic has been running through my mind for years! I am on my way to the book store to purchase Esther Sternberg's book. I have several friends I want to share this with, as well as the audio on your Web site. Thank you so much.

Pat France
Towson, MD (WYPR, 88.1 FM)

Faith as a Cause of Stress (July 15, 2007)
I didn't hear all of the show on stress, but I heard no mention of faith in a deity and afterlife as a source of stress. One could easily argue that such faith is, indeed, the major source of stress in the modern world. Look at Baghdad, Africa, Northern Ireland, etc. Long ago, the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius realized that faith in deities or an after-life actually added stress to one's real life. Giving up such fantasies, he said, would remove a great deal of this stress or anxiety. You might want to try it!

Jeffrey Myers
Reisterstown, MD (WYPR, 88.1 FM)

It was Dynamite (July 16, 2007)
I just heard your 2006 rebroadcast of the Stress interview with Doctor Esther Stern and her book "The Balance Within" and thought it was dynamite (in the best sense of the word). Its application in today's environment is especially important in light of 9/11 and all that portends, both consciously and subconsciously to our society. I have been a fan and longtime listener to the show and cannot recall another time when I felt more compelled to express my appreciation. Thank you.

Bob Abate
Yonkers, NY (WNYC, 93.9 FM)

A Culture of Fear (January 20, 2006)
I have been a regular listener and encourage your program to continue challenging the faith communities to look at the world through larger eyes. I do want to comment on the conclusion of the interview with Esther Sternberg. When she spoke of fear in our lives, she made reference to 9/11 as a watershed for Americans who now live in fear as a result of the attacks. This may be true for the wealthy and the white communities. However, the poor and communities of color have long lived in fear and borne the stress and anxiety brought on by institutional racism, systems of brutality represented by police and prisons, as well as the insecurity of poverty. By referencing 9/11 she played into the hands of the people who have created a "culture of fear" and view most of the rest of the world as the enemy. Her comments represent the community of privilege in the U.S. and reveal a truncated view of history.

Alexander Jacobs
Milwaukee, WI (WUWM, 89.3 FM)

Another Resource Positive "Being" (January 19, 2006)
There is a clinical program that has emerged over the years at University of Pennsylvania. Note that this is the same medical school in which Dr. Aaron Beck developed cognitive behavioral therapy. This newly developed approach is called "authentic happiness" (yes, really!) by Dr. Martin Seligman. The authentic happiness program has been very much Web-enabled for research and outreach. It has now grown into a Masters degree program at Penn. Thanks!

William Marston
Philadelphia, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

Science and Health (January 18, 2006)
Since September, 2005, I have had several health crises, one right after the other: a major hernia repair, with 20 staples (my belly now looks like I am sporting a new zipper); a diagnosis of "Barrett's Esophagus" which can (but not always) lead to cancer; and last month an allergic reaction during which time I received some bad advice from a triage phone nurse and, when I sought medical care from an urgent care center for the resulting hives and welts, I was not even asked about my medical allergies or the meds I currently take. The staff, without checking records, or my medical ID bracelet, or my wallet info, or asking my husband who was with me, gave me some meds which caused terrible interactions and adverse reactions. I understand I could have died from this. Combine these stressors with unemployment for my husband and me and that we have exhausted our savings to pay for health insurance.

I feel I am experiencing post-traumatic stress from the allergic and adverse reactions and feel very fatigued. I have begun to see a wonderful pastoral counselor. I should be looking for a source of income, but I am still healing from the health issues. I have given myself permission to take some time off and truly heal emotionally and physically, so that, when I resume my employment search, I will be truly ready. I have been affirmed by some close friends and my husband, as well as my counselor. I have been walking my dog, stroking my kitties, who know how to find quiet, praying, doing some spiritual and restorative reading, including dipping into a wonderful book which your listeners might find insightful and covers some of the same themes of this program: Sabbath, Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives" by Wayne Muller. The book is wonderful for people of all faith traditions or no faith tradition. There is some wonderful poetry and some suggested ideas for finding quiet. Thank you for this program — it affirms just what I needed. I am going to take a look at her book and have reserved the library copy.

Sandy Schmidt
Milwaukee, WI (WUWM, 89.7 FM)

Science and Health (January 18, 2006)
I disagree that science is bringing us back. It is more like science is opening its eyes. The number one cause of distress in peoples lives is denial. We try so hard to ignore the connections between stress in our lives and our well-being. Check out John Bradshaw's definition of codependence — born out of hypervigilance experienced in childhood. Can't wait till science can measure what happens when children experience stress before they are given tools to deal with it. Perhaps the scariest thought is that more children are experiencing this today then ever before thanks to the media and entertainment industries.

