Stress is a normal part of life, but it can become overwhelming when it takes over our lives. Chronic stress can have serious consequences on mental and physical health, leading to fatigue, anxiety, depression, heart disease, and other long-term conditions. Fortunately, there are ways to manage stress by understanding the body’s response to it and implementing lifestyle strategies that help build stress resilience. In this blog post we will discuss how the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis functions in the body’s response to stress and how lifestyle medicine can help us build resilience against the effects of chronic stress.
The HPA Axis and Stress Response
The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is an intricate network of nerve pathways connecting the brain, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands in order to regulate hormones in response to stressful situations. When a person is stressed, the hypothalamus produces hormones that stimulate the pituitary gland which then signals the adrenal glands to release cortisol—the primary hormone released during a stressful situation. Cortisol helps control metabolism and influences functions such as immune responses and blood pressure levels. Once a stressful event passes, cortisol levels should return to normal. However when someone is constantly stressed out or under sudden high levels of emotional or physical strain for extended periods of time, cortisol remains elevated which can lead to chronic conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders, digestive issues, sleep disturbances, memory problems and more.
Lifestyle Medicine for Building Stress Resilience
Lifestyle medicine focuses on lifestyle interventions such as nutrition, physical activity, relaxation techniques, prayer, mindfulness practices, cognitive-behavioral therapy, support groups, nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, biofeedback techniques, massage therapy, aromatherapy as well as modified work/life balance strategies in order to help individuals cope with stress more effectively. With guidance from a trained professional who understands your unique situation you can develop an individual plan tailored specifically for your needs in order to not only reduce your current level of stress but also increase your overall ability to cope with future stressful events more effectively.
Fortunately there are many lifestyle interventions available that can help us manage our stress. The goal is to live without being overwhelmed by chronic conditions. By taking proactive steps towards managing our own personal circumstances we can begin building up our individual resiliency.
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There is still a short time left to join my upcoming SOS Stress Recovery Lifestyle Medicine program.
Reach out to our patient care coordinator by email at help@caringforthebody.org or call the office at (828) 490-1545 to inquire.
Here’s to your health!
Cindy Libert, M.D.
P.S. If you are a woman in healthcare or ministry, check out my passion project thejoyprescription.com for more resources on building stress resilience.
