In the ancient Greek city of Croton in the 6th century BC, there lived a boy, Milo, who was weak and had no friends. Everyone mocked him because the generally accepted male ideal at the time was the burly warrior type. When the unfortunate Milon had had enough, he decided to run away to the mountains and let himself be devoured by wolves. On the way, he encountered a group of shepherds who asked him for help in caring for their cattle. Milon agreed. Within two years he grew into a stout young man, returned home and brought with him a large bull on his shoulders. Everyone was amazed. Do you think anyone else dared to mock him?
Let’s look at what helped Milon. It was positive motivation, patience and regular exercise for a long enough time. Modern “stressologists” distinguish between positive and negative stress, they talk about eustress and suffering, and they are right, although it is necessary to take into account what Shakespeare has already said through the mouth of Hamlet: “Nothing in itself is bad or good. Everything receives the properties of our thinking.”
Is it possible to live without stress?
Professor Hans Selye, the father of stress theory, had a slightly different understanding of stress than most experts today. He claimed that without stress we would still jump on trees, that stress is the driving force of development! In his groundbreaking book The Stress of Life, he explains in detail what “adaptation syndrome” is as the most important phase of stress.
Let’s try to understand this with an example from ordinary, everyday life. Imagine that you go to work by public transport every morning and you can easily walk from the stop to your workplace in 10 minutes. Suddenly, the transport company changes the timetable and your bus arrives at the stop 5 minutes late. If you don’t want to get up 40 minutes earlier and take an earlier bus to work, you need to add to the step. You probably won’t be able to do it in the first days, but in 7-10 days you will get used to the new conditions! This positive experience will help you in the increasingly stressful situations that naturally arise in everyday life.
What is generalized adaptive syndrome and how does it function?
Professor Selye’s brilliant discovery was that the so-called generalized adaptive syndrome is a universal mechanism that applies throughout the biological world! It is no wonder that on all inhabited continents and in all cultures, people have sought and used medicinal plants, thanks to which they have successfully shortened the time needed to adapt to new conflict situations. There are many such plants and they are called adaptogenic plants. The active substances they contain are adaptogens.
Rhodiola rosea, an adaptogenic plant in the fight against stress
According to records from Tibetan monasteries that are older than 1,200 years, Tibetans who lived for over 100 years (and there were quite a few of them) used the adaptogenic plant Rhodiola rosea. This herb contains two groups of important active substances, the already mentioned adaptogens and the second, no less important one, which belongs to the group of the so-called anti-stressors.
What adaptogens does Rhodiola contain and how do they affect the body?
Biochemical analyzes prove that Rhodiola contains several such adaptogens, e.g. rosavin, roserine, salidroside, which are not found in other plants. Adaptogens help the body adapt more quickly to changed stress-causing factors, and active substances from the anti-stressor group reduce the negative perception of stress and unpleasant accompanying phenomena, such as heart palpitations, fainting, feeling of weakness, insomnia, fear, etc.
If we start with the teaching of prof. Selye, we should realize that the goal of our efforts should not be to live a stress-free life (avoiding problems at all costs), but we should take advantage of the opportunities provided by the generalized adaptation syndrome. The “centenarians” consistently improved their health and thus became members of their club.
Do not hesitate, the lamas of Tibetan monasteries are wise, have rich experience and knowledge. It is true that Milo, mentioned in the introduction, did not use Rhodiola rosea (it probably does not grow in the Greek mountains) and we have no information about shepherds giving him other adaptogens, but it is possible. But by successfully overcoming stress, he was healthy and vital enough to become a six-time Olympic wrestling champion!