Dave White
Columbia, MD (Listens to SOF OnDemand)

Recovering Codependent Caregiver (January 16, 2006)
Your program reminded me of the importance of balance. Caring for my husband since his stroke 16 months ago has been the cause of chronic stress for me. I feel like we've been joined at the hip due to the degree of his dependence on me. Gradually, as he recovers, I've insisted on more "disconnect" or "down" time. The feeling of overwhelming guilt sometimes spoils this time of refreshment. Gradually I'm becoming able to enjoy my time away from him. Thank you for another weapon in my arsenal for protective self-care.

Cathy Garrett
Brandon, MS (WMPN, 91.3 FM)

Complementary Text (January 15, 2006)
It seems to me that the ideas of Caroline Myss (your biography is your biology) are an interesting sideline or extension of some of the ideas presented in Ms. Sternberg's book.

Kathryn Dilley
Grand Rapids, MI (WVGR, 104.1 FM)

Recovery from Stress (January 15, 2006)
I recently underwent triple-bypass heart surgery, and my recovery was particularly rapid and dramatic. I went back to work part time after four weeks at home, and after another two months am up and at it full time, with my cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program in full cry. I am 65 years old. There is little doubt that this wonderfully rapid recovery was facilitated by my spiritual surrender prior to the surgery. I welcomed the intervention. I had reached the point where surgery was necessary without having suffered a heart attack, and perceived myself as therefore very fortunate. As a consequence, this process has been much, much less stressful than it ordinarily is.

There are reasons this is true. I am a musical hobbyist — I play the recorder — and that activity helped speed the normal resumption of my pulmonary function. I am also an amateur photographer, and I spend long periods of time at my computer editing and retouching my images, something that concerns beauty but which is known to me alone (at least at the point when editing occurs, this is a solitary pursuit, unless I call one of my daughters over to see the beauty of what I've created/recorded). The sharing comes when the images are exhibited (or when I participate in chamber music concerts with my recorder!). I have taught all six of my children to love the beauty of the earth, and this is a source of the kind of peace that your guest's father engendered with his encouragement that she hear the sounds of peace. What a wonderful father, and what a tremendous enjoinder! It is something I will remember and pass on to my offspring. Thank you, and thank you guest for her work.

Your show is a beacon of wonder and stimulation every week. I have benefited greatly from your work. For instance, I bought the books of Avivah Zornberg on Genesis and Exodus, and continue to read them with friends. Again, thanks!

Richard Adams
Chicago, IL (WBEZ, 91.5 FM)

Help! Freedom from My Cycle of Stress (January 15, 2006)
Thank you so much for having this as a topic on your show. It helped explain a dark cloud of stress that I have over me. I am about to turn 25 and I am coming through my quarter life crises. My father had two strokes last year so 2005 was a difficult year. Apart from trying to cope with the stress of being his caregiver. In my growing up with him (my father was a diplomat) we constantly moved. Now I see that I have been carrying around a lot of stress over the years and I am now convinced that I must take time daily to de-stress before I spend the next 25 years in psychological and physical pain. I learned from the program that stress hormones are real and important. I feel OK to cut my self some slack! Thanks sincerely.

Josephine Onah
Woodbridge, VA (WETA, 90.9 FM)

Healing Memories and RA (January 15, 2006)
On the maternal side of my family, autoimmune diseases have been rampant. My brother, my sister, and I were all stricken with RA [rheumatoid arthritis] in our late 20's or early 30's. A maternal aunt died not from the disease but from the cortisone she took in an effort to control it. My brother died at the age of 58 — again not from the disease but from drug side effects. In the early 1970's, I became dramatically ill with RA. I could do almost nothing for myself and began ingesting various anti-inflammatories prescribed by the rheumatologist who also treated my brother and sister. I got worse rather than better.

I intuited a connection between emotions and the disease and began to read what I could on the subject — especially the writings of Paul Tournier, a Swiss psychiatrist. One day, convinced that there was another way to healing, I flushed my predisone down the potty — a very foolish act — however, I suffered no bad side effects of doing so. I began going inside to examine memories and emotions. I slowly began to get better. There were no guides. No one took me seriously. Members of my family became very defensive and tuned me out. My doctor suggested that I was mentally unbalanced. Although sed rates remained high, my RA symptoms went into remission and I lived a full life.

In 1987, during a time a great stress, symptoms returned and I was diagnosed with lupus. I repeated by own "RX" of years before — coupled with drinking large amounts of water and getting extra sleep. I got better. The rheumatologist could not explain what had happened. Blood work still pointed to autoimmune disease. I am not entirely symptom free but enough so to allow me to live a full, active, productive life. Years before the medical community recognized it, I had stumbled on the relationship between emotions and autoimmune illness.

Mariposa Stroup
St. Louis, MO (KWMU, 90.7 FM)

Recognizing the Source of Discovery (January 15, 2006)
I am very grateful to have heard the interview with Esther Sternberg. Her work and her observations have been and continue to be valuable. I would hasten to add that another title of this interview could be and perhaps, should be, "Doctors come late to these understandings." The critical factor has been that until just recently the evidence base was not accepted by physicians and researchers. The privileged position of physicians and researchers then determines to whom will be listened. Long before they began to lay claim to these areas the contemplative traditions and, much more recently, the general area of behavioral science knew these things. Furthermore, there is little if any evidence that physicians and the current reimbursement structure for healthcare really pays any attention to these matters. Still the physician gets the recognition and the dollars. The privileged position of third-person narratives must be balanced with first-person narratives. And, recognition of both perspectives must equally be given in terms of where the knowledge originated and payment for such knowledge and service given.

