| What happens to our body when we're afraid?
Jill Jayne had an interview on KRCW that was fascinating. Fear's Impact On Digestion.
I think the best way to start is to explain what this fight or flight response is all about. It's actually part of our sympathetic nervous system, which you can remember sympathetic as it has no sympathy. Your body responds immediately to defend yourself from this incoming stress. The problem is your body doesn't really know the difference between something that's real, and something that you've contrived, your body reacts, your heart rate goes up, blood pressure goes up, your breathing rate goes up... it could cause you to vomit or poop your pants, these are serious things that your body is doing to get rid of the stress... when we experience all this stress like work related stress it actually as a really bad impact on our body. This is one of the reasons why we have such a high incidence of cancer and heart disease...
The fight or flight response was built for the short term. There is a blog post online called Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers The idea is that animals are getting away from the cheetah or the lion, just a short term thing, and they go back to a resting state. Whereas we in this financial crisis or you could name any event that is stressful, your mother in law, your school assignment, your exam. Our stress is more long term. We are constantly experiencing the fight or flight response. Our body is constantly filled with these stress hormones like Cortisol and Norepinephrol... Our body responds to stress in a physiological way. That can be very damaging.
Jill goes on to discuss how when we're in our boss' office (or some other stressful situation) we usually can't fight or fly to relieve these stress hormones. The stress leads to late night eating and cravings for sweets. The hormones just build up, adding to the adipose layer (beer gut) around our internal organs. The stress does this by causing more of our diet to be stored in fat as opposed to being used (in fight or flight).
This whole concept really puts a different spin on that Dr. Wayne Dyer book, Change your Thoughts Change Your Life. In this book Dr. Dyer goes through the teachings of the Tao Te Ching. The underlying message is that you control your reactions, what you value determines how you feel and so you should practice living contentment. Dr. Dyer's colleague Richard Carlson's book is even better because all I have to hear is the title and it calms me down. Don't Sweat The Small Stuff: and it's all small stuff. Who knew these were diet books? Thanks Jill Jayne!
You can find a track from Jill's music on her website Jump with Jill Dot Com. Part of her new CD that has been described as, "rock, hip-hop and pop tunes with enticing lyrics aimed to excite children about nutrition and exercise."
Crossposted at the Daily Kos
UPDATE: I forgot to mention Jill recommends exercise and healthy eating to help the body reset from stress. I've asked her or her rep to come by the site if they can and comment, we'd love to hear more about the physiological effects of nutrition and modern sedentary lifestyles. |
