Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers

summary

A fascinating, charming tour of stress science. Although it is detailed to a fault in places, Sapolsky’s attempt to make it palatable is downright heroic. The book’s main lesson is that stress is definitely a serious health issue, though “it would be utterly negligent to exaggerate the implications of this idea.” Humans have a unique capacity to react to imagine threats — psychological stress — but we differ dramatically in our vulnerability to them. To some extent that vulnerability can probably be managed, but “it’s complicated.” To the extent that we can reduce stress, “80 percent of the stress reduction is accomplished with the first 20 percent of effort.”

(Curiously, this book is cited or quoted more than any other single source on PainScience.com: Sapolsky is reference almost 200 times in about three dozen articles.)

related content

1. When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress (book), by Gabor Maté. Amazon.com ❐
2. Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers (book), by Robert M Sapolsky.

These sixteen articles on PainScience.com cite this item as a source:

1. SSRI Antidepressants Are Not Medicine
2. The Trouble with Chairs
3. Anxiety & Chronic Pain
4. Pain Relief from Personal Growth
5. Save Yourself from Low Back Pain!
6. Save Yourself from Neck Pain!
7. Why Do We Get Sick?
8. The Tyranny of Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness
9. Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment
10. 34 Surprising Causes of Pain
11. Tissue Provocation Therapies
12. Sensitization in Chronic Pain
13. Studying the Studies
14. Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation
15. A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia
16. Vulnerability to Chronic Pain