Linnea Larson
Oak Park, IL (WBEZ, 91.5 FM)

Personal Connection (January 15, 2006)
You have done it again! A stellar program — not unlike everything you do. You have the best program on NPR. "Stress and the Balance Within" validated me in a way nothing else has. What was discussed I have known for a very long time, but no one in the medical profession addresses this issue or even acts like they understand it. Unfortunately we have been taught that doctors have all the answers, a fallacy I uncovered in my own life many years and many medical mistakes ago. I have dealt with life-long stress and am now, at 57, arthritic, have celiac sprue (the mother of all autoimmune diseases), Hasimoto's thyroid, CFS/FM, and who knows what else. My mother, who is now 95+, did not develop arthritis or get gray hair until her late 70s or 80s. Unlike me, she led an almost stress-free life. Thank you for providing not only validation, but also the concept of going "off line." I now have permission to take time off for me. I feel better already!

Jane Asher
Kentwooe, MI (WVGR, 104.1 FM)

Spirituality, Healing, and East/West Interpenetration (January 15, 2006)
Congratulations on a wonderful program. One point that I think could have been brought out more fully is that the growing research on stress-reducing techniques such as meditation and yoga has helped to expose more Americans to Eastern spiritualities and has made study of these techniques more palatable. I've been using these techniques as well as Westerns ones like hypnosis for decades, and I am seeing growing acceptance and openness to Eastern traditions in people who still retail a basically Western spiritual tradition. It's leaven in the cross-cultural mix of modern America.

Paul Larson
Chicago, IL (WBEZ, 91.5)

Stress and Disease (January 14, 2006)
I was surprised that, as a Jew, the doctor did not address the consequences of stress' relationship to disease on a spiritual level. If stress affects our ability to fight disease, what happens when someone dies and we then bare responsibility for the stress in their lives? It is problematic for people, and their families, who are attacked by cancer to accept this relationship. You see, the guilt and blame can then be passed round for generations to come. In Judaism, there is a sensibility toward death that would not support such a strong sense of blame. If stress enables disease, this equation leaves open years of misery on the families that are already emotionally maimed by tragic deaths. If you are a victim of disease that is one thing; if you are a part of the problem that is quite different.

Annie Larson
Brooklyn, NY (WNYC, )

What Responsibility the Current Bush Government for Living in a Time of Fear (January 14, 2006)
Thank you for this program. I was connecting to all that was said throughout. I used to call it "the lulls" (your going "off line") when I was in a full-time stressful job that sometimes reached a point where the demands had cooled for a bit. I felt guilty when the stress was gone for that little while. That was until I spoke with my boss and she explained that these down times didn't come too often, so enjoy them when they did. I never felt guilty again.

But what I really wanted to comment on was the final part of the program where the issue of the current condition in the U.S. was raised — living in a constant state of stress and fear. As an American who lives overseas and is observing from afar, it breaks my heart to realize that this situation is generated by the most powerful in the land and pretty much self-inflicted. It is disgraceful to shape the situation as the Bush government has done to frighten the population on a continuous basis. Scientists (at least I hope I'm right in saying this) such as your guest have an understanding of statistical probability that should show that the likelihood of any one individual in the U.S. being attacked by terrorists is so remote as to be wholly impossible. And yet, the stress and fear that has been caused by boldly stating "the world has forever changed" is so harmful to the mental and physical well-being of the citizens that it is beyond description. If the world has changed, it is as a result of the government causing that change in how they have couched the argument, not the event itself. And that is just plain insanity.

I hate to think of what this must be doing to the children of the country. As an example, I have family in the U.S. who are also concerned about this. It's almost like the Civil War era, brother against brother etc., in the division of opinion on this situation among my relatives. To keep a level of peace, things aren't talked about, opinions are kept back when another nephew or brother or son is sent to Iraq on this insane "quest" based on lies and very bad representations of reality.

I do hope that Dr. Sternberg and her colleagues can put an argument to reverse this sick view of being always fearful, on the basis of this work on the effects of stress and this level of change on the health of the nation. I hope that she can find a way to grab the attention of those in power about the damage that they have already done and must now stop doing to the American public, and in many ways, those of us living in countries allied with the U.S. in its current destructive ways. (The Australian approach was almost laughable if it weren't so Orwellian: Fridge magnets with the slogan "Be alert, not alarmed.") War is not safe for living beings and false wars against invisible enemies and "isms" are exponentially bad because they leave hidden scars that won't heal for generations.

Jan Whitaker
Melbourne, Australia (Listens to SOF OnDemand)