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Stress and its Chemical connectors

Posted on | July 22, 2010 | No Comments

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Stress brings about many changes to your body and you will be all too aware of the signals you receive from it. What you may not realise is that there is a complex series of chemical messengers that come into play, and the chief of these is adrenaline. it has good intentions as it is preparing you to assuem the ‘fight or flight’ position, but it can over do it and this can have serious effects on your health.

This reflex is governed by our autonomic nervous system and is something we have no control over. WE never have to do anything to keep breathing and our heart beating because this involuntary system is doing it automatically. We don’t have to think about breathing – it is automatic. The autonomic nervous system has two parts; the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nerves and they have totally different and opposite actions. When we are alarmed our heart rate speeds up and that is the sympathetic nerves in action, and when you are calming down it is the parasympathetic nerves which slow the heart rate to it’s normal level.

It is the balance between these two nerves that indicates how you respond to a stressful situation esponse to danger is governed by these two nerves and.

The body’s response: When you face danger the sympathetic nervous system goes immediately into action and stimulates your adrenal glands to secret more of the hormones adrenalin and cortisol. This activity diverts all your other bodily activity away from everyday functions like digestion and directs all its efforts into your muscles so you are ready to run, or stand and fight. To give you more much-needed energy, the amounts of fat and glucose ciruculating in the blood are increased and your breath becomes more rapid in order to draw in more oxygen. You may well have noticed a clear physical sign of stress when you go pale. This is because the blood is literally drained away and sent to areas where it is more needed. You can also probably hear your heart thumping as both your blood pressure and heart rate skyrocket.

This rapid increase in hormonal and nervous system activity can also cause diarrhoea or nausea and the mouth to become dry as the saliva glands reduce their non-essential output. Other changes also occur in our sweat glands as they increase production, so you may experience a ‘cold sweat’ on your skin. When in danger the senses we need are sharpened, so our hearing becomes more acute and our pupils expand to take in as much light as possible so we can see the situation more clearly.

When in a dangerous situation there is always the possibility of injury and so the body prepares itself for the worst by releasing endorphins from the adrenal and pituitary glands as well as the brain to help us deal with any potential pain. Endorphins act like strong painkillers to reduce feeling in the inured area, and also help the blood clot faster so as to speed up the healing process.

All these are excellent defence mechanisms when faced with a serious threat, but unfortunately they arise just the same whether your life is under attack or someone has trodden on your foot in a lift. There is no regulator, and as we rarely encounter life threatening attacks, if we are frequently responding on this level then our body literally becomes exhausted. Plus our hormonal balance is upset by having to throw in all its reserves all of the time. When we are stressed this is what we are doing and why those under constant stress feel so tired and drained.

Of course there are other factors that come into play, and I will examine options and ways of dealing with it in other articles on stress.

About the Author
AnnA is the author of the ebook,’How To Handle Stress’ and is an inspirational writer and speaker on health, personal development and creativity. For more information and news of her special bonus on Attitude and Illness, visit http://www.sortingstressout.com If you would like free email newsletters, creative resources and archives then visit her main website at http://www.catalystonline.co.uk

Category: General Healthier

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