Yoking of the Mind and Body
Breaking it Down – How the Body Responds to Stress
Part Two
We know that stress is inevitable in our lives. We have good stressors and bad stressors that are like threads in our emotional fabric. Too much bad stress can create snags oppression, leaving our emotional fabric with, figuratively speaking, and a never-ending tear. Therefore making any hope for a happy, healthy out-look on life nearly impossible. So what is actually going on in the body as its experiencing stress? In the article, the power of mood, written by Michael D. Lemonick, he states that stress comes in two forms, acute and chronic. Acute stress is the result of imminent danger,(“ flight or flight”response) it floods the body with powerful hormones that can damage the cardiovascular system. Where as chronic stress is caused by constant emotional pressure that a person cannot control. It produces hormones that can weaken the immune system and can contribute to damaging bones resulting in osteoporosis.
Let us imagine the brain has just received a situation or thought which cultivates a stress response. Upon the first notion of danger area structures of the brain, including the hypothalamus, amygdale, and pituitary gland, get stimulated. They exchange information with each other. They then signal hormone and nerve impulses to the rest of the body to prepare an escape route in order to survive the assumed stressor. The body now unleashes a flood of hormones through out the blood stream that flows through every organ. Adrenal glands react to the alert by releasing epinephrine (adrenaline) which makes the heart pump faster in the lungs work harder to flood the body with oxygen. The adrenal glands also release extra cortisol and other glucocorticoids, which help the body, convert sugar into energy. Nerve cells release norepinephrine, which tense muscles and sharpen the senses to prepare for action. Digestion comes to an indigestible halt. It can be imagined, with all that unleashed, stress certainly can place at risk at least one of the 11 systems of the body. Lemonick goes on to mention in his article that won the threat has diminished epinephrine and noepinephrine levels drop. If danger comes to often damage to the arteries is likely. Chronic low-level stress keeps the glucocorticoids in circulation leading to a weakened immune system, loss of bone mass, expression of the reproductive system, and memory problem. Scientifically and medically, we know all these responses occur in the body during times of stress. However, the relationship between depression and other diseases remains to be uncovered to its fullest potential. Lydia Lewis, president of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance says, “When you only have roughly 8 minutes with your primary doctor is kind of hard to get into the realm of depression. And when you go to see a specialist, for example a cardiologist, they’re just thinking about your heart, not about depression or stress, and those effects on them in regards to your heart.”
