IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A BROKEN HEART?

The answer; yes indeed there is. A broken heart causes real pain, not just mental and emotional pain but it manifests in physical pain too as the article from the Daily Mail below explains. We are holistic beings our spirit, our emotions and our physical well being are intertwined. Believe me I understand I've been there the pain isn't just like a physical pain for I wish it was as that is easier to deal with and most people understand and can sympathise with physical pain not everyone understands nor sympathises with emotional pain as I'm sure those of you who have felt this know. Because we are holistic beings emotional pain if not dealt with can manifest in physical ailments. I have written many times on this site how stress manifests in physical ailments. I have a well tested exercise (below the Daily Mail article) that will help heal a broken heart but the pain won't disappear overnight but practising this exercise regularly will help you cope and lessen the pain, it really does help. You won't forget the memories and pain, I'd be lying if I said you will, but you'll realise life goes on and life is worth living and your broken heart will heal albeit it may have a scar. All life's experiences teach us something and serve a purpose, those experiences teach us understanding, empathy and compassion so those of you who have been there can in turn help others hearts heal. There will come a time when your heart will laugh again.

 

The PHYSICAL pain of breaking up: From chest pain to drug-like withdrawal symptoms, we reveal the real effects of heartache

• Emotional pain activates the same pathways in the brain as physical pain, so rejection really does hurt and people often feel a pain in their chest
• Studies show withdrawal symptoms for an ex are like cravings for cocaine
• During a break up, stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline are released
• These have damaging affects on the body, from the skin to the muscles 
• The lovesick also may switch healthy behaviours for more unhealthy ones

You feel miserable, you don't eat and you can't sleep.

But a break up also affects the body in other ways.

Doctors agree the stress hormones released after a split wreak havoc on the body and damage health.

From bad skin and weight gain to digestive problems and heart attacks, we reveal how a break up affects the body...

From bad skin to weight gain and heart attacks , we reveal how a break up affects the body...

WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS

They say love is a drug, and it turns out people do suffer withdrawal symptoms from their partner after splitting up, similar to the cravings drug addicts experience for cocaine.

The anguish experienced during a split activates the same part of the brain that is stimulated during addiction, according a Stony Brook University.

Analysing brain scans of the broken-hearted, they found similarities between romantic rejection and cocaine craving.

DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND DIFFICULTY SLEEPING 

After a break up, people are at risk of suffering depression and anxiety, conditions which can bring on insomnia, and are also in turn made worse by a lack of sleep.

Psychologist Dr Susan Quilliam says the anguish of a break up brings back deep-seated memories about being abandoned as a child that everyone holds – even without knowing it.

She told MailOnline: ‘Human babies cannot survive on their own. They might die of lack of warmth or food.

‘A human is programmed to need human contact, and to be affected when human contact is withdrawn.

‘We are programmed to suffer when we are abandoned, so we don’t lose our mothers, so we are cared for.’

‘But at some point everyone in childhood thinks "oh my god I’m alone I’m going to die".

‘So a break up revokes those emotions and makes us feel insecure, angry and sad.’

The anguish of a break up activates the same part of the brain that is stimulated during cocaine addiction, a Stony Brook University found. Pictures are scans of brains on cocaine (file photo)

People go through a similar bereavement process during a break up as when someone has died, she added.

‘They go through the bereavement cycle, typically shock, denial, grief, anger, blame, self-blame helplessness, fear of the future, depression and then acceptance,' she told MailOnline.

‘If people feel abandoned but don’t feel anger, they come depressed, they lose confidence in their ability to have a relationship in the future. 

They (couple) go through the bereavement cycle, typically shock, denial, grief, anger, blame, self-blame, helplessness, fear of the future, depression and then acceptance 

 Psychologist Dr Susan Quilliam

‘They become anxious, they may relive conversations and the break up in their minds. They may not sleep, which makes anxiety and depression worse.’

Remembering the reasons for the break-up, and trying to remember why it is a good idea can help prevent sinking into depression, she said.

‘Particularly if a break up is wise, and you know it happened for a reason, you can come out a lot wiser. It can leave people stronger.

