Messenger December 2017

Lifestyle 33
Mental Wellness
Stress Response and the Brain – Are You Strong Enough?
By Dan Little,
coach and psychotherapist
One of the biggest myths I hear about stress is the perception
that when a person is suffering stress they are
not mentally ‘strong’ enough to ‘cope’.
As a life coach and psychotherapist, I often experience
this attitude from managers (either directly by what they
say or by how they treat people) and wonder why organisations
are not doing more to educate staff about managing
mental wellness.
This false stereotype needs to be put straight in the bin
where it belongs as stress, put simply, is a physiological
reaction (fear) to a perceived threat within our environment.
Stress is a physiological response and not one that
is controlled by our thinking or emotions. The demands
in current work culture (threats) are very real for people
(and often unrealistic to achieve) making it difficult to
find a work life balance or ‘safety’ from the ‘threat’.
The stress response starts in the brain. By taking an evidenced
based approach to understanding how the brain
works and how chronic stress impacts us physically, we
can then take effective actions to heal ourselves from the
damage that it causes.
Let’s understand how the brain responds to stress
The first of two components of the stress response in the
brain starts with the activation of the amygdala, which
plays a part in emotional processing, memories and decision
making. It is responsible for detecting and responding
to fear, but not necessarily feeling fear. When
a threat has presented itself and the amygdala is triggered
it will then send a signal to the hypothalamus.
The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that communicates
with the rest of the body via the autonomic nervous
system (ANS). This response is what he now more
commonly refer to as the fight, flight or freeze response.
It is more helpful and accurate to think about the brain
as being systems based and not one part being solely responsible
for one action. So for example the amygdala is
only part of the process around sensing and feeling fear,
not the part that solely houses fear.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls various
involuntary processes such as our heart rate, blood pressure,
breathing and contraction or dilation of the blood
vessels. It is made up of two separate systems, the sympathetic
nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic
nervous system (PNS). The SNS can be thought of as
being the accelerator which when triggered causes the
‘flight & fight’ response. So if the SNS is the accelerator,
the PNS is the brake which helps to relax the person and
promote the ‘rest & digest’ response after the danger has
passed.
The hypothalamus activates the SNS which triggers the
adrenal glands to release epinephrine (more commonly
known as adrenaline). This is released throughout the
body and various physiological changes occur as a result,
such as an increase in heart rate, increase of blood to
muscles and other important organs. The brain will also
receive more oxygen which helps to increase alertness
in order to better perceive and respond to threats.
Epinephrine will also trigger the release of glucose into
the bloodstream which helps to supply energy to all of
the body. This will all happen before you can even notice
it and helps to explain why people can have such fast reactions
to threats before they have even had time to
think about how to react. This faster response is referred
to as the sympathetic-adrenomedullary (SAM) system.
Second stage stress response
If the threat continues the hypothalamus will then activate
the second stage of the stress response, which we
refer to as the HPA axis. This is the hypothalamus, the pituitary
gland and the adrenal gland. The hypothalamus
releases corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) which
then triggers the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone
(ACTH) by the pituitary gland. This in turn makes
the adrenal gland release cortisol. All of this helps to
keep the body in an alert state to help combat what ever
threat a person faces. Once the cortisol levels fall the PNS
is activated which helps to calm the body down to its
naturally homeostatic state.
So why is all this important to know?
As I see all too often in my clinical practice, people find
it really difficult to ‘put the brakes on’ which means that
they spend a lot of time with chronic levels of stress.
Chronic stress keeps the HPA axis activated which long
term has been shown to have negative effects on the
brain and body.
If the body uses too much epinephrine (adrenaline) for
too long this can cause damage to blood vessels, increase
blood pressure and raise the risk of heart attacks.
Chronically raised levels of cortisol may lead to build up
of adipose (fat) tissue and weight gain. Too much can
also result in the loss of synaptic connections in the prefrontal
cortex which helps to regulate behaviours such
as concentration, decision-making, judgement and social
interaction.
Ultimately this all goes to show just how much of an impact
chronic stress levels can have on you and why you
really need to get a grip on this very damaging process.
Everything discussed above is part of an unconscious
process that the brain goes through. This means that before
you can start to manage your stress levels through
thinking about problem solving you may need to address
the physiological responses first. This is where
learning mindfulness techniques, yoga or physical exercise
can help.
It is only after this psychological response occurs do feelings,
such as fear and anxiety come into consciousness
and we are able to process them. It is at this point where
people often become ‘stuck’ and are unable to make
sense or put words to their experiences. For example,
how often have you heard someone saying they are
‘stressed’ without given any other explanation as to what
this means to them. This is where I can help you to understand
and ultimately take control over your own
unique way of experiencing stressful situations.
Chronic stress has seriously detrimental consequences
for people which is why at Optimised Personal Wellness
we will work to effect change in every aspect of your life
ensuring that you are at your physical, mental and emotional
best.
Email: danlittle@trenpatherapy.co.uk
Call: 07795 403645
www.trenpatherapy.co.uk
Ultimately this all goes to show
just how much of an impact
chronic stress levels can have on
you and why you really need to
get a grip on this very damaging
process. Everything discussed
above is part of an unconscious
process that the brain goes
through.