“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” – Lou Holtz
As a compliment to last week’s installment on how stress suppresses our language and predicative capabilities, I chose to discuss the fifth item on Cozolino’s eight problematic aspects of functioning that cause an individual to consider counselling from his book The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain (2010):
1) The suppression of language and predictive capacity under stress
2) Divergent hemispheric processing
3) The bias towards early learning
4) The tenacity of fear
5) The damaging effects of stress hormones
6) The speed and amount of unconscious processing
7) The primacy of projection
8) Unconscious self-deception
The damaging effects of stress hormones are well documented. Stress itself is adaptive, however overexposure to the stress hormone cortisol can have debilitating consequences. The evolution of a large cortex enables memory and predictive capacities, however this also creates the ability to imagine endless possibilities and anticipatory anxiety that is difficult to distinguish from reality. This contributes to the trigger and release of cortisol during stressful situations. One of the actions of cortisol is to regulate energy dedicated to the protein synthesis required for both neural growth (learning) and in immune system (overall general health). The potential for compromised brain maintenance; learning; and immunological functioning make psychotherapeutic inventions to regulate stress a key therapeutic target independent of diagnosis or goals.
Chronic stress is extremely prevalent, but few realize the impact of stress on their vitality. We’ve come to accept stress as a “normal” part of the human condition and often fail to acknowledge seemingly common ailments as being related. Here are some warning signs that an overexposure to stress hormones may be affecting you:
· Frequent irritability with episodes of anger
· Anxiety attacks
· Jaw clenching or teeth grinding
· Frequent colds and flu
· Weight gain principally in the mid-section of your body
· Waking tired despite adequate sleep hours
· Difficulty falling asleep, waking between 2:00 and 4:00 am, often restless with racing thoughts
· Constant worry or fear about life
· Heart palpitations, high blood pressure and heart disease
· Slow recovery from illness or injury
· Bowel irritability or irregularity
· Frequent headaches and migraines
· Poor concentration and memory
· Feeling overwhelmed at work or at home
· Depression or episodes of despair or weepiness
· Irregular menstrual cycles
· Reduced libido
· Fertility issues
Not only are we vulnerable to the worries of our present, our past often contributes to and compounds reactions thus impairing our ability to cope with stress effectively. Present situations unconsciously tap into thoughts or emotions associated with any adversity previously experienced – this is part of a process where our brains rely on past experience to prepare for, and minimize the effects of, similar situations. Again, as discussed in previous posts, overgeneralization can work against our ability to respond appropriately to the current circumstance. Further, in some instances, the stress reaction itself is unrelated to current situations – rather, it stems from a perceived threat or stressor from the past that no longer exists in the present (this is common with individuals who have experience with trauma).
Talking with a counsellor not only helps to gain perspective on the thoughts and emotions implicated by triggered stress hormones, it also helps to explore new ways to cope and more effective ways to process. Awareness offers an opportunity to expand our perception to more actively and intentionally seek solutions to decrease the effects of overexposure to stress hormones and to restore vitality.
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James
References
Cozolino, L. (2010). The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain. W.W.Norton & Company: New York, NY