‘It can be the kick up the bum that leads you to learn how to love.’

And remembering an old Japanese saying is particularly helpful, she said.

‘They say the Japanese Kitsuki bowl is the most beautiful bowl. But if it is broken and melded with gold it is even more beautiful.'

Just as a person can be more beautiful if they have suffered a break up and have had to put themselves back together again, she added.

CHEST PAIN

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Cardiologists advise a fortnight after a break up or a divorce, there is a high risk someone will suffer a heart attack, as the body is flooded with stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline

Intense emotional pain can activate the same networks of nerves as physical pain, according to Colombia University psychologists.

So being rejected or grieving over a lost love can actually really hurt, and feel a bit like being punched.

Researcher Edward Smith took MRI scans of participants’ brains and then asked them to look at pictures of old flames.

He found an overlap between the pathways for emotional and physical pain.

Rejection stimulated the same nerve signals that cause pain when a person spills tea on themselves or stubs their toe, he said.

HEART ATTACK

After a break up or a divorce, the body is flooded with stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.

This leads to the heart beating faster and triggers abnormal heart rhythms.

Dr Graham Jackson, a retired cardiologist and now chairman of the Sexual Advice Association said he often saw people dying of a heart attack within the first fortnight after a break up.

He told MailOnline: ‘It seems to happen the next day after the break up – up to one to two weeks ‘

‘People start worrying, the adrenaline levels go up, the body goes into "fight or flight mode" and the stress can cause sudden heart attack and death.

‘They go pale, the heart starts beating too fast. When it does that, you have a narrowing in the arteries which is not normally significant, but it comes significant, when stressed.

‘Even if you don’t have a heart attack this can cause irregular heartbeat and rapid heart beat.

‘People who have this kind of stress, it’s like putting your heart on cocaine. Stress can even bring on the symptoms of a heart attack even if the arteries aren’t blocked.'

Women tend to die suddenly in the short term after a break up, but more men die of heart attacks in the long run.

Dr Jackson said men whose lives leave them tend to fare badly, he said.

‘They don’t look after themselves, they don’t eat well, they don’t exercise, they don’t go to the doctor. So they die,’ he explained.

Skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, alopecia and acne deteriorate after a break up, due to a cocktail of hormones surging through the body

BAD SKIN

The stress hormones released after a break up can aggravate the skin.

Dr Daron Seukerman, a consultant dermatologist at SK:N clinic, Harley street, London, told MailOnline: ‘A break up is naturally one of the biggest things that can happen in a person’s life, comparable to bereavement.

‘A cocktail of stress hormones flood the body and can damage health in all sorts of ways.

‘Every dermatologist is aware that where a patient is going through a break up certain conditions can deteriorate.’

He said a mixture of studies and anecdotal evidence shows stress and depression is linked with a deterioration of psoriasis, eczema, alopecia and even acne.

Not only do stress hormones trigger changes in skin, people might become distracted after a break up and let their treatment regime slide.

‘One of the things that can happen is patients might have a daily regiment of treatment for their skin problem- moisturisers and so on,’ he said.

‘But because they’re stressed and it’s not their priority, they let it slide and skin gets worse.’

However, he did have some good news for those prone to comfort eat after the loss of romance.

‘There’s no evidence eating more chocolate would give you more acne,’ he said.

DIFFICULTY WALKING

People who have gone through a divorce are 23 per cent more likely to suffer from mobility issues such as difficulty climbing stairs or walking short distances, according to a University of Texas study.

Sammy Margo, a chartered physiotherapist said people come in with a painful area of the body, and it turns out that they haven’t been in an accident, but have experienced their relationship break down.

She told MailOnline: ‘We don’t treat people for overdoing it or lifting heavy weights. We now treat people for sitting at desks for long hours, and stress.

‘If I talk to someone with a neck problem, usually they haven’t done anything mechanical to set the problem off.

‘But it comes up in conversation that they’ve had a break up or a divorce. The stress causes muscle spasms and tightness.

