Stress & Trauma

The heart and breathing rates accelerate, the liver releases glucose for extra fuel, energy is diverted from other systems like the digestive and reproductive system. Your thinking and critical decision making capabilities sharpen.

In a healthy body, once the stress has passed and Cortisol levels decrease, the hypothalamus signals to the pituitary and adrenals to stop hormone production. But this doesn’t happen when chronic stress is involved.  It becomes a loop of continual release of all of the stress hormones. The result is dysfunction in the HPA (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal) axis.

When levels of these hormones, particularly Cortisol, remain elevated in the body, specific symptoms will begin to occur. When those stay at a high level for a long time, they can weaken your bones and your immune system, mess with your sleep, and make you lose muscle.

There is a common connection between anxiety, major depression and other mental illnesses when there is a chronic elevation of Cortisol levels. Chronic stress also reduces the level of vital neurotransmitters in the brain, particularly serotonin and dopamine.  Low levels of either of these important brain chemicals can leave you depressed and/or anxious and increase the risk of binge eating and other addictions.

If stress closes down your digestive system too often, it can cause diarrhea or constipation and affect your body’s ability to take in nutrients. There also seems to be a link between stress and irritable bowel syndrome, which can cause belly pain and cramping, as well as constipation and diarrhea.

When you’re stressed, you may breathe harder and faster, which can be a problem if you have a condition like asthma or a lung disease, like emphysema, which makes it difficult to get enough oxygen into your lungs.

When you’re stressed, your liver releases glucose -- a kind of sugar -- into your blood to fuel your fight-or-flight response. This can lead to diabetes if you’re obese or at risk for it in other ways. But managing your stress can help control your blood sugar.

When you’re stressed, the muscles in your head, neck, and shoulders tighten up. This can lead to tension headaches and migraines. Relaxation techniques may help lower your stress as well as the number of these headaches.

The hormones that get into your system when you’re stressed can be bad for your heart if they stay at high levels. They can raise your blood pressure, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. They also may cause inflammation of the blood vessels that supply blood to your heart muscle, and that also can lead to a heart attack.

People who are under a lot of stress might eat more, or eat more unhealthy food. They also may drink more alcohol or smoke more often. All this can lead to heartburn and acid reflux (when stomach acid comes up into your food pipe). If it’s not treated, it can cause ulcers (open sores) and scar tissue.

When stress becomes chronic, it has a damaging effect on the brain. Production of new brain cells slows or even ceases completely and the brain actually begins to shrink. Cortisol damages the Hippocampus…the part of the brain that is responsible for memory, learning and regulating emotions. The result is memory loss, decision making problems and loss of impulse control.

Stress can make a woman’s cycle irregular and cause missed or painful periods. It also may make premenstrual syndrome (PMS) worse -- the mood swings and cramping some women get before their periods.

Stress can make men and women less interested in sex, but chronic stress can cause real trouble for men and women in the bedroom. When Cortisol levels are elevated, other systems of the body are put at a level of minimal function and release of certain hormones is suppressed. This is true for the reproductive system. When stress and Cortisol are high, sex hormone production is kept at a minimum. This will cause a loss of reproductive function and libido.

”Butterflies” are one thing, but if you’re really stressed, you may have nausea and your tummy might hurt. This is natural, because your body may slow or stop digestion during the fight-or-flight response to help you focus. 

While in the midst of a continual stress response, the appetite will increase along with the release of insulin. When facing stress, after the release of Cortisol by the adrenal glands, the body believes that it needs carbohydrates or fatty foods that can easily be stored as an energy reserve in the form of fat. So with chronic stress, your appetite for carbs and fatty food increases….and so does your waistline.

Resilience is the capacity to cope well with life’s inevitable challenges and disasters, to meet the stressors and storms of life with adaptive and skillful responses. Research reveals that mindfulness can help us develop greater resilience.    

It’s helpful to remember that mindfulness isn’t about stopping difficult emotions in the face of life’s challenges, but rather helping us relate more wisely to them.

Besides changing your diet, one of the best stress-busting strategies is to start exercising. Aerobic exercise boosts oxygen circulation and spurs your body to make feel-good chemicals called endorphins. Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three to four times a week. If you're not active now, tell your health care provider you're going to start exercising -- they'll root for you and make sure you're ready to get moving. 

Doing things you enjoy is a natural way to relieve stress and find your happy place. Even when you’re down, you may find pleasure in simple things like going for a walk, catching up with a friend, or reading a good book.

When stress makes you feel bad, do something that makes you feel good, even if only for 10 or 15 minutes. 

Deep Breathing - In through the nose, slow count of 5; out through the mouth slow count of 6 - 5x

Visualization - Visualizing a stress-free place, get all of you senses involved. Stay here for a few minutes, and relax.

Stretching - Touch toes, neck-rolls, picking fruit are all great stretches. 

Progressive Muscle Relaxation  -  Tense the muscles in your major muscle groups, hold for 15 seconds. Then release the tension slowly while counting for 30 seconds. Continue to breathe slowly and evenly. 

Foods can help tame stress in several ways. Comfort foods, like a bowl of warm oatmeal, boost levels of serotonin, a calming brain chemical. Other foods can cut levels of cortisol and adrenaline, stress hormones that take a toll on the body over time. And a healthy diet can counter the impact of stress, by shoring up the immune system and lowering blood pressure.