Anything in life that causes you chronic stress would end you up In disease which comes from the words “dis ease”.
How do u know if your nervous system is stuck in a state of alarm/sympathetic overdrive?
1. Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep throughout the night
2. Chronic pain, migraines or headaches that don’t seem to improve no matter what you try
3. Stubborn digestive symptoms - not secreting enzymes need to breakdown your food, no proper blood flow to heal the gut.
Cortisol is an important hormone, keeps blood sugar and blood pressure in check. When you wake up, it is supposed to be the highest (if cortisol is low, you feel depressed), lowest when you go to bed. If there is stress from chemicals, physical or emotions, cortisol will rise.
Cortisol has a huge impact on the sex hormones. It regulates androgens such as DHEA converts to estrogen and testosterone and pregnenolone which converts to progesterone. Cortisol affects how you absorb thyroid hormones.
If you are constantly on high alert and stress, one fine day you might not be able to produce enough cortisol in the day and you feel tired in the day but in the night, cortisol is still remains hence your can’t sleep. Finally, with less cortisol, you are in depression.
When cortisol is high, the body shuts down digestive system to conserve energy, which causes inflammation in the gut with indigestion. In nature, when u meet a Tiger and cortisol preps u to run away (the last thing your body needs is to have food or go toilet). So digestive system shuts down. However, if this Tiger is not just for that moment, it is a Tiger a home or at work, u are gonna have chronic inflammation and a leaky gut.
Viruses in our body r not active when u r mentally well. But when u are stressed, viruses detect cortisol and they know, the host is weak now, digestive shuts down, immune system is compromised, let’s attack!
Cortisol & adrenaline can cause breakdown in the mucous layer which protects the intestine walls. Bacteria, viruses get through the wall into places which they’re not supposed to and cause infections.
Try to have windows to rest well. U will heal when soul is well.