‘If this happens over the part of a body that is already weak, muscles shorten, tighten and this causes pain.

‘And it’s no less of a pain, you’d get a similar tightness in the shoulder from whiplash as from break up pain.’

People who are stressed are also more vulnerable to injury.

‘You’re more likely to crash your car or trip up,’ she added. 

LOSS OF APPETITE, WEIGHT GAIN AND DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS

Stressed people lose sleep, do less exercise, and drink more alcohol, all of which can lead to them piling on the pounds

People are often too lovesick to eat in the first few weeks after a break up. 

This is because when stressed, a part of the brain called the hypothalamus produces a hormone which suppresses appetite, according to Harvard Medical School scientists.

The brain also sends messages to adrenal glands on the kidneys to pump out adrenaline, which triggers the body’s fight or flight response, which puts eating on hold.

But in the long term, Yale scientists discovered stress causes weight gain, especially around the middle.

It makes the cells less sensitive to the hormone insulin, and so the body produces more insulin in response.

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Emotional tears are more watery and less salty than 'everyday' basal tears causing eyes to look puffy

But insulin turns sugar into fat, increasing the rate at which fat is stored in the body and leading to weight gain. 

It also causes the body to crave sugar and fat, which leads to mindless eating.  

Stressed people also lose sleep, do less exercise, and drink more alcohol, all of which can lead to them piling on the pounds.

Stress also diverts blood away from the digestive system, which can lead to stomach pain, diarrhoea and constipation.

PUFFY EYES

Scientists have discovered that we shed different 'types' of tears.

Basal tears are released to keep the eyes moist, and reflex tears are released in response to irritants, such as when a person chops onions.

Tears associated with emotional crying are called 'psychic' tears and are produced by the lachrymal gland, located in the upper corner of the eyelids.

They are more watery and less salty than 'basal' and 'reflex' tears. 

Emotional tears overflow, spill down the cheeks (often leaving trails of mascara) and drain through tiny ducts in the back of the nose.

So because of the process of osmosis, the water moves into the saltier tissues of the eyes, which makes them swell up and look puffy.

Lots of rubbing with tissues can also make them red and sore.

 ___________________________________________________________

CUTTING TIES RITUAL

If you have ever experienced a broken relationship you will understand when I say it feels as if part of you is missing, this is because in effect is what has happened. When you have deep feelings for someone your auric field reaches out to that other person like a tentacle to be with them. People who are deeply in love will often say that their loved one is with them. However when that relationship breaks up suddenly it does literally, create this sensation that part of you is missing.
This is not the same as when a relationship ends due to the other person passing over in death so do not try this ritual to get over a bereavement. Grieving is a natural process.

CUTTING TIES RITUAL WHEN A RELATIONSHIP HAS ENDED


There are several rituals this is the one I have used and recommend.
It is done through visualisation and can be performed as much as necessary in the passing of time, you will find you wont feel you have the need to do it.

Visualise you are standing opposite the one you wish to cut ties with and visualise a ribbon of each associated colour with each chakra for example red for base, orange for sacral, yellow for solar plexus, green or pink for the heart, blue for throat, indigo for third eye and purple for crown. These coloured ribbons join each of you together.

As you face one another smile and send love. at the same time visualise a pink cloud surrounding both you feet, pink is associated with love.

Now visualise a pair of ornate golden scissors cutting each ribbon in turn starting at the base chakra, as you cut each ribbon each end curls back to each person and at the same time the pink cloud rises up to obscure the other.

All the time smiling and sending them love to see them on their way. Gradually as you cut you will obscure the person you are cutting ties with and with the final tie complete you have sent them away with love to live their own life and yours.

You will have to do this a few times and every time you think of them do this visualisation, You will notice as time passes you wont think of them so much and you will be able to do the ritual quicker and easier and it will no longer hurt if your thoughts do turn to the person you are cutting ties with.
Do not do this ritual after a bereavement or when you are in an actual relationship with someone. It should only be used when the relationship is over and no longer serves a purpose. To allow you both to move on, one neither hating the other, that is why you smile and send love as you send them on their way.

