Diane Hancox

stress disease

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Emotional Wellness Stress Disease Connection

Last time we learned about the ACE Study and how childhood adversity has long-term impacts on a person’s mental, psychological, and physical well-being, as well as one’s spirituality/sense of Self. Whether in childhood or as an adult, because of chronic adversity (read ‘stress’) elevated levels of toxic molecules (e.g.,  adrenalin, cortisol, etc. ) are released in the brain.

Stress can come in the form of fear, uncertainty, lack of control, helplessness and even a lack of information. Levels especially increase when the basic needs for protection, support, love and emotional fulfillment are not met.

When stress happened as children, we were often left on our own with a milieu of emotions and thoughts.  We were not taught to emotionally regulate (to stay in ‘the window of tolerance’) and thus, the chance of these stress molecules being metabolized in the 12-30 hrs it takes was often not able to occur.  Thus, the chronic increased levels of toxic molecules causes wear and tear not only on the brain but trigger a complex inflammatory response in the body –  the beginning of disease.

Stress is the common risk factor of 75%–90% diseases – the most common being cardiovascular diseases (i.e., hypertension, atherosclerosis), metabolic diseases (i.e., diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), psychotic and neurodegenerative disorders (i.e., depression, Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s diseases), and cancer (Cohen et al., 2007).  Many non-medical symptoms are stress related.  [FMI

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/problems-disorders/medically-unexplained-symptoms]

Although the exact stress-inflammatory metabolic systems are still under debate, what is agreed upon is the over-activated immune system, increased activity of fight or flight pathways, and the alteration of brain neurotransmitters levels work in tandem in the activation of inflammatory responses during stress.

The preventative and maintenance tasks are to learn how to ‘Keep Calm’ and from a psychological perspective, identify what underlying feelings and thoughts drive the stress.  Most of the time stress is from worry (about not being in control, being responsible, fixing), not setting boundaries or being assertive, ignoring body symptoms, suppressing our feelings, and being more concerned about other people’s needs than ours [Did I hear the word ‘nice’?].

We may tell ourselves, “I better not,” “Don’t rock the boat,” “I can’t,” “I’m bad,” and “They won’t like me.” When we don’t express feelings and wants they show up in behaviours such as gossip, sarcasm, blaming, resentments, anger, the silent-treatment, lying, and compliance.  When we silence our selves so we might not hurt others, we ironically end up hurting our body and soul.

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The Importance of Feeling Our Feelings

Most people have difficulty experiencing the full range of emotions. We may have been raised in a family where certain feelings were not allowed to be expressed or one in which everything had to be “fine.” We may have been overwhelmed, even traumatized by intense emotions. In all cases, discomfort arises when we are exposed to and/or feel certain emotions.

Additionally, the psychiatric field often influences how we perceive emotions. Normal and much needed emotions are often pathologized. For example, sadness is often viewed as dysfunctional, is given the label ‘depression,’ and is to be eradicated with medications. 

A more recent example is the pathologizing of introversion or shyness. In his book, “’Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness,” author Christopher Lane states, “Shyness isn’t just shyness any more. It’s a disease.” Traits of ordinary shyness such as seeking time alone, inward reflection, and avoidance of public events or speaking are now listed as qualities of “social anxiety” and “avoidant personality disorder.” 

There is an increasing trend to negate certain emotions. Although far from meeting the criteria for being clinically diagnosed with Depressive or Anxiety Disorder, patients are routinely prescribed Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil to regulate symptoms of depression and anxiety. As Jerome Wakefield and Allan Horwitz suggest in their book, “The Loss of Sadness,” “The normal range of human emotion is not being tolerated.” 

However, it is healthy and necessary for us to feel all our emotions, including sadness, anger, boredom and anxiety. In his book, “Against Happiness,” Eric Wilson makes a case for our more sober emotions and their “integral place in the great rhythm of the cosmos.” Melancholia is the source of much of the great art, poetry and music. Wilson suggests, “The blues can be a catalyst for a special kind of genius, a genius for exploring dark boundaries between opposites.” 

Feelings indicate how we are relating to our situations and ourselves. For example, discontentment motivates us to improve not only ourselves, but also our circumstances and our community at large. Anger often indicates unfairness and injustice prompting us to take action. We may become bored with eating the same items for breakfast. The boredom indicates that we need to bring some newness into our life – well, at least during breakfast selections. 

From a depth psychology perspective, boredom (a milder form of depression) is really a temporary stoppage of the spontaneity of new images. We are momentarily stuck. Depression, however, represents a deeper entrenchment into sameness and is a call for exploration into what needs to be changed on a deeper level than just changing our breakfast cereal.

In Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” the hero John Savage exclaimed as he retreated from the monotonously pleasure-seeking society: “I don’t want comfort. I want God. I want poetry. I want real danger. I want freedom. I want goodness.” He wanted to feel the range of his emotions.