We all have stress. We all deal with stressful situations, stressful people, stressful inner turmoil (remember that inner critic- she can be such a bitch sometimes!). We all stress about money, love, what to eat for dinner, etc… the list could go on and on. We all handle these daily stressors differently. How we best deal with these situations determines how the stress impacts our bodies- either positively (driving us to be more competitive and productive) or negatively (showing up as physical and mental health problems). In order to choose the techniques that may work for you to handle stress, we need to understand the stress cycle and how it actually affects our physical body.
As the New Year started and I restarted my blog, I didn’t want to start with this intense post. The science behind stress can be anxiety producing in and of itself and I wanted to lead you into this work comfortably. Taking care of ourselves should feel good and should be comfortable. This work should not produce additional anxiety or stress. I was reminded of this at work. Feedback is a gift and my team spent a few hours last week on a team immersion exercise designed to give me, their leader, feedback. Part of their feedback centered around some of the mindfulness exercises we did at the start of our meetings. While I always found them helpful and centering, not everyone on the team did. It reminded me that not everyone gets relief from stress in the same way. In fact, some activities, while peaceful for some may be anxiety producing for others. I am so grateful to my team for reminding me of this. So, hence this post. I want to share what I have learned about stress and how it impacts our bodies so that you too can determine what works best for your own healing and wellness journey.
The effects of stress are generated by our central nervous system pathways and by our body’s hormones. Your body is beautifully constructed to deal with stressors and threats in order to protect itself. Imagine you are Neanderthal Man, living in Neanderthal times. A tiger is running at you, licking its lips getting ready to gnaw into your femur. Now, that is stress! The human body is keenly able to identify the stressful situation you are in and pump hormones through your body so that you react quickly and either fight the tiger or flee from the tiger in order to remain alive. Those hormones are that powerful.
Here’s how the cycle works:
The stress or threat is identified by the brain stem, specifically the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus releases corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH). CRH acts upon the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). ACTH is carried by the blood to the adrenal glands ( glands which sit atop the kidneys). The adrenal glands, thus activated by ACTH, cause the adrenal cortex to secrete cortisol. Cortisol acts upon every tissue in our bodies- activating the sympathetic branch of our nervous system which causes our heart rate to go up, our pupils to dilate (better to see the tiger at night!), specific lung structures called bronchioles to dilate so that we can utilize oxygen more efficiently, our respiratory rate increases to prepare for fighting or flighting and our gastrointestinal system slows down so that blood, oxygen and nutrients can be shifted towards our muscles (again to support the fight or flight). All of these actions of our bodies help to enable the fight or flight manuevers and allows us to live another day either gnawing on the tigers femur or resting after a fast sprint!
The problem with this cycle of hormones and reactions is when the “stress or threat” becomes a chronic identification in our brain. When this sympathetic nervous system cycle is continually activated, and cortisol is coursing through our bodies continually (not as designed), significant health problems may arise. It becomes difficult to digest properly, sleep effectively and reproduce. Chronically stressed individuals are more likely to develop osteoporosis and hip fractures because cortisol has been activated for so long, its bone thinning actions impacted the density of their bones. Cortisol also affects gut tissue- causing gastrointestinal disturbances, leaky gut syndrome and intestinal bleeding.
Cortisol and the other hormones released during this cycle of stress also alter the functions of our immune cells. Cortisol dysregulates the types of cytokines that are released, meaning the very cells that are supposed to be released to prevent illness and infection are suppressed when we are dealing with stress either acutely or chronically. (Marshall, 1998). Overuse of the adrenal glands during chronic stress may eventually lead to the failure of the glands to function properly. There has been some research that has demonstrated that cortisol actually remodels part of our brains (the hippocampus- the area of the brain responsible for long term memory and chronic pain perception). This remodeling can cause chronic pain conditions.
However, don’t fret! There are three stages of this stress cycle and many of the techniques my blog discusses can assist you in staying within Stage 1 of this cycle.
Stage 1 is the normal response to alarm/threat or stress.
Stage 2 is labeled stress resistance, meaning the activity of the stress cycle is sustained for a longer time period and the glands may go back to normal but as long as the elevation of cortisol continues, so does our blood pressure, glucose, heart rate and respiratory rate.
Stage 3 is labeled exhaustion- the stress cycle is dysregulated, we are now susceptible to disease.
Understanding this cycle of stress is important to understanding what our bodies are doing, why they are doing it and what we can do to overcome its negative effects. I hope that you will stay with me on this journey of understanding stress and what we can do to take the best care of ourselves. I am so grateful to share this learning with you and grateful you are on this journey with me! As you can see by my reading list below, I have more to learn on this subject too!
Resources and Additional Reading:
When the Body Says No, Gabor Mate, MD.
McEwen, BS (1998). Stress, adaptation and disease. Allostatsis and Allostatic load. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 840, 33-44.
McEwen (2001). Plasticity of the hippocampus: adaptation to chronic stress and allostatic load. Annas of NY Academy of Sciences, 933, (1), 265-277.
Cadegiani, et al (2016). Adrenal fatigue does not exist: a systematic review. BMC Endocrine disorders, 16, (1), 48.
Marshall, et al. (1998). Cytokine dysrregulation associated with exam stress in healthy medical students. Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 12 (4), 297-307.
Mohd, R.S. (2008). Life event, stress and illness. Malaysian Journal of Med. Science, 15 (4), 9-18.
American Institute of Stress at www.stress.org
I am currently reading/listening to:
The Upside of Stress, Kelly McGonigal
I am about to read:
Why We Get Sick, Benjamin Bikman
Molecules of Emotion, The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine, Candace Pert
Good Vibes, Good Life, How Self Love is the Key to Unlocking your Greatness, Vex King