Astrid Brown (Author)

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BROKEN HEART SYNDROME

I've always seen how this can happen from a Holistic point of view but research has now shown how in physical terms. In a Holistic point of view we know anything that affects us Spiritually and Emotionally is going to affect us physically eventually if not dealt with. Emotions do affect the heart chakra and from a Holistic point of view, this chakra governs the Thymus gland, the heart and other structures in that area, the Thymus gland is important in our immune system as it produces 'T'lymphocytes, therefore our immune system is compromised.

Article from the Daily Mail Below

Yes, you CAN die of a broken heart - emotional turmoil can narrow the arteries, leading to cardiac arrest 

It has long been claimed that people have died from a broken heart.

Now German researchers say they have identified how emotional trauma - from winning the lottery to losing a close relative - can trigger a potentially lethal catastrophe in the body they call the 'broken heart syndrome.' 

Similar to a stroke or a massive coronary, broken heart syndrome causes the body to pour out adrenaline and other stress hormones. 

Researchers say they have identified how emotional trauma - from winning the lottery to losing a close relative - can trigger a potentially lethal catastrophe in the body they call the 'broken heart syndrome'.

This narrows the coronary arteries and impairs blood circulation. It also stuns the bottom half of the main pumping chamber of the heart, forcing the top portion to work much harder to compensate.

The lack of oxygenated blood reaching the rest of the body — and indeed the heart — causes breathlessness, pain and a loss of consciousness.

The patient can die as a result of cardiac arrest, causing the brain and body to be starved of oxygen.

Victims struggle to breathe, feel weak and have pains in the chest which are typical heart attack symptoms. 

'These patients suffer under a heavy emotional load, either positive or negative and their hearts literally break, explained lead researcher Christoph Nienaber, director of cardiology at the University Clinic of Rostock. 

He recently treated a 78-year-old woman who collapsed with the complaint, despite walkingseveral miles a day and appearing fit and healthy. 

He later discovered she had been involved in an ongoing dispute with her neighbours, causing her considerable stress. 

Professor Nienaber said broken heart syndrome mostly affects women who have gone through the menopause

‘It was believed for a long time that such a banal neighbourhood dispute could not have such an impact,’ said Professor Nienaber. 

‘But the elderly suffering from a stressful situation for months find their resistance is weakened and it can have devastating consequences.' He added the affliction typically affects post-menopausal women between the ages of 50 and 70.

‘We are still unsure why it seems to affect this group the most,' he said. 'One theory is that the female body reacts especially strongly to stress hormones after menopause.’

Current figures suggest that about 2 per cent of the 300,000 'heart attacks' in the UK each year will actually be broken heart syndrome.

Doctors have long known the stress of a bereavement can trigger heart problems — studies have shown the risk of heart attack rises ten-fold in the 48 hours following the death of a loved one.

It’s previously been assumed that the patient already has an unhealthy heart as a result of bad diet or clogged arteries.

But scientists now say that a bereavement can trigger a specific type of heart attack very different from these ‘unhealthy’ heart attacks.

In August, Marcus Ringrose was sitting at his desk responding to letters of condolence about the death of his wife, when he suffered a fatal heart attack. 

Just 12 days earlier the Doctor Who actress Mary Tamm, his beloved wife of 34 years, had died after a lengthy battle with cancer.

It seems the heartbreak of losing her proved too great, said Ms Tamm’s agent: ‘He adored her. If you can die of a broken heart, then that’s what he died of — his heart just gave out.’

Around one in ten patients with broken heart syndrome may have further episodes, but misdiagnosis could have meant they were not followed up and given appropriate advice andmedication.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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INDEED HEARTBREAK IS AS BAD AS PHYSICAL PAIN

Indeed heartbreak is as bad as physical pain, my clients bear testimony to this and its time doctors took notice how emotional pain is every bit as bad as physical pain. Just because it cannot be seen does not mean it is any the less painful and very often more so

Article taken from Yahoo

Heartbreak as bad as physical pain

Similar areas of the brain affected

Wed 30 Mar, 2011 11:00 am BST

© Maxim Malevich - Fotolia.com

Heartbreak and other intense feelings of social rejection "hurt" in the same way as physical pain, a new study shows.

