Becoming Stressed
When we become stressed or under pressure the brain sends out a signal to your adrenal gland to produce adrenalin and cortisol.
Adrenalin is secreted into the blood stream to trigger your heart rate and lung capacity to increase and to work in harmony to pump extra blood and oxygen to your legs and arms which is preparing your body for the “fight or flight” response – its there to protect you from danger so your muscles are more responsive to do just that, fight or fly (run).
Cortisol is released at the same time, which fuels your body with extra energy that’s stored away for just such a situation. Cortisol will regulate the blood sugar levels and acts as a natural anti-inflammatory just in case the body is harmed.
The brain does not know if you will be harmed or not but as we are just animals by nature the only things that would cause us harm, back when we were just cave people, would be a predator.
As we have moved through the ages and evolved, we now have more things that will trigger stress.
Because of this extra energy that’s created in our bodies, you may feel like you’re full of energy or shaking perhaps? Hot or cold? This is because your body is preparing to run or fight.
What happens to our bodies when we are stressed?
If this is happening to you several times a day then you are going to lose concentration, feel tired, experience a loss of appetite – your body doesn’t require food when preparing to run or fight so appetite and digestion is decreased and this is why you may feel sick or want to go to the toilet, sometimes the body will want to evacuate what is in the stomach to make its job easier.
The brain is not required to be intellectual in an uncomfortable situation so you may feel that you can’t think straight.
What causes stress?
Every day activities brings stress, targets at work, driving/traffic, your child becoming ill, unexpected bill, exams etc. etc…. your brain and central nervous system doesn’t know the difference between real physical harm or a mental or emotional threat to your self, and its how you as an individual cope with that response that is critical to understanding how to make improvements and changes.
You are an individual and so it’s how you interpret that which will tell your body how to respond.