MIS-Stress -- You're Making Me Si(o)ck!

Desi is trying to get out of a woeful mood. Need to de-stress. Need to prevent that migraine from coming on. The rainy season doesn't help.

Then an eye-catching item caught my -- whatelse! -- eyes.

But let me detour a knotty bit.


You know what I've observed -- after wealth and power, the almight man about town would go afetr a MIStress!
THis is not based on any scientific studies findings -- just anecdoctal observation.
What about the females who have acquired power and wealth then?
Do they go after another man -- a MASter, defined as the male counterpart to a MIStress...?

Of course, having a MIS-Stress around thy arms in the right circle is a sort of Badge of having arrived. Yes? (THat's a rhetorical question directed at the right men.) This brings on the Siok feeling.

On being discovered by the wrong party, it brings on the Sick feeling.

Frankly, a caveat (they call it a DISCLAIMER on many Blogs' heads -- that you have the right to log off if you feel what you are reading on MY blog is upsetting your sense of honour or good taste or lack of taste...something along this line-lah.) -- for this morn's rambling -- I'm not responsible for the consequences, I'm just a messenger of what I believe is an eye-opening finding at an Australian institute.

So, to continue...
BUTT having a mis-tress can be very stressful -- as the Almighty Man would tell you -- he has to keep a tight lid on his adventures so that his official wife is always in the dark. Playing cat-and-mouse is fine when you're just four-going-on-five.
But at forty-goin-on-fifty?
That in deed can be very stressful.
So Desi will share a dark "secret" with mGf this Tuesday morn -- not to worry, it's just jest!

If the man about the house shows symptoms of getting a li'l sick, he could be suffering from stress. If it'snot work, not home, then ah ...it could be the Mis-tress!

From the ABC News:

Monday, December 5, 2005. 7:00am (AEDT)

Stress causes sickness: study

A group of Sydney researchers says it has scientifically proven that stress causes sickness.

The Garvan Institute scientists say they have discovered that a hormone, known as neuropeptide Y, is released into the body during times of stress.

One of the researchers, associate Professor Herbert Herzog, says the findings show the hormone can stop the immune system from functioning properly.

"Neuropeptide Y is one of those hormones that gets unregulated or released from neurones when stressful situations occur," he said.

"And it's known for example that it regulates blood pressure and heart rates so your heart rate goes up but it hasn't been known that it actually can affect immune cells as well."

Professor Herzog says it is good to have proof of something people have suspected for so long.

"Now we have proven without doubt that there is a direct link and that stress can weaken the immune system and that makes you more vulnerable when you for example have a cold or flu and even in the more serious situations such as cancer can be enhanced in these situations," he said.

The impact of stress on the body can best be observed in athletes.

PHD researcher at the University of Queensland Luke Spence, together with the Australian Institute of Sport, studied elite and recreational athletes over five months.

They found elite athletes were more susceptible to respiratory diseases.

"A lot of elite athletes put themselves through vast amounts of physical stress in their training, but also their emotional, psychological stress of feeling the pressure of Australia on their shoulders, wanting to compete and wanting to do their best," Mr Spence said.

Mr Spence says the Australian Institute of Sport is now modifying the training of athletes to focus on quality rather than quantity.

But it is not just elite athletes who are prone to stress.

Pressures at work and at home cause emotional and mental stress that can be equally damaging.

Almost a third of all work absenteeism is due to illness, costing employers more than $10 billion a year.

"I think it has a huge impact for the work force and also for employers - if their employees are constantly stressed, constantly under pressure, they are more likely to get sick," Mr Spence said.

This research could lead to the development of a new drug, which may work to inhibit the action of the neuropeptide Y hormone that attacks the immune system.

But Professor Herzog warns people to minimise stress before it becomes a problem.

"Relaxation methods like yoga will help you to prevent that but there will still be people out there that are not responding to that and treatment by interfering with the system will be important," he said.

"There's obviously some time until such a treatment will be available but this is something we will definitely work towards."

PS: Desiderata's theory by extrapolation about the wayward -- or isit wayforward? -- husbands is pending scientific confirmation. He and a group of like-minded curiousers are inviting confessed men with misTRESS cum Sickness syndrome to take part in a survey: email ........ better not go public with this. You know where to meet me, Haridas tehtarik stall, no fail attendance Saturday from 8-11pm. If you don't know what this place is, ask the citizens of FuRong, an hour's drive from the big, bad wolfish city of Koalu lumpur, where all these almight men with chest problems normally dwell or have their nests. Very stressfool staying in KL... hence I don't like to linger here except to cari-cari makan. The straight one.