Researchers found that being rejected activates the same region of the brain as physical pain.

"These results give new meaning to the idea that social rejection 'hurts'," said Dr Ethan Kross, a social psychologist at the University of Michigan.

"On the surface, spilling a hot cup of coffee on yourself and thinking about how rejected you feel when you look at the picture of a person that you recently experienced an unwanted break-up with may seem to elicit very different types of pain.

"But this research shows that they may be even more similar than initially thought."

In the study, the researchers recruited 40 people who had split up with their partners against their wishes within the past six months and which left them feeling 'intensely rejected.'

Functional MRI scans of the participants brains were done as the participants completed two tasks - one linked to their feelings of rejection and the other to the sensation of physical pain.

Participants looked at a photos of their ex-partner and were asked to think about how they felt when they split up or others featuring a happy occasion with friends.

For the physical pain task, heat was applied to their forearms with a probe, similar to holding a very hot cup of coffee.

The researchers, from the University of Michigan, found that both emotional and physical pain activated similar areas of the brain.

"We found that powerfully inducing feelings of social rejection activate regions of the brain that are involved in physical pain sensation, which are rarely activated in neuroimaging studies of emotion," Dr Kross said.

"These findings are consistent with the idea that the experience of social rejection, or social loss more generally, may represent a distinct emotional experience that is uniquely associated with physical pain."

The researchers hopes the findings will offer fresh insight into how intense emotional pain can lead to various physical pain symptoms and disorders.

They also pointed out that the findings affirm the wisdom of cultures worldwide that use the same language—words like "hurt" and "pain"—to describe the experience of both physical pain and social rejection.

The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

It's very clear how emotions do affect the physical body take the Hypothalamus the area deep in our brain which the home of our moods and emotions, when this area is affected (and it maintains homeostasis in the body) then it is bound to affect our physical health eventually. Stresses albeit physical and emotional, the body i.e. the hypothalamus treats them just the same and will therefore instigate the same response alerting the Sympathetic Nervous System to stimulate the vagus nerve to elicit  changes in our digestive system, making us loose our appetite and causing upset, affecting our blood flow, raising our blood pressure by the release of Adrenalin. The Hypothalamus also instigates a chain reaction via the pituitary gland which in turn affects the adrenal glands to produce stress hormones such as Cortisol which has a damaging affect on our immune systems destroying Tlymphotcytes  SEE STRESS AND HEALTH BELOW

Stress and Health

Let's  start at the beginning. What is Stress?  a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances : he's obviously under a lot of stress | [in combination ] stress-related illnesses.
• something that causes such a state : the stresses and strains of public life. The trouble with stress is that it's not a universal level, everyone has their own threshold i.e. what is stressful to one is positively fine and stimulating to another.

We need stress for without it we'd have no motivation to do anything. Imagine this scenario: you've suddenly acquired a vast amount of money on the lottery, riches beyond your wildest dreams. So what's the first thing you do? likelihood you give up your job, people often find their jobs as stressful. You've got enough money so you don't need to work. That makes you feel less stressed, or so you think. Of course you buy the big house, the cars, the boat, designer wardrobe and you party. You really think you have it made. There comes a point though when you can have anything you want, you don't have to work for it, there's no sense of achievement, no goal in sight. You don't have to cook or clean what do you do all day? eventually you will run out of ideas and you will become bored, you will have no motivation to do or achieve anything. Stress is a catch 22 situation if you have no motivation, you become depressed and bored, the days are long that equals stress. So a certain amount of stress is necessary to motivate us and stimulate us and give us a reason to be here and a sense of accomplishment this can be seen simply as this:

Stress = Motivation > Stimulation > Accomplishment = Satisfaction

WHAT HAPPENS TO US WHEN WE ARE STRESSED?

