The ABED Method®-managing stress

The ABED Method - Managing Stress for Busy People
by Michael A Clark(more info)
listed in stress, originally published in issue 201 - December 2012
According to much research, anywhere from 75%-90% of all modern day illnesses have their roots
firmly in stress. Stress is also the number one reason giving for staff absenteeism. If this is true
then if we want to stay healthy it is of paramount importance that we address the issues of stress
for both employee and employer.[1]
Nowadays with massive redundancies, rising food prices, terrorism and so much uncertainty,
stress is at a real high, and it may well get a lot worse before it gets better. Yet for many people
they have no real idea of how to manage stress better in their lives. Most of us know about stress,
but to actually define it is difficult.
A good analogy of stress is if you imagine your mind is a bridge and your bridge can handle
normal traffic no problem, but if there are unusual circumstances like it been very windy (you feel
ill) and this is combined with an extra traffic burden of lorries (extra workload). The cables (your
emotions/nerves) become stretched; if the load carries on with the strong winds then the extra
strain can cause something to snap.
Now in every-day life, the bridge would be closed for repairs, but for humans unless the person is
normally bed ridden they will feel obliged to keep on working under more and more strain until the
pressure finds the weakest linked whether that be cancer, the heart giving up, a stroke, or maybe
something less like a migraine or asthma attack, but it forces the person to rest.
Having been a stress management consultant for over 20 years, I have concluded that almost all
modern day conditions including asthma, heart disease, obesity and even diabetes are all rooted
heavily by stress.[2] According to statistics, stress is responsible for almost all modern illness; it is
not only the emotional/psychological stress, but also physiological factors.
“Over the last 20 years as a stress management consultant I have seen the typical ways people
cope with feeling stressed and that is often with unhealthy food choices, alcohol, drugs both
prescription & otherwise, just think When the last time you felt stressed and went straight to the
fridge and started chomping on a carrot?”
Many of us do not realize that eating high sugar type foods actually make us much more stressed
in the long run and much less well equipped to handle the causes of stress.[3]
For many of us the nearest most of us get a piece of vegetable if we are feeling stressed would be
carrot cake; the body’s response to poor food choices ironically adds more stress to the already
stressed out bodily system. When stressed, the body prepares itself by ensuring that enough sugar
or energy is readily available. Insulin levels fall, glucagon and epinephrine (adrenaline) levels rise
and more glucose is released from the liver. But when we are feeling stressed as already
mentioned then we are more likely to choose high sugar type foods which add and compound the
problem.
The ABED Method health protection Programme is designed to help protect people from the
harmful effects of stress by protecting both the mind and body against what often is form of self
harm through unhealthy food choices and poor stress management methods. It relies on what is
described as ACT. - Active Client Treatment.
The ABED method begins by inviting the client to look at their own Attitude toward their health
and understanding and accepting that their health is first and foremost no one else’s responsibility
to look after but theirs alone.
Whether a client’s goal is to help with weight management, asthma or just general health and well
being, the very first thing to do is a complete initial assessment. This would include of course

asking the client why they want to lose weight, but also includes an ‘Individual Emotional Stress
Test’. This is because stress plays such a huge role either directly or indirectly that to ignore it
would be foolish. The stress test takes a around 10 minutes and the results are almost
instantaneous.
Then follows a discussion about what the client feels might be causing emotional and psychological
stress in their lives, so that they can begin to separate the stresses into different categories. For
example, the stress of working at a job you do not like is different to the stress caused by
something like debts you may be ignoring. So the categories are stress that can be dealt with
quickly as opposed to those that needs longer to sort out.
Are Your Needs Truly Being Met?
Image of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Often a large cause of stress is based upon our belief system that we are intrinsically just not good
enough; we must ‘do’ something to be recognized and strive to better than our peers, but at what
cost to our health?
We are taught from an early age how the world works, and how our role is in that world. We are
taught we have the freedom to be whoever we want to be. But that freedom is at a price; for
many people it is all they ever think about, earning more and more money, or the thought of
money, or the thought of the next dress or for some the thought of where the money to pay the
next bill is coming from; money is the false prophet (profit).
For instance more families than ever before have both parents working full time often this means a
bigger house and a newer car, but in reality and ultimately is it a new car you really want or do
you really want to be happy?
By helping the client separate the causes of stress in their lives into those that the client can effect
with immediate action to those that may take longer to those over which they have no control, for
instance a loved one who has a drink or drug problem.
Clients are also encouraged to use proven stress busting methods such as listening to calming
music in the car and not the radio. He also might recommend listening to the 20 Minutes ABED
Mind Spa ABED Fitness and Relaxation Yoga. This yoga audio is not religious nor does it
involve any ridiculous stretches; it is based upon the theory that emotional pain can contribute
toward physical pain; therefore by releasing physical pain you can also help relieve emotional pain.
The ABED Yoga easy to use, the audio is excellent for this and research does seem to back up
this claim.[4]

