by Lisa Frederiksen
We talk about stress. We talk about reducing stress. But reading this answer to a question posed to Lisa Genova, PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University, as part of “A Conversation with Lisa Genova” at the conclusion of her novel, Left Neglected , may convince some of us that we really must do something to stop it.
Th[e] feeling of stress triggers a cascade of physiological consequences. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland in the brain release hormones that cause the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands located on the kidneys. Cortisol increases heart rate, among other things, readying the body for “fight” or “flight.” Acutely, the release of cortisol is beneficial and helps you cope with whatever is urgently being demanded of you. But if the stress becomes chronic, maladaptive things begin to happen. Normally, the release of cortisol turns the hypothalamus and pituitary off, stopping the release of hormones, which in turn stops the further release of cortisol from the adrenal glands. It’s a nice, clean, negative feedback loop. But in the chronically stressed, the loop breaks. The brain stops reacting to cortisol. Our natural, automatic shutoff valve stops working. The brain keeps releasing hormone, and the adrenal glands keep dumping cortisol into the bloodstream, even when the stressful thing that initially triggered the stress response is no longer around. Chronic, elevated levels of cortisol have been associated with a weakened immune system, deficits in short-term memory, chronic fatigue syndrome, anxiety disorders, and depression.” (“A Conversation with Lisa Genova,” found at the end of her book, Left Neglected .)
So why am I including this on a blog about addiction, substance abuse and help for family members & friends?
Because stress is a key cause of a person turning to drugs or alcohol for relief [which can lead to substance abuse ]; because it is a key contributing factor to mental illness, such as depression and anxiety, and mental illness is one of the five key risk factors contributing to a person developing the disease of addiction ; and because a person who lives with undiagnosed, untreated, unhealthily discussed substance abuse/addiction suffers from secondhand drinking/drugging [which, if chronic, can cause brain changes in the family member or friend of a loved one who drinks or uses too much].
I urge all of us to do whatever we can to reduce the stress in our lives — yoga, walks, swimming, meditation, scuba diving — anything that helps us clear the mind-chatter that keeps us in unhealthy thought loops, anything that allows us to take the time to actually work through the call to action posed in the Serenity Prayer, “God, Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can and the Wisdom to know the difference.” I used to think of the middle statement as meaning I had to work harder to change / make better the thing I was struggling with. Now I try to calm myself and ask, “Is this something I can/should even be considering as my business to change? and if the answer is, “No,” then doing what I need to do to change my involvement, my thoughts about, my actions with regards to that thing.
If you have something that works for you to help you reduce the stress in your life, please share it with a comment below…
by Lisa Frederiksen
We talk about stress. We talk about reducing stress. But reading this answer to a question posed to Lisa Genova, PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University, as part of “A Conversation with Lisa Genova” at the conclusion of her novel, Left Neglected , may convince some of us that we really must do something to stop it.
So why am I including this on a blog about addiction, substance abuse and help for family members & friends?
Because stress is a key cause of a person turning to drugs or alcohol for relief [which can lead to substance abuse ]; because it is a key contributing factor to mental illness, such as depression and anxiety, and mental illness is one of the five key risk factors contributing to a person developing the disease of addiction ; and because a person who lives with undiagnosed, untreated, unhealthily discussed substance abuse/addiction suffers from secondhand drinking/drugging [which, if chronic, can cause brain changes in the family member or friend of a loved one who drinks or uses too much].
I urge all of us to do whatever we can to reduce the stress in our lives — yoga, walks, swimming, meditation, scuba diving — anything that helps us clear the mind-chatter that keeps us in unhealthy thought loops, anything that allows us to take the time to actually work through the call to action posed in the Serenity Prayer, “God, Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can and the Wisdom to know the difference.” I used to think of the middle statement as meaning I had to work harder to change / make better the thing I was struggling with. Now I try to calm myself and ask, “Is this something I can/should even be considering as my business to change? and if the answer is, “No,” then doing what I need to do to change my involvement, my thoughts about, my actions with regards to that thing.
If you have something that works for you to help you reduce the stress in your life, please share it with a comment below…