The stress reaction that takes place in the body goes back to the time of the Neanderthals and was necessary at that time to be able to survive. This is called the "fight or flight" response. Stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol ensure that the body was quickly provided so that the Neanderthal was equipped to either fight or flee. Once the mammoth was successfully killed or the escape from the sabre-toothed tiger was successful, the stress reaction could subside again and the body could go back to resting.
Stress today
Nowadays, our colleagues at work cause us stress, our boss causes us stress, school causes us stress, our classmates cause us stress, our mother-in-law causes us stress, our partner causes us stress, our children cause us stress and much more.
The problem in our everyday lives, however, is that the body can no longer break down the hormones it releases during stress due to the lack of movement and the many sedentary activities. In the Stone Age, stress hormones were broken down either by fight or flight. Nowadays, however, neither of these no longer takes place. In addition, many people have chronic stress. The very important reduction of stress hormones is therefore missing.
Chronic stress - the consequences
Chronic stress can have negative consequences for the body. For example, high levels of the stress hormone cortisol lead to increased blood sugar levels, as this is how the body provides energy for "fight or flight" mode. Chronically elevated cortisol leads to a weakening of our immune system, i.e. we become more susceptible to infections of all kinds.
If the stress hormone cortisol is chronically elevated, this can lead to the body having a higher consumption of brain-active amino acids, as it converts these brain-active amino acids into sugars to provide energy instead of making the important neurotransmitters from them.
Among other things, this is the amino acid tryptophan. The body needs tryptophan for the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin, our good mood hormone. However, if tryptophan is converted into sugar by the body for energy production due to chronically elevated cortisol, too little of it reaches the brain and too little serotonin can be produced.
Because of this, chronic stress gives us a bad mood and later also sleep disorders, as the body forms melatonin, our sleep hormone, from serotonin.
Permanently elevated cortisol also leads to a reduced production of dopamine, our drive hormone, as the original substance is also diverted to provide energy and is then no longer available in sufficient quantities in the brain.
Increased blood pressure and digestive problems, i.e. stomach and intestinal problems can also be caused by permanently increased cortisol. Digestion is controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system, which is our resting nerve. However, this is throttled in "fight or flight" mode and so is digestive activity.
Chronic stress can of course also affect the psyche and promote the development of mental illnesses.
Stress - support through gentle body therapy and The Journey®.
By releasing suppressed emotions with The Journey® and Emotion Valley Release Therapy, emotions stored in the body such as fears, insecurities, being overwhelmed, feeling controlled, not feeling good enough, etc. can be felt again in a healthy way. This increases stress resilience, i.e. stress can be perceived differently or is no longer experienced as so stressful, even if the situation may not have changed. One can deal with stressful situations more calmly.
In addition, I incorporate gentle body therapy interventions developed in Australia for chronic stress.
The aim of this gentle method is to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (our resting nerve) and thus the important change from flight or fight mode to rest and regeneration mode. This allows the muscles, connective tissue and fasciae to relax again.
In my practice, I have found that patients can experience deep relaxation during a treatment due to the gentle impulses.
