Tag: Stress Response
The Biology of Stress (Mental Health Guru)
2-Minute Neuroscience: HPA Axis
Welcome to Neuroscience for two minutes, where I excuse neuroscience topics in two minutes or Less In this batch, I will explain the HPA axis Both the hypothalamus the pituitary gland the adrenal gland, is known for its axis in its interaction with stress. The HPA axis includes a group of hormonesecreting glands from the nervous and endocrine organizations Under the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and adrenal glands The hypothalamus is the small neural endocrine arrangement set above the ability stanch Authorities the secretion of hormones from the pituitary gland, a hormonal gland Lies merely below the mulch The pituitary can secrete hormones in the bloodstream to reach a variety of purposes In the case of vehicles of the HPA axis, hormones liberated from the pituitary gland are transmitted To the kidneys and alter hormone secretion from the endocrine glands called the adrenal glands Which is located above the kidneys The primary capacity of the HPA axis is to regulate the stress response When we suffer from a traumatic thing, the hypothalamus liberates a hormone called the freeing hormone Corticotropin or( CRH) CRH refers to the pituitary gland to exude a hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone Or ACTH in the bloodstream ACTH hastens to the adrenal glands where it expects the secrete of a hormone called Cortisol from the adrenal cortex, or outer blanket, from the adrenal glands The secrete of cortisol campaigns a number of changes that help the body cope with stress For lesson: Assists build up energy like glucose, so the body has enough vigor to cope Long press When cortisol degrees rise in the blood This is felt by receptors in the brain regions such as the hypothalamus and the hippocampus, which stops the stress response Through what is known as the mechanism of negative actions Do the rendition: Shwan Hamid Twitter:@ shwanBBBBBhamid
As found on YouTube
Fight Flight Freeze Response: Anxiety Skills #1
Fight 2. Run away or 3. Freeze. These come naturally, we don't have to think about it. These reactions actually turn off the thinking part of our brain- it's kind of like a Star Trek when the captain says "All power to shields" and they lower the lights on the bridge. (Yes, I am a nerd!) Now the front part of our brain-the prefrontal cortex-that's the part that is thinking, words, planning… that all gets mostly shut down. And the back part of our brain which is reactive and instinctive gets amped up. This can be really helpful if you're facing a tiger because if you're facing a tiger and you take time to plan out what your next move is you're most likely going to get eaten.
However this is not helpful if your perceived danger is a public speech and the front part of your brain turns off. Or you're asking out a date and all of a sudden you can't make words come out of your mouth. That's when it becomes a real pain. Our body does other things to try and keep us safe it sends extra extra blood to the big muscles which takes the blood flow away from our extremities like our hands and feet so that's where the phrase "cold feet" comes from. It makes us start to sweat so our hands will often get cold and sweaty or cold and clammy. It turns on the adrenaline glands-those start pumping out, this gives us energy for a quick burst to either run away or punch someone- but later on that adrenaline gives us the shakes. It turns off our digestive system because we don't really need to be digesting that hamburger when we're running away from a tiger. However when our digestive system turns off that can cause all sorts of problems like a decreased appetite, tight feeling in the stomach, dry mouth and even people could get the runs or wet their pants.
Obviously these are all outcomes that we don't really want. The fight flight freeze response also tightens the muscles. It heightens some senses like vision gets pinpointed, creating tunnel vision. Our breathing rate gets shorter and shallower so we're breathing faster but not deeper. And our heart rate goes up. The fight flight freeze response also temporarily turns off the immune system. Now that's also a good thing because again it's all power to shields where we're putting all power to keeping ourselves alive. But if the fight flight freeze response is turned on all the time then our immune system is turned off much of the time, and that's why people who are always stressed out are often getting sick.
Now with the freeze response we sometimes see a few different things than the fight-or-flight response. More frequently we'll see people feeling numb, people shrinking, hiding or complying- just going along with what the person or the thing in power seems to be wanting. Now this response- this fight flight freeze response- could be really helpful in situations where there's real and immediate danger.
And it's meant to work in short bursts. The problem that happens is when we are constantly having this reaction to things that aren't real dangers they're just perceived threats. Like a boss asking to talk with us or a public speaking event. When we are constantly in the fight flight freeze response then our body gets trapped in this elevated state for a long period of time. This leads to exhaustion, insomnia, muscle tension, digestive problems, and frequent illnesses. In an upcoming video we are going to teach you how to train your mind and body to respond differently to threats, to resolve anxiety, and to train your nervous system to return to calm quickly. For now the best thing you can do is to just start noticing your body's reaction. Notice what happens when you're going into fight flight or freeze mode and just give it a label like "I'm having a fight response right now". I hope this was helpful thanks for watching and take care .