12/9/2020 How to cope with stressorsIn any given moment we receive input IN, it can be via Social Media, sounds, news, conversation the list in endless. How we process what we received depends on the information received and the individual. For much of human history, this emergency response system was useful. But today, the stress in most people's lives comes from the more psychological and seemingly endless pressures of modern life. To get a better grasp of the situation lets delve into the area's of the brain that are directly related/responsible for our human emotions. The Limbic SystemThe brain is a very complex organ that processes our thoughts which can be complicated, stressful and therefore passes through more than one area of the brain. Currently, it is known that the majority of our Emotional and Psychological as well as some physiological responses are determines and /or worked out in the Limbic System. {side note: Re-read the above paragraph and sit on it for a moment, it gives you an understanding of 1: How complex it is and 2: How we are STILL working structures, processes and responses out.}
Below [figure 4.6 [1]] is a partial diagram of the limbic system, also known as the paleomammalian cortex, is a set of brain structures located on both sides of the thalamus, immediately beneath the medial temporal lobe of the cerebrum primarily in the forebrain.[1] It supports a variety of functions including emotion, behavior, motivation, long-term memory, and olfaction.[2] Emotional life is largely housed in the limbic system, and it critically aids the formation of memories. When we’re startled, or acutely stressed “fear center” of the brain, called the amygdala activates our central stress response system. Known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenalcortical (HPA) axis because it is comprised of the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and the adrenal cortex.
This stress response system regulates hormones, particularly the stress hormone cortisol. When we detect stress our brain first sends a message to the hypothalamus, which fires off a message to the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is only the size of a pea however it releases hormones, which are messengers in the stress-response system. These hormones travel out of the brain to the adrenal glands which sit on top of our kidneys. These bad boy glands release the big guns which is our Cortisol. This is sthe stress hormone or the message that is released by the HPA axis to advise all of our organs in the body to deal with the stressors. Other things happen during this process, this process also is responsible for rapidly increasing glucose levels, speeding the heart rate, and increasing blood flow to the muscles in our arms and legs, this stress response allows us to respond to a threat. After the danger has passed, the system works to return hormone levels to normal. Complex? yes however it is important to have a basic structural understanding before we work on what we CAN do to control out stressors. Below is a diagram explaining the above. The Amygdala
The amygdala, which is the size of an almond is the brain's structure that actually detects stress and tells the HPA axis to respond. It can detect both emotional and biological stressors.
These functions of the amygdala are extremely important for survival. Just think—if you could not detect things that are harmful or stressful, you would not survive! The amygdala talk to our prefrontal cortex. This is the control center of the brain that controls thoughts and actions. Its main job is to control the emotional responses to stress by regulating the amygdala. The prefrontal cortex is a big region in the front of the brain. It can be called the control center of our brains because it helps to control our thoughts and actions. The main job of the prefrontal cortex is to control our emotional responses to stress so that we do not get too stressed out. The amygdala quickly signals a threat or stress in the environment, and the prefrontal cortex helps the amygdala to see stressful events as a little less scary or frustrating. It is important to be able to use the brain to help slow the production of cortisol in the HPA axis. This process helps us calm down during a normal stressor by perceiving the situation as non-life threatening. FACT that we will talk more about later is that the Amygdala CAN and DOES grow with use!!! The more we stress the bigger our Amygdala becomes which leads us into the Segway of The Negative Bias. The Negative Bias
Another things we need to also think about is how our (humans) negative bias comes into play. Negative experiences from a survival standpoint over the 600-million-year evolution of the nervous system, have more urgency and impact typically than positive experiences do. Watch your own mind do this. It does five things automatically.
Stress today makes us just a little more vulnerable to stress tomorrow, which increases the stress tomorrow, which then makes us even more vulnerable for the day after that. That IS the negativity bias in a nutshell. What fires together - WIRES together
“Neurons that fire together, wire together.” are sustained patterns of neural mental activation co-occurring together leave lasting physical changes behind in neural structure and function.
This means the more you run a neural-cicruit ie: the more your brain does a certain task, the stronger that neural network becomes, making the process more efficient each successive time. This is why, to quote another old saying, “practice makes perfect”. The more you practice piano, or speaking a language, or juggling, the stronger those circuits get. What it also means is that the more you stress, the more you will develop these stressor pathways AND the easier it will become to see a situation as stressful. Lets put it to another situation, when you start an exercise program for the first time it is hard however the more you do it the easier it becomes and you can even say add more load to your squat bar. Your muscles will even grow and this is exactly the same as experiencing STRESS. What Fires together Wires together! Interesting fact is the Amygdala can grow, just like a muscle. The more you stress the more it will grow. Prolonged stress leads to a range of behavioral abnormalities. Interestingly, some of the key emotional and cognitive symptoms of stress disorders are quite divergent. This is evident in the contrasting effects of chronic stress on the structure and function of two brain areas critically involved in learning and memory: the hippocampus and amygdala. Above Figure from The Hidden Face of Fear in the COVID-19 Era: The Amygdala Hijack: Functional MRI. Tasks with happy faces and threat-related cues show a significant activation map (T-score 3–6) of the amygdalae, superimposed on a T1-weighted volumetric interpolated brain sequence. The ICU task involved images of intubated patients and healthcare personal with protective equipment, evoking the COVID-19 emergency and a stronger bilateral activation of the basolateral amygdala. ICU, intensive care unit. Reducing Stress
Fun Fact “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” are sustained patterns of neural mental activation co-occurring together leave lasting physical changes behind in neural structure and function. WHICH we already read above however ALL “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” This means that when we develop strategies to handle stress and practises these stragetiges our brain can be hardwired or for some re-hardwired for happiness. Every person is different and could/will require different 'areas' in their strategies however they only differ by degree - not kind. Accepting is POWERFUL Go with me here, it may seem airy fairy to some, however if you are looking for more of a Mind Body process scroll past this point (if you must).
Understanding the Mind Body Connection Here we come down to the Nuts and Bolts of it all. You WANT and NEED to be in a state of Homeostasis; Homeostasis refers to the body's need to reach and maintain a certain state of equilibrium. The term is often used to refer to the body's tendency to monitor and maintain internal states such as temperature and energy levels at fairly constant and stable levels. If you don't understand the Mind Body Connection it can cause ALL sorts of Gut & Intestinal Issues (this is ANOTHER Blog in the making). So lets look at some of the Fundamentals to put this into practice.
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