Well this goes way back to the times when we were developing as humans and in early periods in history. The body's chemistry was designed to protect us with "The fight or flight response". For example man sees a big bear approach what does he do? he either tackles it or he runs off. Nature is very clever and gives us the capacity to do this. However in 2011 we no longer have the bears, wolves, etc. (ok some of you may) like of yesteryear we have different stresses. Your work colleagues or your neighbours may annoy you but you can't fight them, nor can you run away, but you can learn to deal and dissipate your stress levels so that it doesn't impinge on your health.

But firstly we need to deal with the science bit for if we understand the physiology of stress we're half way there to solving the impact stress has on our lives.

THE SCIENCE BIT

Deep within the brain we have an area known as the Hypothalamus (1), its the home of our moods and emotions and a very primitive part of the brain. The Hypothalamus is also the area that maintains equilibrium in our bodies and it maintains and regulates every bit of our body's chemistry. It is the area that controls the Endocrine system, it forms part of the Autonomic Nervous System and part of the Limbic System. It is Hypothalmus  that is the key to managing stress and all its detrimental effects on our mind and body. It is directly through this area that the holistic therapy Aromatherapy works and is managed by other holistic therapies.

 Since the Hypothalamus is the home of moods and emotions anything that affects these will influence the Hypothalamus, thus will have an effect on the body's equilibrium.

Now if we are stressed and modern stressors are not the same as those stressors we had as we were evolving as humans, they still have the same effect resulting in "the fight or flight response"

(1)The Role of the Hypothalamus

The Hypothalamus is the part of the brain that controls the endocrine system.

The Pituitary gland lies beneath the Hypothalamus  and it is this that controls the other endocrine glands.

The Hypothalamus receives information about the Homeostasis (balance) of the body, this is achieved by two means:

• The blood circulation i.e. temperature, blood glucose levels and hormone levels
• The nervous system i.e. The Autonomic Nervous system i.e. the part of the nervous system that regulates automatic functions e.g. breathing, heart rate etc. and mental and emotional states, our feelings: these influence ‘automatic responses’ e.g. ‘The fear, flight response’

The Hypothalamus responds to these changes by:

• Secreting Hormones (chemical messengers) that regulate hormones to be released by the anterior lobe of the pituitary
• The hypothalamus also directly releases hormones via the Posterior Lobe of the Pituitary , Vasopressin (ADH) and Oxytocin
• And by stimulating a nerve response to the ‘Central Nervous System’ (Brain & spinal Cord)

SO WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE?

Moods/emotions affect the hypothalamus, the hypothalamus evokes a reaction on the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland produces Adrenocorticotropic hormone this in turn targets the adrenal glands causing them to secrete Cortisone, Cortisone in turn effects the kidneys causing a rise in blood pressure by causing changes in the amount of salt secreted, this hormone causes the body to retain salt. Now remember the Hypothalamus one of its jobs is to maintain the body's equilibrium, it detects a rise in salt levels in the blood so to keep balance it causes the body to retain fluid, it is this retained fluid that increases blood pressure. At the same time, the Hypothalamus being part of the Central Nervous System evokes what is known as the Sympathetic Nervous System this diverts blood away from the digestive system and to lesser important body structures such as the skin and concentrates the blood to the heart, lungs and muscles. Simultaneously this nervous response influences the adrenal glands to produce Adrenalin and Noradrenalin, it is these hormones that induces vasoconstriction (reduces the blood supply) to the skin and peripheral tissues, thus also raising blood pressure.

Now this is putting it simply there are a few other processes also going on to increase blood sugar to give the body fuel to either run off or fight, Corticotrophic hormones influence the pancreas to secrete glucagon this has the opposite effect as insulin.

When the stress is over the Parasympathetic Nervous reverses the process again it is the Hyptholamus that instigates this.

Obviously its much more complex than this and I have focused on a few key hormones as it the action of these hormones that affects our well-being, the ageing process and blood pressure.

The fight or flight response was not designed to last forever it was meant ti instigate an action to deal with an aggressor, be it a wild animal or in a fight with an attacker therein lies the problem modern stressors tends to be work, work colleagues etc. the stress becomes long acting, this kind of reaction is fine in the short term but very detrimental to the body in the long term.

