Gas Discharge Visualisation press coverage

The Independent Review Monday 8th December 2003
A Stress Odyssey
Extract from the article
Perhaps the most revelatory part of the whole assessment was the GDV (Gas Discharge Visualisation) technique.
Designed by Russian physicists in the 1990s when it was used to assess the stress levels of cosmonauts, it works by measuring the energetic discharge from the fingertips, via the application of a minute electrical charge.
Stress-related illness is an increasing problem, not least because stress-related litigation in the UK rose from 516 cases in 2001 to 6,248 cases in 2002, so the relevance to companies of carrying out a physiological and psychological stress audit on those 'most at risk is striking. That does not apply to me, as I am freelance, but the Health & Safety Executive are quite clear that employers have an obligation to carry out a stress audit of employees at risk."It's very interesting, when assessing people, to ask how stressed they think they are," says Elena O'Keeffe, GDV operator and stress analyst at the clinic.

"Some people come in complaining of terrible stress, but show fewer emotional or physiological signs of it than you would expect. While others, who claim to be perfectly relaxed and unstressed, show enormous levels of internal stress. And this is why the GDV Technique is so helpful in evaluating where the effects of stress are being felt, and what is needed to relieve it."
Recent studies of this technique have shown that a GDV operator can distinguish between external environmental influences on the body, such as those found in the modern workplace, and the internal stress-inducing factors, such as a nutritionally inadequate diet, lack of exercise and poor breathing habits. Clinical trials in both the US and Russia were carried out over 2000-2001 showing that the information gathered in this way was statistically reliable. Not only that, but the GDV test is non-invasive, quick and efficient: all that is required is that each fingertip is photographed, and the patterns that are revealed from the gas discharge give a picture of the body's energetic field. That's the science bit - but what did the GDV test show? Rather reassuringly, it showed that, emotionally at least, I deal very well with stress. I have, it seems, a (very good) stress resistance level of 3.5 (the range is 1-10). And my ability to deal with stress is apparently to do with my ability to respond to change. Mind you, we must bear in mind that this was a test carried out by someone with no knowledge of my character, other than what had been shared in the five-minute conversation prior to the test. However, on the physiological side I was exhibiting a fair degree of stress on the GDV reading. There was an indication of a high adrenal function - borne out by my adrenal stress index results - an irritation in the colon showing a degree of irritable bowel syndrome, low activity in the liver, and a back problem writ large.
The downside of dealing well with stress emotionally, it would seem, is that the effect is accommodated by the body. Research has identified that the human body cannot handle long-term, low-grade stress without some kind of maladaption. What happens is that the body rewires itself to exist in this "hyper" state, so that even when the stresses are no longer present, the body still thinks they are. This is typical of high achievers in the workplace, who tend to experience burn-out and are also at greater risk of cardiac disease.