anya said:
I picked up Daniel Golemans book after viewing his lecture. Below are a few excerpts from his book that I hope you find interesting. When Laura noted the relationship between the HPA axis and adrenal fatigue, I was curious and looked up what he had to say. I also pulled a few quotes from Adrenal Fatigue by James Wilson
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Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Page 225
Under stress, the adrenal glands release cortisol, one of the hormones the body mobilizes in an emergency. These hormones have widespread effects in the body, including many that are adaptive in the short term for healing bodily injuries.
Ordinarily we need a moderate level of cortisol, which acts as a biological “fuel” for our metabolism and helps regulate the immune system. But if our cortisol levels remain to high for prolonged periods, the body pays a price in ill health. The chronic secretion of cortisol (and related hormones) are at play in cardiovascular disease and impaired immune function, exacerbating diabetes and hypertension and even destroying neurons in the hippocampus, harming memory.
Even as cortisol shuts down the hippocampus, it also strokes the amygdala, stimulating the growth of dendrites in that site foe fear. In addition, heightened cortisol blunts the ability of the key areas in the prefrontal cortex to regulate the signals of fear coming from the amygdala.
The combined neural impact of too much cortisol is threefold. The impaired hippocampus learns rather sloppily, over generalizing fearfulness to details of the moment that are irrelevant (such as a distinctive tone of voice). The amygdala circuitry goes on a rampage, and the prefrontal area fails to modulate signals from the overreacting amygdala. The result: the amygdala runs rampant, driving fear, while the hippocampus mistakenly perceives too many triggers for that fear.
The condition of vigilance and overreactivity has been called post-traumatic stress disorder.
In linking stress to health, the key biological systems are the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and he hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. When we are distressed, both eh SNS and the HPA axis take up the challenge , secreting hormones that prepare us to handle an emergency or threat. But they do so by borrowing resources from the immune and endocrine system, among others. That weakens these key systems for health, just for a moment or for years at a time.
The SNS and HPA circuits are turned on or off by our emotional states- distress for the worse, happiness for the better. Since other people affect our emotions with such power (through emotional contagion, for example)the casual linkage extends outside our body to our relationships.
Page 230
An interviewer's unnerving ,hostile reaction reliability trigger the HPA axis to produce some of the highest levels of cortisol of any laboratory stress simulation ever tested. The social stress test hikes cortisol much more than does that classic lab ordeal in which volunteers do increasingly difficult math problems under intense time pressure against annoying background noise, with a noxious buzzer signaling wrong answers- but without the presence of someone making nasty judgments. Impersonal ordeals are soon forgotten but judgmental scrutiny delivers a particularity strong and lingering dose of shame.
Page 232
Relationships that are constantly critical, rejecting or harassing keep the HPA axis in constant overdrive.
When the source of stress seems impersonal, like an obnoxious auto alarm we are helpless to stop, our most basic need for acceptance and belonging goes unthreatened. Kemeny found that for such impersonal stress, the body got over its inevitable jump in cortisol within 40 minutes or so. But if the cause was a negative social judgment, cortisol stayed high 50 percent longer, taking an hour or more to return to normal.
Adrenal Fatigue: the 21st Century Stress Syndrome by James L. Wilson
Page 273
Too much physical, emotional, environmental and or psychological stress can deplete your adrenal, causing a decrease in the output of adrenal hormones, particularly cortisol.
During stress cortisol must simultaneously provide more blood glucose, mobilize fats and proteins for a back up supply of glucose and modify immune reactions, heartbeat, blood pressure, brain alertness and nervous system responsiveness. Without cortisol, these mechanisms cannot react adequately to a significant stress challenge. When cortisol levels cannot rise in response to these needs, maintaining your body under stress is nearly impossible, The more extreme the differences between the level of stress and the lack of cortisol the more significant the consequences.
I recently watched the video, it was very interesting and informative.
Further, I looked at this posting by anya and these quotes really grabbed my attention. I had certain flashes where I found myself trying to relate it to personal experiences. Below are my thoughts, and although it is an oversimplification, it might be food for thought for those that have studied this more than I have.
Imagine a man (but it could be the woman - the gender is not significant) who has a spouse that continually criticizes and attacks him - usually with a great deal of anger and sometimes even viciousness. Maybe the attacking spouse does not do it all the time, but the receiver of this treatment perceives it as recurring and actually begins to live "on edge" in the relationship, always expecting attack. Perhaps the receiver has issues from the past that makes him more sensitive than the average person to criticism and loud angry voices, but maybe not. Perhaps the attacker spouse has issues from childhood that activates her amygdala inappropriately and so mostly overreacts to the other persons carelessness, slights, and mistakes, and then she later feels bad about her loss of control, and usually apologizes afterwards.
However there is a cost, quoting from the book: "Relationships that are constantly critical, rejecting or harassing keep the HPA axis in constant overdrive"
So the spouse on the receiving end, although he may complain sometimes about the manner in which he is approached by his spouse, is basically unaware of the deeper effects going on, at some level accepts the treatment to a certain degree because he understands that she often has a valid point behind the over-the-top anger and attacks. In any case they always kiss and make up in the end and so he accepts that this must be how relationships must be between imperfect people.
This is what we are taught to do, is forgive and forget. However this up and down cycle of attack and argument followed by calming down and forgiveness continues for many years, and suddenly, for no apparent reason, he suddenly starts to lose his energy and is helplessly tired all time and the doctors cannot find any reason for it. However it is adrenal fatigue brought on by over production of cortisol from too constant atmosphere of either being attacked or else expecting an attack. The HPA axis has been in constant overdrive.
Another interesting point to be made in this kind of spousal relationship:
"When the source of stress seems impersonal, like an obnoxious auto alarm we are helpless to stop, our most basic need for acceptance and belonging goes unthreatened. Kemeny found that for such impersonal stress, the body got over its inevitable jump in cortisol within 40 minutes or so"
The spouse on the receiving end, in order to protect himself, might begin to only think of his spouse as "impersonal obnoxious auto alarm" because it is less stressful. In this case he protects himself from the fact that his "most basic need for acceptance and belonging" is being denied. In other words, unconsciously, to protect himself he loses all caring, attachment, and respect for his spouse as a real human being so that she becomes just a "noise maker" that, if handled correctly, can be managed so it does not go off too often, and not for too long. In any case his spouse is a "thing" not a person, and so he has to just wait for it to blow over and things will be peaceful again: this results in less production of cortisol! Therefore, in this way, he lowers his stress somewhat.
The sad thing is, the relationship progressively devolves from one of caring about the spouse, to simply acting in such a way as to "shut her up". The purpose, at least partially, of flowers and gifts and ordinary friendly gestures are mainly to keep her quiet, not because he feels any genuine caring or concern for her anymore. He only wants peace in the house, and less stress.
Further, there is little desire to spend free time with this now "non-person", and there is less and less sharing. He will begin to not meet her emotional needs, probably only waking up now and then to notice her when she reminds him. The attacking spouse will complain how her partner used to be kind and loving and now has become cold and distant. There is something wrong with him because he has lost his emotions and feelings. Since it has always been her way to deal with problems, especially ones that activate her emotional triggers, she probably will even attack him and criticize him for this and demand he get therapy.
In the end these spouses "grow apart" as the phrase is often stated when people site their reasons for divorce.
