Taking Control

We often are advised to take control.  So, the question naturally arises: take control of what?  Where do we look to promote our well-being?   Since I discussed this issue at length in my Conversation: Thriving, Surviving, and Thriving book, I will address it only briefly here.

There are four critical sources of tension that we target for improvement, and that determine our physical and mental well-being: body, environment, thoughts, and feelings (BETF).   These four elements are always interacting, and always affecting us to some extent. A change in any single element of the BETF system can produce a change in any of the others, although not necessarily at the same order of magnitude.  Most often when we seek health, we desire to change BETF to a more optimal level.  Imagine the four as housed within a vehicle that is the self and that has four functional steering wheels. Any individual BETF element or combination of elements can steer the self while the remaining one or ones go along for the ride.

Each BETF element exists both as trait and state tension, but, to simplify our discussion, let's illustrate by talking only in terms of the body. Trait body tension refers to our modal level of physiologic tension --- our usual resting level. Trait body tension differs from person to person, much as blood pressure does. For instance, a person who always seems "uptight" is high in trait body tension while a "laid back" person is low in trait body tension. Like blood pressure, however, body tension is not completely static for any single person. State body tension describes an individual's tension fluctuations within his trait-circumscribed range, temporary peaks or valleys soon replaced by his modal, resting level.

A resting level of trait tension represents a readiness that permits us to quickly respond to everyday circumstances of life. An individual's resting level of trait tension can be subjectively comfortable or uncomfortable. In the latter case, the uncomfortable condition could be due such factors as physical pain, noxious environment, disturbing thought, or dysfunctional mood.

Regardless of the comfort or discomfort of the trait condition, our physical and mental selves periodically are roused from the complacency of this relatively stable, resting, trait level and moved into a changed state. Physical change is perceived by us when it exceeds a given biological threshold. The change can be caused by alterations in the internal milieu, such as when blood sugar or hormonal levels drop precipitously. Or it could be caused by an external source as when a cold blast of air chills our skin. Mental change is perceived by us when thoughts or feelings occur that are qualitatively or quantitatively different from the extant trait baseline. When any one of the constants deviates from its trait baseline significantly, the foregrounding of that factor amounts to increased "press" (pressure to seize our attention and/or to influence our behavior) prompting us to seek satisfaction of the fore- grounded constant. 

The changed tone of the constant sometimes evolves slowly over time, as when people become less aggressive with age. Or the changed tone sometimes erupts into our consciousness, as when we are jolted by a leg cramp, surprised to see a sky that abruptly turns black and foreboding, alarmed to precipitously realize that we forgot to turn off the oven, or overwhelmed by an unanticipated emotion. Moreover, the constants interactively influence each other. Sometimes there is conflict among them, as when, through our thoughts, we "talk ourselves" into engaging in overly strenuous physical exercise, pitting thought against body. But more often the constants achieve a harmonious amalgamation appropriate to an individual in her milieu. For instance, happy thoughts typically occur in a context of relatively happy feelings, happy bodily conditions, and a happy environmental setting,

When a changed state occurs from our current trait baseline, we habituate to it and establish a new trait-circumscribed baseline. We then perceive subsequent changes as deviations from this, habituate to the new condition, establish a new trait-circumscribed baseline, and so the dynamic process continues.  

How about a concrete example to simplify the admittedly abstract ideas above?  For instance, as I walk along the beach, I may be totally absorbed in and conscious of vacation-related ideas, and oblivious to my reddening skin, the roar of the surf, and my serene mood. At this point my conscious physical and mental life is steered by my thoughts. However, in the next second, I could slash my toe on a sharp seashell, instantly foreground my bodily self, background the heretofore engrossing vacation-related thoughts, and direct myself to restoring my body-oriented integrity. My previous thoughts can be lost forever. Instead, I function at a reactive level of state arousal, become attentive to my bodily self, and direct my activities toward my injury, comfort, and safety. Subsequently, I habituate to the "shock" of my injury, establish a new trait-circumscribed resting level of bodily tension, background the concern about my toe, and foreground some other BETF element. In short, mental life can effortlessly move back and forth among BETF elements.

The more you can control  each of your BETF elements, then, the more you can take control of your overall physical and mental health.

Reference:

Peter J. McCusker (2003).  Conversation: Striving, Surviving, and Thriving: Searching for Messages and Relationships.  Bloomington, IN:Iuniverse.