Stress without Distress

by Hans Selye

From dust jacket "'Stress is the spice of life,' says Dr. Selye. Without it you would be a vegetable- or dead. Then why can stress be destructive, causing ulcers, heart disease, and so many other ailments of modern society? To those and other vital questions about health and self-fulfillment, Dr. Selye offers reassuring answers, based on a lifetime of pioneering biological reasearch. He explains the physiological mechanisms of stress and offers specific advice on avoiding stress that is harmful. He tells you what to do if you're stymied by a problem, why procrastination is dangerous, how to enjoy leisure, why aimlessness causes distress. He discusses the concept of work as rewarding and joyful play, and the relationship of work, stress, and aging. But most important, he formulates a workable, positive, humane philosophy that allows you to be as selfish as Nature intended. In fact, he says you MUST be selfish. The drive for self-preservation is the most natural and essential property of life. But how to use this biological urge in a society that needs cooperation to survive? Altruistic egotism is Dr. Selye's answer. It's a form of cooperation that appears everywhere in Nature."

Genres: Psychology, Health, Nonfiction, Science, Nutrition, Mental Health

Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1974

Reviews

[Andrew]

This is truly a powerful thought provoking book, presenting a counterintuitive idea that the author has clearly dedicated himself to.

From my perspective.
Hans Selye has presented a counterintuitive approach to life itself; examining the nature of existence & how we, as human beings experience it in the context of biological stress.
He presents that a philosophy of life is a valuable asset to derive & maintain, referencing historically that this has being identified & applied throughout the history of man.
His counterintuitive argument is that opposed to assuming a generally accepted philosophy such as available from religious movements, why not invest in understanding nature & deriving ones own philosophy.
Selye himself Identified: work, selfishness & gratitude as requirements for a fulfilling life & thus accepted his observation of nature & incorporated them into his philosophy of life in the form of altruistic egotism.
I do not believe Selye’s objective of writing the book was to impose his life philosophy & method of derivation on others, but to empower others to choose their life philosophy & an appropriate derivation method, this is where the book strongly resonated with me personally & motivates me to strongly recommend the work to anybody interested in introspection.

Extremely enjoyable & personally agreeable reading experience.

[Joy Pauline Richardson]

This book is a monologue about anything that came to the mind of this author throughout his life. It has no clear focus, and very little about stress or distress. Mostly, it is about how we should conduct our lives- mainly, that we should conduct our lives like he conducts his. It is not a good example of how to live a life like Christ's, but praises egotism. There are some useful elements here, but they are very few and far between.

[Daniel]

A short book distilling Hans Selye's groundbreaking technical work The Stress of Life into practical principles for handling daily life. Articulates a basic philosophy that can be boiled down to "earn thy ...[see the rest on my book review site.]

[Diane]

Excellent book!

[Franka Sensale]

The book is somewhat dated, but the information is still relevant in the pursuit of understanding and overcoming stress.

[BigTunaKahuna]

Nie miałem wielkich oczekiwań co do tej książki. Po przeczytaniu wstępu te oczekiwania urosły, zapowiadało się, że dowiem się czegoś cennego na temat przekierowania dystresu w eustres, jednak finalnie otrzymałem jedynie mały wstęp z fizjologii oraz przedstawienie kodeksu filozoficznego autora o "egotycznym altruizmie", co oczywiście ma jakiś sens, ale niekoniecznie wyjaśnia cokolwiek w kwestii pierwotnego tematu książki (choć autor usilnie próbuje te dwie kwestie połączyć). Poza tym spory fragment książki jest zniekształcony przez osobiste podejście autora do kwestii pracy oraz jego własnego pracoholizmu. Praca jako najwyższa wartość człowieka, efektywność i przydatność dla ogółu jako arcyważne cele to slogany, które zwyczajnie gryzą się z moim światopoglądem. W książce przeplatają się elementy naukowej rozprawy, podsumowania badań autora nad fizjologią stresu oraz jego prywatne przemyślenia i opinie na temat rzeczywistości czy też tego, jak powinno się postępować, aby zminimalizować stres w życiu (ale głównie w ogólnikami i w skali makro, nie jednostkowo), stąd też tekst ten nie ma dla mnie zbyt dużej wartości merytorycznej.

[Tess Pollok]

This was kind of interesting. Is he technically a self-help author? It had that flavor. The thesis is that
tress and distress are different, stress is a neutral catch-all for any expenditure of effort, even nice things like playing tennis and sex, and distress is like the negative version we associate with frustration and anguish. It was helpful in my wobbly stressed out mind to think about the difference between productive and unproductive forms of effort and when it's appropriate to rest–he also points out that "doing nothing is not rest" and how to identify when you're doing nothing vs. when you like actually need to rest and recharge. It's a lot of small morsels of consideration like that. It makes you go hmmm what am I really doing when I'm taking a nap. I liked it.

[Tina Marga]

While this book was published in 1974, it is still topical. The author has an interesting way of explaining stress, in particular distress, "to those that try to find themselves". He also stresses the ability to readjustment or adaptation to the impact of stressors. Moreover, there is quite a good sense of humour in this book. There are comparisons of the chemical processes that take place in the human body with understandable daily events that anybody will recognise.

[Dylan Hennig]

This book was simply magical. Discusses some self-help concepts in the light of biological stress and what we actually mean when we refer to stress, and how to use it in your favor. The author also departed with a message reminding readers that it’s about what we take from his writing, not what he wants us to, which hits on many levels.

[Fadi Saad]

1 star because there is no zero star option.

[Alfred]

Weak philosophically. I liked the first chapter on biological stress, though

[Randall Harris]

An excellent book, even by today's standards. It helped me turn that stress into positive stress.

[Emi Gałysz]

Ciekawe co Selye powiedziałby o vloggerach

[Olivier Goetgeluck]

Your principle aim should be not to avoid work but to find the kind of occupation which, for you, is play. The best way to avoid harmful stress is to select an environment which is in line with your innate preferences.

Each of us must carefully analyze himself and try to find the particular stress level at which he feels most comfortable.

Stress on one system helps to relax another.

It will require a full-scale effort to teach "play professions"- the arts, philosophy, crafts, science - to the public at large; there is no limit to how much man can work on the perfection of his own self.

To my mind, duty is a self-imposed code of conduct. Its main purpose is to stabilize our course of action in life by a given set of standards which we respect and which we think will be respected by others. We must be convinced that by following this code we shall earn not only the feeling of fulfillment but also, if possible, the goodwill of our neighbors. [...] Who is the neighbor toward whom I should acknowledge duties?

[Yulia]

The author's holistic approach to researching the nature of stress and distress is admirable. Physical exercise is shown to be an effective treatment for mental illnesses, which is highlighted in the book.

[Steve Coscia]

One of my early reference books about stress.

[Dsv.anhtu]

really goog