Stress

As I discussed before stress is everywhere.

You can't avoid it. Every organism on this planet is susceptible. Even an amoeba experiences stress. Poke it with a micropipette, and it will move away. This is stress: a reaction to a stimulus. in many ways stress is beneficial to life. Stress helps animals grow and adapt. It helps an animal escape from predators and it guides plants to grow toward sunshine.

In humans, stress stimulates the muscles to grow after exercise and it guides us away from danger. Even though stress is a universal constant, the way each individual reacts to stress is distinctly personal. You form your own reaction to a stimulus whether it is a dog barking, a car veering toward you or your boss yelling at you. Your own unique personality, behaviors and coping skills determine how you will react to the stimulus.

For centuries, Taoist physicians have recognized the health risks of a stressful lifestyle, but it is only recently that Western scientists have begun to unravel the mystery of how stress affects the body. When confronted with danger, the response of an animal is an increase in blood pressure, an increase in heart rate, and in increase in blood flow to the muscles. This response provides an extra surge of strength and energy to enable the endangered animal to fight for its life or to escape. This fight or flight response still exists in humans. With each stressor that you encounter, whether a boss, a spouse or financial pressure, the fight or flight response kicks in driving up your blood pressure and your heart rate.

Stress leads to a cascade of hormones in the body. Under times of stress a small area in the brain, the hypothalamus sends signals in the form of neurohormones to the pituitary gland which then secretes a neurohormone, ACTH,. ACTH travels to the adrenal glands causes them to secrete corticosteroids. The adrenals are also stimulated to secrete another group of chemicals called catecholamines such as adrenalin and norepinepherine.

Next week I will discuss what these stress provoked compounds do to your body.