Cue the Emotional Stress Cascade…
The phone rang…
I hesitated before answering. The day just hadn’t gone so well up until this point, but really what else could go wrong?
It was my mom, my favorite aunt had just found out that she was being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. My mom didn’t even understand what that really meant, but she knew it must be bad…
As I felt my mother’s fear and worry radiate through the phone, I recognized my own heart rate was increasing, my back was hurting, my shoulders were tight and when my puppy ran by me, chasing a ball and knocked over a chair, my patience snapped.
I found myself snapping at my mom, when she needed me to be consoling and reassuring. I yelled at my sweet puppy that was only playing.
Quickly recognizing that I just needed some space, I begged off the call, promising to call back and check in a little later.
All of a sudden I was starving…
The first thing I wanted to do was find a snack. Slamming the cabinet doors as I searched for that elusive perfect snack, I began to grumble to myself.
Aha!
Here’s something sweet, or maybe I want the bag of stale potato chips I had also just found.
I’ll eat them both…
And then there I sat, shoveling food into my mouth, without thinking about it, not minding that the chips were stale or that the sweet treat I was eating was meant to serve 5, while I continued to eat the whole thing.
I suddenly began to feel a little bit of the stress and tension leave my body. I sighed and then realized that once again, I had responded to the day’s stress with tension, irritation and binge eating.
Have you ever experienced a stress cascade?
This scenario happens over and over again…
to us…
to people we know…
and
people we don’t know.
The body’s stress response is a powerful beast.
This story was a snapshot of just one day in our lives. Can you imagine if every day went like this?
Imagine if there were even more stressful events happening, over and over again.
Here’s what’s happening inside:
1.Stress triggers a Cortisol response.
Cortisol is a hormone made in the adrenal cortex of the body. It helps to regulate your blood sugar and divert energy to the brain and the body to manage your reaction in the time of stress.
It is very powerful.
It can increase your energy, mask pain from an injury and even give you superhuman strength.
Enough to actually move a heavy object like a car off of an accident victim. (not-joke, this has really happened)
While very helpful when we need it, Cortisol can become very catabolic.
This means that it can break down the cells, tissues, glands and organs in the body over time if left to run rampant and unchecked by other balancing hormones, such as DHEA.
This catabolic process creates a stress cascade in the body. Like the infographic I shared last week the effects of emotional stress on the body.
You can see it HERE
2. When we are in this state of active stress, we don’t need to think about functions like procreating, so the energy put towards hormone production is down-regulated.
(not a good thing if you are trying to conceive or even if you are heading into your menopausal years)
Hormones are the foundation of many other functions besides reproduction, including emotional well-being and brain health.
3. As this stress cascade continues, digestion is down-regulated.
After all, it is hard on the body to digest when we are “running”, as we try to outrun our stress.
4. Eventually, our digestive enzyme production and HCL production is lowered, making it more difficult to break down nutrients into absorbable forms.
It also leaves protein to rot and feed bacteria, which can lead to an overgrowth and dysbiosis in the gut.
5. Microflora balance is key to our immune health, nutrient absorption, energy production and so many other important functions.
The fall-out of a poor microbiome can lead to IBS, SIBO, food intolerance, gas, bloating, indigestion and GERD issues, to name just a few.
6. Other issues happening in the gut at this time include raising our histamine response, which unmitigated leads to inflammation in the digestive tract, eventually becoming humoral , creating pain and inflammation throughout the body.
7. All of these dysfunctions can lead to “backed up detoxification” and increased toxins circulating in the body that will eventually create more cellular damage and be the precursor to many diseases.
8. In this ongoing cycle of the Stress Cascade, these imbalances and dysfunctions among the systems circles back to mental and emotional health, effecting the receptors for hormones and important neural chemicals needed by the brain to maintain a healthy emotional response and now we will see our stress response be even more erratic, depressed or anxious.
9. The whole process is actually exhausting to the body and affects our cellular energy, right down to the mitochondria, the power-house of the cells.
If you’re tired and you’ve experienced any similar stressful scenario, especially ongoing, then there is a strong possibility that functionally, your body needs some holistic wellness protocols and intervention, your mind needs some positive experiences, and your soul needs some love and empathy.
How do you know?
Be mindful of how you feel throughout the day…
- When do you notice you feel the most fatigued?
- Do you notice certain foods bother you and how do they bother you?
- Do you feel painful and inflamed?
- Do certain events trigger your irritation or lack of patience more than others?
- Do you feel more anxious or apathetic during certain times of the days or events?
- How are you sleeping?
- What are your bathroom habits like? Constipation, diarrhea, alternating etc..?
- Are you struggling to maintain your weight?
- Do you struggle to have the energy for physical activity or tire easily
These are just a few issues you can focus on.
Becoming more in tune with your body and recognizing where dysfunction may be happening by jotting things down or keeping a journal is a wonderful tool.
My clients can share this information with me, so that I can further guide them through a functional investigation and develop a personalized E.N.E.R.G.Y™ holistic lifestyle-protocol to support them, while we wait on additional data from the functional lab-screenings that they complete in the privacy of their own home.
Starting the process of paying more attention can also guide you as you decide on the level of care and support you would like to receive.
It can help you recognize whether or not working with an integrative health practitioner, such as myself, is the right next step for you.
If I could speak to my younger self or to my clients years before they reach out to me, I would tell them not to wait until they already had a medical issue or diagnosis to seek support, or assume that ignoring common symptoms would make H.I.D.D.E.N. issues go away.
The stress cascade doesn’t usually create issues over night. It happens over a period of time, sometimes even years.
The good news is that there is hope to repair the damage, reverse the issues and alleviate even remove the symptoms, but you have to start.
What can you do next:
Book a consultation to discuss the Functional- E.N.E.R.G.Y™ Solutions available.
While you’re at it, Grab my “Have More E.N.E.R.G.Y™ Guide“
Dear reader: Just get started now!
Thoughtfully,
Tess Hanke
HHP, FDN-P, CFH, HTMA-MP
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The information in this article is provided for educational, inspirational and self-empowerment purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any illness and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice. It is the personal opinion and experience of the writer. Please see your medical professional for specific advice and medical needs.
Tess Hanke is a Board-Certified Holisitic Health/Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Professional, with an life-long foundation in herbs & slow-living. She’s passionate about helping women “Go From Exhausted to Exhilarated” and have more E.N.E.R.G.Y™ thorough her E.N.E.R.G.Y™Solutions System.
She serves her clients in the online space HERE and Here and in her community. Her work-life balance includes: valuing her faith, nurturing her family with good food, enjoying gardening, artful living and adventures with her border-collie and horses.
Nice post!