Take Cortisone, it has a damaging effect on specialised cells within the dermis (the skin), fibroblasts, these cells produce collagen and elastin, it is collagen and elastin that gives our skin elasticity and support. Adrenalin reduces blood supply to the peripheral tissues, such as the skin and hair, therefore, these structures do not receive adequate nourishment from the blood. So the effect of long term stress affects the skin resulting in ageing of the skin





Stress and how it affects us

Stress The dictionary definition of stress is: a constraining or impelling force, effort or demand upon physical or mental energy. A stressor is a person or situation that makes you become stressed. We are more likely to suffer stress in society today than that of our ancestors. 70% of all illness to day is now directly attributed to stress. Modern society with all its pressures traffic congestion, over-crowding, noise, fears and general uncertainties about work, mortgages and family life present situation after situation where the state of stress is ever present. Stress is an everyday part of modern life, everyone experiences at sometime or another and everyday stresses are not necessarily harmful. A certain about of stress keeps us motivated and stimulated to make life more enjoyable and interesting. It is the effect of long-term stress that can be positively harmful to our bodies.

When do stress levels become harmful? 

The factors that seem to make any situation dangerously stressful are:

• Lack of predictability
• Lack of control
• Lack of outlets for frustration

For when these elements are present even simple situations can become stressful and produce a reaction that is completely out of proportion to the cause. It is not the situation but our reaction to it that creates the stress in our lives. The problem with us humans we have this tendency to dwell on the past and worry about the future and this takes our attention away from the present. Yet it is in the present moment that we have the greatest clarity to deal with any situation. We should enjoy our life in the present for in holding on to the past and holding back the future we create fear and ultimately stress. Growth in our lives is usually preceded by change the problem is handling change can be difficult in the short term and life-changing events such as:

• Bereavement
• Moving House
• Debt
• Ill Health
• Difficult Relationships
• Stressful Work
• Family Problems Have been identified as the most likely to cause negative or harmful stress.
Even positive events such as:
• Marriage
• Pregnancy
• A child starting school or University May cause you stress and can ultimately lead to illness.

Your personality and coping mechanisms will largely determine how you deal with these daily stresses and strains.

MPB (c)

CORTISOL OFTEN KNOWN AS THE 'STRESS HORMONE'

Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced within the adrenal cortex in the adrenal glands, these are cone shaped organs sitting on top of the kidneys. It's a very important hormone and responsible for proper glucose metabolism, helping regulate blood pressure, has a part to play in insulin and blood sugar levels and is part of the inflammatory response. It's often known as the stress hormone but as you can see that's only part of its functions, and this is because it's secreted in higher levels as part of the 'Fight or Flight response'. When secreted in short bursts its beneficial to the body as due to it's actions, it helps mobilise energy reserves, heightens memory and lowers response to pain. This is how and why it's beneficial in the 'Fight and Flight response', it acts quickly and helps survival, however today's stresses are not the same as yesteryear and therein lies the problem.

When there is prolonged secretion of this hormone, when stress is on going, it causes blood sugar imbalances, affects bone density, causing it to decrease and also causes a decrease in muscle tissue. It raises blood pressure affects the body's immune system making us more susceptible to infection and leads to poor healing. It also causes shifts in body fat by increasing more fat around the abdominal areas and leads to higher levels of cholesterol.

The Hypothalamus & the Relationship to the Endocrine System in ‘Stress’

Below the flow chart illustrates how our minds' emotions and feelings trigger a reaction in the Hypothalamus to instigate what happens in the 'Fight or Flight' response. The Hypothalamus then in turn influences both the Autonomic Nervous System and the Endocrine system. This is fine short term it helps us cope in dangerous scenarios and was designed as a protective response, however the stresses of today are not those of yesteryear. No harm comes to our bodies in the short term, this is not the case in long term stress. All is not lost for there are ways we can influence the Hypothalamus to prevent the long term damaging effects of stress on our health. I shall be exploring this under Holistic Therapies.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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