How Your Body Is Trying To Alert You To High Cortisol
In this week’s episode of the podcast, we’re breaking down some of the more unexpected and unusual signs that our environment has become too overwhelming for us to function as normal. We’ll take a look at 4 key systems (the hormonal, digestive, muscle and bone, and skin and hair systems) and how stress affects their regular function. We’ll help you understand that whilst small symptoms like this are often dismissed or even go unnoticed, they can be helpful early warning signs that your stress isn’t being managed as well as it could be.
INFLUENTIAL HORMONES: STRESS, REPRODUCTIVE, AND THYROID HORMONES
Throughout our normal daily function, we have hormones constantly flowing through the body. These hormones can act individually or can work as part of a chain reaction series that sets off multiple triggered responses to cause its final purpose. But there is a fine balance to these hormones working in harmony, and their function relies heavily on the relationship between them. Stress can cause imbalances to hormones as it selectively chooses which hormones to keep producing, and ones where the energy expenditure could be better utilised elsewhere. In a life-threatening situation, reproduction isn’t a key factor in survival. As such, the stress hormone cortisol can switch off the reproductive hormones to ensure priority is given to the actions that will keep us alive in that immediate moment. When the perceived crisis is over, this signalling is then restored, and the reproductive function should also return. However, in periods of extended stress (or ‘chronic’ stress) where the stressful stimuli are persistent, the reproductive function is compromised and isn’t turned back ‘on’. This can lead to symptoms such as missed menstrual cycles, decreases in fertility, lessened sperm count, and more. Whilst it’s not directly involved in reproduction, the thyroid is easily influenced and interrupted by stress. The thyroid is linked to libido in both women and men, and therefore can even interrupt sexual desires. Those who are chronically stressed are 25% more likely to have an issue with their thyroid. When considering stress and reproduction, this means that there are both physical and emotional signs to be aware of that may explain decreased fertility.
IT’S NOT JUST YOUR DIET: HOW STRESS IMPACTS THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
When diagnosing gut issues, often the investigation looks towards factors such as diet. Whilst diet plays a significant role in the function of our entire digestive system, it can’t explain all complications. When dietary investigations have been exhausted it often means that stress has a large influence than you may expect! As part of fight or flight, when this state (our sympathetic nervous system) is activated, the brain switches its focus to systems that will aid in our survival. This could mean anything from pumping blood to muscles to increasing alertness and awareness - factors such as digesting are far less important than these. When we’re running for our lives, we need every ounce of energy to be diverted there, and so our brain views the energy spent on digestion as a ‘waste’. This then puts the digestive system on hold. When this happens, it means that food is not thoroughly digested and can often sit stagnant in the tract, risking blockages. This also means that nutrients aren’t passing through correctly, and we aren’t able to absorb the necessary requirements - in fact, it sits stagnant in the bowel and can ferment, causing other issues. Stress can often be the missing link to diagnosing persistent and complicated bowel issues!
MORE FROM LUMINOUS BODY
To listen to the entire Luminous Body podcast episode ‘The Secret Signs That Your Body Might Be More Stressed Than You Think!’, you can play on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For more inspiring stories and messages, head to the Luminous Body website or book a consultation with Dr Jaxson or Dr Hilary.