Interview: Euthymios Ioannidis
In your latest book you tackle the complex issue of stress. What prompted you to tackle such a complex issue?
Since this question strikes me, I will answer with a question: If a psychologist does not deal with stress, what is the subject of his profession? If a psychologist thinks stress is a "complicated issue," he'd better change professions. Stress is the daily routine of this profession.
There is a widespread belief that stress is the scourge of our time. Do you agree with this aphoristic opinion?
The American existentialist psychologist (1909 – 1994) said that the 20th century is the age of anxiety. The same could be said for the 21stο century? I do not know. It's a matter of opinion. With three wars going on around us (Ukraine, Gaza and the Red Sea) when it comes to humanity, anxiety seems to me a problem of ...luxury.
If I am not mistaken one of the main goals of the New Science of stress is to make it clear that stress does not only harm us. Our beliefs about stress actually do us harm. I would like your opinion on this…
That is, if I understood correctly, when someone feels stress, what will determine the way they will experience it, depends on their ...beliefs. This view seems naive to me. When you experience stress you have no beliefs You experience stress and you are looking for a way to get rid of it. That is why the book talks about antidotes. Can stress be beneficial? Yes, if it motivates you to speed up a task or meet a deadline.
Is it true that stress makes us more social due to the production of oxytocin, the so-called love hormone?
The opposite happens. Anxiety is one thing and fear is another. In fear the stimulus is real, as e.g. in an earthquake. Fear increases social cohesion because you experience it with other people. When you experience anxiety, because you don't know if someone else is experiencing the same anxiety, you hesitate to reveal it except to someone you trust. A research:
We have 10 students in a waiting room. At some point a researcher in a medical coat appears and announces that as part of an investigation they will need to undergo a strong but harmless electric shock. The result was that everyone became a group and talked about what was going to happen.
In a second variation, instead of making the announcement to everyone together, the researcher called each person into their office and made the announcement individually. In the second case, in the waiting room, waiting for the event, everyone was isolated and silent.
What is the state of psychotherapy today in Greece? There is still a "stigma" or people fearlessly turn to specialists
The situation compared to when? If we go back to 1980 (when I started my career) it's like night and day. Back then, most people didn't know the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. A second, more "objective" criterion is the number of psychology books published in 1980 compared to those published today.
What would you say to someone who is hesitant to begin psychotherapy?
I would tell him that the important factor is the personality and the studies of the psychotherapist.
In short, what would you recommend to someone who experiences a lot of stress in their daily life?
To read "10 Types of Stress and their Antidotes"...
In closing the interview, what would you say you have exorcised in your ongoing and ever-changing involvement in the world of mental health?
Poverty...
Many thanks to Mr. Pinteris for our very interesting conversation!
Interview: Euthymios Ioannidis / thessculture.gr
