Heartfelt Therapies

I am fascinated with this topic, as I am with all information about how amazingly our bodies function. I can’t imagine anyone not being aware of this topic but it is written with those people in mind; a complete but over-simplified version of what is taking place in our bodies regarding the F&F Response. You really need to be aware of this response if you want to be in control of your health.

Evolution of the human body has brought us a long way, but there is one primitive, built-in, automatic function that has remained operational – the Fight or Flight Response (you can also add Freeze). When a problem shows up, real or imagined (because the mind/body connection does not know the difference), an avalanche of processes are triggered to stimulate the body into a state of preparedness. Obviously, coming face to face with a Tyrannosaurus rex or Sabre-toothed tiger would tend to trigger that, but a life-threatening situation is no longer needed to trigger our fight or flight response. Stress does it! Unfortunately, it seems to take less and less to stress people out.

Many of us harbour anxiety and worry about world problems, personal relationships, job performance, job security, money, social commitments, responsibilities, exams, deadlines, and so on. We feel stress about things that happened in the past (including traumatic experiences of abuse and neglect), or that haven’t happened yet, may never happen, and certainly don’t require the physical readiness that stress hormones were designed to create.

Stress hormones (cortisol, Growth H, norepinephrine, and more) are released into the circulatory system following instructions originating from stimulation of the hypothalamus, a region in the middle of the base of the brain. Among other effects, these hormones engage the sympathetic nervous system, affecting many bodily functions. To keep this post short, you can check out how the body responds to catecholamines hormones for yourself at, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight-or-flight_response.

Ideally, vigorous physical activity would make use of the excess stimulation and metabolize those rampart hormones. Aggressiveness, hypervigilance, and being over-reactive, however, are not socially acceptable behaviours. The result is that most people unknowingly exist in a continuous state of mental and physical arousal (F&F) that takes a toll on our bodies.

The evidence is overwhelming that there is a cumulative build up of stress hormones. If not properly metabolized, the result can manifest itself in chronic disorders of our autonomic nervous system (causing headache, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure and the like), and disorders of our hormonal and immune systems (creating susceptibility to infection, chronic fatigue, depression, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and allergies).

The first step to recovery is awareness. We need to identify our own signals of being in the F&F Response. Signs of stress may be cognitive, emotional, physical or behavioural.

Do you recognize anything on the following list: poor judgment, a general negative outlook, excessive worry, moodiness, irritability, agitation, inability to relax, feeling lonely, isolated or depressed, aches and pains, diahhrea or constipation, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, eating too much or not enough, sleeping too much or not enough, social withdrawal, procrastination or neglect of responsibilities, increased alcohol, nicotine or drug consumption, and nervous habits such as pacing about or nail-biting, headache, upset stomach, deep sighing or shallow breathing, anxiety, poor concentration, depression, hopelessness, frustration, anger, sadness or fear.

So what do you do when you can now identify yourself operating in the F&F Response Mode? You want to learn what it really means to relax! That is the topic of my next blog. The Relaxation Response.

*Note: refer to my recent post of May 16^th, 2010 “Relaxing Is Not A Given”.

Filed under: Emotional Health, Mental Health, Physical Health, Spiritual Health, Stress on June 3rd, 2010