Setting boundaries is important, clients are encouraged to really view their home as their castle,
as a bastion away from the madness of the outside world, a place where the family can feel safe.
This includes self imposed boundaries on when work is finished and is left and the home is made
as a haven of peace.
The healing power of love and family is not to be underestimated in effective stress management.
(see number 3 on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs)
When attitude assessment is completed, the 2nd Stage of the ABED Method commences which
is breathing. I am a classically trained Buteyko Breathing Specialist; the only UK Professional
Stress Management Specialist who also trained at the Buteyko Natural Breathing Clinic in Moscow,
having received personal instruction from the late Professor Buteyko in person.
Breathing
When you consider that there are over 5 million adults in the UK and 1 in 3 adults in the UK have
higher than optimum blood pressure, if by just relaxing the breathing and reducing tension can
have such positive effects and all without the aid of expensive drugs, then especially taking into
account today’s tough economic climate this has to be something to be looked at more closely.
Graph showing how breathing rate can positively affect Blood Pressure
The Breathing Normalization principle is that by normalizing the breathing the body chemistry
allows healing to begin. The retraining involves nasal breathing, abdominal breathing (apparently
this helps facilitate the switching off of the stress response), reducing the volume of breathing
especially when at rest, say whilst at work (apparently may of us over breathe unknowingly due to
the brain perceiving threats of ‘deadlines’, but the body experiences this as a physical threat which
leads to an increase of breathing, which in the long term can be detrimental to health.[7]
We can now talk about the ‘E’ in the ABED Method which stands for Exercise. According to
research we are on average between 3-5 times less physically active then we were 50 years ago
yet the percentage of high sugar, high fat processed foods has increased dramatically. This
combination of low physical activity, combined with the increased consumption of high sugar high
fat foods is a major reason why obesity and diabetes are set to explode to epidemic levels in the
next 3-5 years.
Things could be dramatically different if more people realized that how little exercise they had to
do to lose weight and become healthy; in fact as little as 60 minutes per week could be enough as
long as you followed a certain exercise regime and principle. In the author’s recent book The Art of
Exercise Michael explains that by far and away the number one reason people give for not taking

