There are numerous approaches to managing stress through the nuanced understanding of connections between the human body and mind. For instance, Elizabeth Kűbler-Ross envisioned stress as a sequence of psychological stages of grieving similar to those a person goes through when grieving death (Seaward, 2020). In her opinion, all people experience stress because of unmet expectations of varying magnitude, from an inability to live a long life because of cancer to losing one’s wallet. The relief from stress comes only after the grieving person goes through all psychological stages – denial, anger, bargaining, depression – and reaches the stage of acceptance. In Kűbler-Ross’s opinion, grief is a natural response of the human psyche to unexpected circumstances, and true peace of mind is attainable only after passing through all those stages to adapt (Seaward, 2020).
The position of Viktor Frankl on stress and its connection to the human mind and body is different. A survivor of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz, Frankl dedicated his life to the study of human suffering and meaning-making in that process. In his opinion, suffering is an integral part of every person’s life, and human pain and misery have an in-depth meaning and purpose. Thus, by assigning a vital meaning in the human emotional life to it, Frankl proposed not to get rid of stress and suffering. Instead, he advocated digging deeper into it to find meaning and grow spiritually. Frankl called it logotherapy – a form of existential analysis targeting the search for life meaning (Seaward, 2020).
As one can see, both Kűbler-Ross and Frankl focus on human stress as a form of suffering in the face of insurmountable life troubles, such as death or suffering. A major similarity in these two psychiatrists’ positions is the perception of stress as a form of mourning about life’s misfortunes and a certain adaptive process for overcoming that stress to survive. Kűbler-Ross approached grieving as a path to full acceptance and peace of mind, suggesting that there can be no true harmony without suffering. For Frankl, the approach of tragic optimism also involved the perception of suffering as a meaningful experience, a life lesson that promised happiness once learned well. Therefore, the approaches of both theorists assign stress an important position in human self-development, spiritual growth, and healing.
However, one may also note a striking difference in the perspectives on stress taken by Frankl and Kűbler-Ross. For Frankl, suffering and pain serve as driving forces in the search for life meaning, spiritual growth, and the formation of resilience. Kűbler-Ross envisions grieving as an unfortunate, undesirable, yet manageable condition that can only inform spiritual growth when constructively addressed. While Frankl advises remaining in the state of stress for some time to derive life lessons from that experience, Kűbler-Ross offers help for transitioning through the negative emotional states to reach peace of mind and inner harmony.
The theory of Kűbler-Ross seems to be more applicable to people’s daily lives as it is more universal for stresses of all scales and magnitudes. Frankl considers suffering a fuel for creative energy and offers stressed people to stay in that condition and take a deeper look into the transformative experience of their suffering. Such a lifeway is not for everyone, as only a few people can find the willpower to overcome grief and transform it into constructive ideas. On the other hand, going through stages of grieving and finding a non-traumatic, constructive exit from stress due to acceptance seems much more attainable for most people. Therefore, Kűbler-Ross’s theory is more suitable for stress management in various life situations.
References
Seaward, B. L. (2020). Managing stress: Skills for self-care, personal resiliency and work-life balance in a rapidly changing world. (10th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning LLC.