The Mental, Physical & Social Effects From Chronic Stress- Part I

December 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment

There is a connection between stress, hormonal dysfunction and a suppressed immune mechanism. All of these seemingly unrelated factors converge upon the adrenal gland system.

Mike was suffering from adrenal fatigue. I knew this 10 minutes into our interview. He was sharing vague, seemingly unrelated symptoms and could not seem to connect the dots that these were all the result of an underlying condition known as adrenal fatigue.

“Doctor, I am always telling Judy (his wife) that I can’t seem to get motivated to go out with our friends anymore like we used to. I am always just so tired. Judy says I am abnormally fatigued so she made this appointment for me today”.

I asked Mike to elaborate on his complaints and feelings a bit more and he described how he seemed to be more nervous and irritable lately. He said Judy told him he might be depressed.

“Why would Judy say that to you Mike?”

Mike replied, “Doc, I am having a tough time concentrating, I seem to be on edge all of the time, apprehensive like something bad is about to happen. I feel tired, weak and it’s very easy to get me frustrated with the simplest tasks.”

I asked Mike about his eating habits, especially asked if he was having cravings for sweet and salty foods. He confirmed that indeed he was, and worse during the afternoon slump as he was reaching for sweets and coffee just to keep going.

“Doc, I also feel lightheaded and dizzy at times, but the worse problem is that I seem to get that second wind at about 11 pm and find myself staying up late to catch up on the work I was unable to complete during the day. I am having a terrible time getting up in the morning lately. My internal clock seems to be shifting to later and later morning start ups. I don’t know what to do.”

“Mike are you feeling any body aches or headaches?” He confirmed that he was having shoulder and neck pains and muscle spasms and that the headaches were part of his daily routine since about three months now.

Mike was also suffering from stomach and digestive problems which he never had experienced before. He was having epigastric pain, indigestion, symptoms of Irritable Bowels like alternating episodes of diarrhea and constipation. Plus he seemed to be having trouble with eating certain foods and thought he might be having symptoms of food allergies and food sensitivities for which we requested testing.

“It seems lately that I am getting more sensitive to foods and even to chemicals I come in contact with, I can’t tolerate certain strong odors, or smoking, offensive perfumes and everything seems to give me some sort of allergic reaction. Doc I feel like I am falling apart, can you help me find out what is going on with me?”

The Many Faces of Stress Due To Adrenal Fatigue

Half of all Americans are suffering from stress related symptoms and health effects. Mike was one of them. Almost 90% of the visits made to a primary care physician are for these types of stress related complaints.

Stress is a very real problem in our society and it is linked to very real medical diseases such as cancers, lung ailments, liver cirrhosis, cardiac disease, suicides and accidents. In fact, stress is responsible for more than 25 billion lost workdays lost each year from absenteeism.

A List of Physical Effects Caused By Stress and Adrenal Fatigue

The list goes on and on, but many people with this condition share in the same handful of vague, seemingly unrelated bodily complaints. Here are some of the reactions that take place in your body when you are chronically under increased stress.

Increased blood pressure
Increased heart rate
Increased heart contractions
Increased blood flow to skeletal muscles
Decreased blood flow to areas not naturally needed for rapid activities, like the kidneys and intestines
Dilation of the pupils
Increased muscle strength
Release of sugar from the liver
Increased mental activity
Increased metabolic rate.

A Few Things That Happen to a Body Under Constant Stress

Mike is suffering from symptoms of adrenal fatigue resulting from constant exposure to unrelenting stress. A person under constant stress can have many medical problems. Here is a short list:

Reproductive problems due to disruptions in hormone production,
Constant fatigue due to insulin resistance causing problems with energy utilization,
A slowed metabolism due to thyroid dysfunction
Delayed wound healing and growth due to poor nutrition absorption from the gut
Problems with fluid balance due to decreased kidney function, and
Problems with good quality sleep.

The Mental Effects of Chronic Ongoing Stress

It turns out that Mike had been suffering from the effects of chronic, ongoing stress for about three years now. He basically had all of the following symptoms and needed not only medical intervention, but psychological counseling to work through many of these issues as well. Mike has:

Mental fatigue with a loss of creativity and spontaneity
Confusion, forgetfulness and difficulty with making decisions
Anxiety and feelings of panic
Tension, frustration, irritability, anger and resentment
Depression
Feelings of low self worth
Lowered intellectual functioning
Boredom

The Social Effects of Chronic Ongoing Stress

The psychotherapist wrote a report to our office concerning the issues that they were going to be working through. Mike was suffering from ongoing stress that was causing him problems with:

Procrastination and avoidance of important work and home responsibilities
A lack of concern for others and a resulting deterioration in his relationship with Judy
Reduced effectiveness in communication and an inability to listen to others
Emotional hypersensitivity with tendency to overreact to others, feelings of isolation, alienation and a tendency to suppress his feelings which was leading to Mike’s withdrawal from his friends and family
A loss of control, with quick tempered responses and aggressive behavior

Further, the report revealed that Mike may be showing signs of increased risk taking behaviors, such as gambling and that he was also displaying a tendency towards increased drug use and abuse of sedatives and sleeping pills to self medicate his anxiety and insomnia.

In short, Mike was really suffering and coming to a very serious crossroads. If he did not make some positive changes now, he was heading for a break down and some serious physical, emotional and financial repercussions in his life.

How To Know If You May Be Suffering From Stress Related Changes

If you can relate to some of Mike’s discomfort, then a simple, stress free non-invasive saliva collection procedure for cortisol levels is a great test to reveal the state of your adrenal health. In my opinion, this is the most appropriate way to assess your adrenal functions and to help us make the diagnosis of adrenal fatigue which may be the causing of several seemingly unrelated conditions you may be experiencing.

Mike’s salivary cortisol levels were checked throughout the day to determine the health of his adrenal glands. The normal pattern of salivary cortisol levels are:

From 7-8 am salivary cortisol levels between 13-24 nM
From 11- 12 noon cortisol levels between 5-10 nM
From 4-5 pm salivary cortisol levels between 3-8 nM
From 11 -Midnight cortisol levels from 1-4 nM.

The pattern above is a demonstration which shows how a normal curve would create higher cortisol levels in the morning, after arising. This is the time when you need more cortisol to deal with the stressors of the day. Later in the day, the levels should fall to their lowest range well into the evening, thus making it easier to get some restful sleep.

People with abnormal cortisol patterns share the same pathological rhythm demonstrating a ‘tired and wired’ curve meaning that their cortisol levels are low in the morning (so they feel exhausted as they are trying to get going). Then they get wired out later in the evening when their bodies get that second wind; therefore, they are unable to sleep. While the day is winding down- they are winding up!

Needless to say, Mike did not have a normal pattern and was showing signs of late adrenal fatigue with very low adrenal reserves. Typical of the scenario that we’ve just discussed.

Join us again as we continue our discussions on the effects of chronic stress and how we were able to help poor Mike out of his chronic adrenal fatigue due to unrelenting stress. If you want to learn more about adrenal fatigue and how it affects your hormones, please visit the Youthful Aging Center online to read about the effects adrenal fatigue has on your body.

Other Youthful Aging Center Pages:
Testosterone for Men
Basic Lab Testing To Assure Longevity and Youthful Aging
Food Allergies and Obesity
Physician Supervised hCG Weight Loss Program
Take The Functional Medicine Questionnaire

Recommended Reading:
The Youthful Aging Center Bookstore

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