enough exercise is the simple fact they do not have the time.[5] The research suggests that
physical fitness training leads to improved mood, self-concept, and work behaviour.
This is not a problem with ABED Method Exercise. The exercises in this programme are based
upon the same principles covered by a UK programme by the documentary
programme Horizon shown on BBC television earlier this year.
Clients are encouraged to invest in a simple heart rate monitor for their home use, and they are
encouraged to exercise 3 times per week. The beauty of the ABED Method exercise programme
is that all of the exercises can be done in the client’s home, they can be done in a gym but this is
not a requirement. This has to be a significant advantage to many exercises that require gyms,
because again if we go back to the first point as to why people do not exercise is because they do
not have the time.
The exercises in his programme use a special scientifically proven technique called ‘High Intensity
Variable Training’ which can be as much as 6 times as effective as normal basic cardio exercise
such as jogging. This is also much healthier because there is much less impact on the joints.[8]
Finally we cover ‘D’ for diet; the vast majority of people in the UK have no real idea of how much
stress they are loading onto their bodies by including such a high percentage of poor quality
refined processed foods in their diet. This is another form of ‘stress’ but physical stress on the
body. An example would be the damaging effect on the west by the vast amounts of white bread,
pasta and rice that is consumed as opposed to brown. In fact, just by changing to brown you can
cut diabetes by up to 70% by reducing the stress on the pancreas because brown rice, bread and
pasta takes longer to turn to sugar in the body and so do not create the same spike or sugar load
as the white far less nutritious choices.[9]
Michael has recently come across cases where 100% of foods in some people’s diets are actually
processed! (Cooking is also included as process this means that only raw food such as fruit and
salads basically what he describes as ‘live’ food.) Eating live food is of particular benefit for stress
reduction due to the prevalence of enzymes, which are in all foods in their natural uncooked state
and are required for us to utilize the nutrients from food. Enzymes are completely destroyed
during cooking, and this means that in order for us to obtain the nutrients the body has to make
its own nutrients from its own resources. The only way to do this is by actually breaking down
parts of our own organs!
We are born with a natural reserve of enzymes; the older we get the lower enzyme count we have
in the blood and urine. So the greater the percentage of cooked food in our diets the quicker we
age![6]
The ABED Method also adheres strongly to benefits of correct food combining. There are sound
physiological reasons for eating foods in compatible combinations. In other words, some foods, if
mixed in the digestive system, will cause distress! The following explanation is taken from the
expert Natural Hygienist Dr Herbert M Shelton.
The principles of food combining are dictated by digestive chemistry. Different foods are digested
differently...
• Starchy foods like potatoes, pasta and bread require an alkaline digestive medium which is
supplied initially in the mouth by the enzyme ptyalin;
• Protein foods require an acid medium for digestion- hydrochloric acid.
As any student of chemistry will assure you, acids and bases (alkalis) neutralize each other. If you
eat a starch with a protein, digestion is impaired or completely arrested![10] The undigested food
mass can cause various kinds of digestive disorders. Undigested food becomes soil for bacteria
which ferment and decompose this food. Its by-products are poisonous, one of which, alcohol, is a
narcotic that destroys or inhibits nerve function.
It plays havoc with nerves of the digestive tract, suspending their vital action such that
constipation may well be a result! There are 9 simple rules to help with digestion, weight
management and health. These are all explained and covered in the ABED Method healthy eating
programme.
The ABED Method Diet is not a diet as in the normal losing weight short term kind of diet, but
instead a healthy eating plan for life. Michael calls is the 80-20 plan: people may eat 80%
healthily, including whole foods, quality meat and fish (not processed meats) and 20% they can let
themselves go. Interestingly, many clients report after only a few weeks on the programme that
the old cravings for sweet stuff are not as intense.

References
1. Louise Peacock. Stress-overtakes-cancer-as-main-cause-of-sickness-absence.
Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8806473/Stress-overtakes-cancer-as-maincause-of-sickness-absence.html
. Last accessed 10/02/12. 2011.
2. Louise Chang MD. 10-fixable-stress-related-health-problems.
Available: http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/features/10-fixable-stressrelated-health-problems
. Last accessed 10/10/11. 2011.
3. Kristina Heritage. study-links-sugar-intake-to-stress-.
Available: http://www.usforacle.com/study-links-sugar-intake-to-stress-1.2144586#.UHV75i7A-
69 . Last accessed 10/10/12. 2010.
4. Gina Orlando. Researchers Find Yoga Helps Ease Stress Related Medical and Psychological
Conditions. Available: http://www.bu.edu/news/2012/03/07/researchers-find-yoga-helps-easestress-related-medical-and-psychological-conditions/
. Last accessed 08/10/10. 2012.
5. Michael A Clark The Art of Exercise. Kingston Upon Hull: The Well Naturally Publishing
House. 27-31. 2011.
6. Michael A Clark The Art of Diet. Kingston Upon Hull: The Well Naturally Publishing House.
106-111. 2011.
7. Michael A Clark The Art of Breathing. Kingston Upon Hull: The Well Naturally Publishing
House. 105-112. 2011.
8. Michael A Clark The Art of Exercise. Kingston Upon Hull: The Well Naturally Publishing
House. 68-72. 2011.
9. G Yang Department of Medicine. Prospective study of dietary carbohydrates, glycemic
index, glycemic load, and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in middle-aged Chinese
women. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 167(21) (3), 27-32. 2007.
10. Michael A Clark The Art of Diet. Kingston Upon Hull: The Well Naturally Publishing House.
68-72. 2011.