Your body automatically initiates a series of changes in your brain and body when it is triggered by as stressor--what your brain perceives as a threat. This can be a physical or external threat, or something that you just think about. Something that causes negativity, worry, or ruminating. In fact, this happens in a 15,000th of a second!
The changes include direction your brain control to the amygdala, the oldest part of the brain, historically speaking. It is the first brain segment to evolve, as it is survival oriented. The brain signals the body about the threat. Respiratory rate increases, blood leaves the digestive area in order to focus on more important survival areas, such as your limbs (for fighting or running away). Your senses heighten, or body becomes pro-inflammatory, your blood may thicken a bit (to promote coagulating more quickly in the event of a wound). You body processes glucose differently as well. It can even trigger inherited genetic illnesses to begin or worsen. All of these require energy and other important resources, which are redirected to support this response to threat.
As long as these things get shut down after a physical threat is gone, you're good. But most threats, most stressors these days, are not physical. They are all in your mind--worries, negative emotions, dwelling on negative events, frustrations, and so forth. So they can linger. Extended stress response depletes important resources for maintaining homeostasis. You must maintain homeostasis to survive. It has effects on brain structure, and can even result in reduced size of the prefrontal cortex, which houses all sorts of positive human functions, like emotional control, reasoning, access to positive emotions and memories, and so forth. At the same time, the amygdala increases its influence on your ability to access these important PFC functions, instead growing longer, branchier dendrites, which allow more and more input to turn on the stress response.
Just as your body has a stress response, it also has a relaxation response. Throughout the ages, civilizations have incorporated ways to trigger this natural process in your body and mind, such as meditations, prayer, yoga, even dancing. This turns off stress, refreshes your system. It is a state of positive emotions and thoughts, of being present. Of not feeling threatened. Turning this on regularly can counteract the effects of negative stress, leading to greater reliance in all aspects of your life, better health, reduced inflammation (and so, pain), etc.
The less time spent in the stress response, the better. By learning ways to bring on the relaxation response, and practicing them regularly, you improve your enjoyment of life as well as longterm health.
For more information, visit managemystress.net. Or better, sign up for my Stress Management & Resiliency training program.
