08 Stress

One of the greatest stresses that one can impose on the human body is famine, that is true hunger. When faced with hunger the female body reacts by converting food to fat to enable the females to live long enough to nurture their children. The males will be the first to die off during hunger the females and babies have more food available to them. Survival of the species in the extreme.

Another form of stress could be running away from, say, an angry dog. A popular pastime of postmen and postwomen. While running away from the stressfull event the human body has only one aim "in mind" get you away from the dog as fast as possible. To do so it stops worrying and actively repairing the body. It directs as much energy as possible to get one away from the dog or stressor as quickly as possible, so it minimises things such as replacing bone and other normal body maintenance functions when stressed.

Once the human body is under stress, whatever the reason, it acts in one of two ways depending upon whether it is short or long term stress.

Pg 141 What your doctor may not tell you about menopause - John R Lee M.D.

adrenal gland (prune shape/size) located on top of each kidney

outer cortex ----- long term stress
innner medulla - short term stress

Adrenal medulla – if used too often eventually become exhausted

epinephrine ----- (adrenaline)
norepinephrine - (noradrenaline)

stress (fight or flight)

quick and simultaneous:-

heart speeds up
blood sent to heart, lungs, muscles and brain
blood diverted away from digestive system
sugar dumped into blood in large quantities to provide quick energy
breathing is faster

“Good for running away from fierce animal but not so good if boss is yelling at you."
“... Body is flooded with contradictory messages ... This in itself is a factor in disease, eventual fatigue and physical illness.“

Pg 327 What your doctor may not tell you about menopause

Adrenal cortex

Corticosteroids - long term stress

Cortisol (glucosteroid)

Regulates immune response
Opposes insulin
Stimulates conversion of proteins to glucose in the liver

Corticosterone

Helps regulate mineral balance

Aldosterone (most potent)

Promotes retention of sodium
Increased excretion of potassium

"Cortisol is extremely important to survival when stress of any sort is present"
"… But without the corticosteroids we couldn’t survive even the slightest stress. … danger of death from even mild illness.”

The hormone that triggers / is involved in having the human body convert food to fat is oestrogen. Any source of stress on the human body and oestrogen will trigger the process of converting food to fat. Failing exams, relationship breakdown, Gulf War Syndrome, Shell shock and Seasonal Affective Disorder (Winter sickness), SAD, any of the many other sources of stress & the human body, especially the female one, will become oestrogen dominant.

Once the hormone balance is restored and there is sufficient bio-available progesterone the body will then convert food to energy. In history this was by natural means from an adequate food supply with all the required nutrients.

Today we have natural progesterone and other natural hormones to help restore hormone balance. Saliva testing is available to check that the balance has been achieved.

According to the AMA, American Medical Association, stress causes or contributes to between 80 percent and 85 percent of all human illness. The following are a few links to some sites, there are others.

http://logisens.com/pages/resources_stress.php Stress has been linked to: immune deficiency, memory loss, fatigue, insomnia, obesity, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions.

$300 billion is spent annually in the U.S. on stress-related compensation claims, reduced productivity, absenteeism, health insurance costs, direct medical expenses and employee turnover.

The cost of stress to U.S. companies is higher than the total net profit of all Fortune 500 companies.

ex now broken link -> http://docmagi.com/stress.htm Over two-thirds of office visits to physicians are for stress related illness >

ex now broken link -> http://www.nrgetics.com/ Stress has also been linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis and suicide (NIH).

ex now broken link -> http://www.dragonflyhealth.com/index.html Left unchecked, it is a killer. As reported in Newsweek, “A whole new body of research shows the damage stress wreaks on the body: not just heart disease and ulcers, but loss of memory, diminished immune function, and even a particular type of obesity. Stress is ubiquitous.

Stress affects you at home, in your relationships, and at work.

ex now broken link ->http://www.spiritualhealing.org/stress.htm Activities that produce only Joy or Enjoyment should be considered, if anything makes you nervous or anxious Forget It. Many things we do for Pleasure create an enormous amount of stress, many of these include being bombarded by Sound with loud volume and discordant tones. If you doubt this, try spending an hour in a video game arcade or put music you find offensive on your stereo and crank it up.

Thoughts are perhaps the most important aspect of how Stress Is Created as well as being Reduced. The old adage about Mind Over Matter, 'If You Don't Mind It Doesn't Matter', is a concept worth embracing. Simply put, Your Response to any given situation or thought you have about anything affects your energetic field and your physiology. Any time something causes an adrenal response your system is sending you a warning message.

Part of the benefits derived from divesting one's self from the normal negative emotions is that the physical body acquires a more natural relaxed and rested state. In this state of serenity the body is more able to repair itself and maintain a higher degree of functional ability.

The more you do the higher the stress, ...

ex now broken link ->http://www.bstressfree.com/ Chronic stress is becoming increasingly problematic in the United States as workers work longer and harder hours. Approximately one-third of all workers report that they are in high-stress jobs, and that not only is stress implicated in 15 percent of all disability claims, the number of stress-related absences is increasing.

http://www.stressmanagement.co.uk/stress/types-of-stress.html

Effect of Stress on the body

There are extensive amounts of scientific evidence that suggest that the cumulative build-up of stress hormones, if not metabolized over time, can cause health problems and disorders of the autonomic nervous system. The first symptoms of chronic stress could include headache, irritable bowel syndrome and high blood pressure. Additionally disorders of the immune and hormonal systems can arise as a result of prolonged exposure to chronic stress; the body becomes more susceptible to infection, chronic, depression, memory loss, heart disease and obesity. Autoimmune diseases including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, hair loss and allergies can also become a problem for someone who is chronically stressed.

It has been reported that as much as 90 percent of visits to GP's are for symptoms that are in some way stress induced or related.

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