What Stress Is Doing To You
Your Brain
Chronic Stress (and exposure to glucocorticoids) can kill some of your brain cells. A study conducted by Dr. Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University in the 1980's found that chronic stress caused damage to the hippocampus (the part of your brain that drive learning and memory). It changes brain circuits and as a result, acute stress can make you 'stupid' in the short term! Your Heart Stress restricts and clogs arteries reducing blood flow to heart. High levels of stress today will effect you today and your health for years to come. Your Immune System Stress can cause havoc on your immune system. A research paper (Segerstrom & Miller) from 2006 studied 300 empirical articles and concluded that our immune system is detrimentally affected by chronic stress.
"The results of this meta-analysis support this assertion in one sense: Stressors with the temporal parameters of the fight-or-flight situations faced by humans’ evolutionary ancestors elicited potentially beneficial changes in the immune system. The more a stressor deviated from those parameters by becoming more chronic, however, the more components of the immune system were affected in a potentially detrimental way." Segerstrom & Miller (2006)
Your Body Weight
The Whitehall Study found a link between stress and weight gain in the abdominal area. Weight gain in the 'midsection' is the worst type of fat your body can carry. This is dangerous fat as it produces different chemicals and hormones that harm your body. Your Aging Process We have 46 chromosomes that are each capped off with a telomere which protect the ends of our chromosomes from fraying. Stress can change these genetic structures. Our telomeres naturally shorten as we age, but scientists now know that the stress hormones speed up the decaying process. Dr. Elissa Epel did a study of mothers who were taking care of disabled children and thought to be understandably under chronic stress. The study looked at the telomeres of these women and for that for every year of chronic stress, they aged roughly six years. Conclusion Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, a thought leader in telomere research, co-discovered an enzyme called telomerase can repair damaged telomeres. This enzyme is stimulated by compassion and caring for others. Developing COMPASSION & MINDFULNESS could help heal the damaging effects of stress and possibly help us live longer, healthier lives.- Jay Coulter Sign-up For Tips And Resources On Mental Resilience (Click Here)
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The definition of Mental Resilience can dramatically change based on the obstacles you are facing. One day you may be faced with a tough work deadline and the next day a life changing cancer diagnosis that puts the work deadline into perspective. Over the past 6 years I have focused my research on stories of mental resilience, as well as people who are making a difference in the lives of others. I recently ran across the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and found an organization that is doing fantastic work in both areas. The Survivor Stories (Link) and their Advocacy Efforts (Link) are a template for any organization. After reading countless survivor stories, I have found 6 reoccurring themes that could help anyone trying to build their mental resilience.
I have highlighted two survival stories below, but please check out www.pancan.org for more information. Jay Coulter
For anyone struggling with their career, unemployed or just looking at changing careers, it can be a very stressful period. If this period is accompanied by worry, extreme stress or mental illness it becomes even more challenging. I ran across this 5 minute video from The School of Life that does a great job of helping you frame the thought process of a career change. A summary and the video are below.
Jay Coulter
Summary
1. Accept that being confused about your career is OK. 2. Know yourself. 3. Think a lot. 4. Try something. 5. Reflect on what makes people unhappy. 6. Be confident BIG IDEA #1: The difference between success and failure is the willingness to "give it a go." BIG IDEA #2: The ultimate criterion when choosing a career should be to choose a career we would not regret on our deathbed.
As most of the readers of this blog know, struggling with worry, stress or mental illness can be incredibly time consuming and destroys careers. I ran across this presentation from Darren Hardy that has some great information and strategies for people looking to achieve more in their lives. Experience has taught me that it can be difficult for someone who is struggling to process and extract the value in presentations like this so I have summarized it below for our readers. I have listened to this talk over 10 times this year and found new ideas each time. It is my belief that a successful career will not mitigate mental illness, but if you are struggling with your chosen career it can compound any mental struggle.
- Jay Coulter
Summary:
This is not a political post…….they are not allowed on our platform and I don’t write them.
After watching the reaction in the United States to the Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage, I feel that there is an opportunity for the mental health community and our advocacy efforts. The Reaction The reaction from the news media, government, corporations, celebrities and social media has been astonishing.
Could you have imagined any of this a decade ago? What happened and what can we learn from this massive paradigm shift to help people struggling with mental illness? The Math The Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued statistics in 2014 (Link) finding that 96.6% of adults over the age of 18 identified as straight. This suggests that about 3.4% of the population was directly affected by the ruling. The National Alliance on Mental Illness tells us that 1 in 4 adults are effected by mental illness. Said differently, over seven times the number of people are battling mental illness than had a vested interest in the right to marriage equality. A simple Google search comparing results for each causes efforts tells the same story. Gay rights advocacy returned 17.9 million results verse 66.3 million for mental health advocacy.
The Implications
There are thousands of fantastic people and organizations working in the mental health community. But, the reality is we are not getting the same results as those working for gay rights. Why is that? I have never wanted to ‘fight stigma’ with the ConquerWorry.org platform. Based on my experience it just appeared futile as someone is going to think what they want to think. I am starting to change my thoughts on that narrative. Last year I had an opportunity to interview Dr. Jon Rottenberg on the Conquer Worry Podcast. He is the author of The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic. He suggested that the youth of today are open to social change more than any other generation. Jon went on to say that could have long term implications for the mental health community as it relates to stigma. After seeing the reaction to the Supreme Courts ruling, I have to agree and the power of grassroots stigma fighting are apparent. Consider that A WSJ/NBC survey in March found that 59% of Americans support same-sex marriage while in 2004 that number was only 30%. A 100% increase in 11 years! The Goal Our mission at ConquerWorry.org has been to create awareness of the resource that are available to those who struggle with their mental health. The first step to recovery is getting professional help and it is a step that too few people actually take. The consequences of not getting help can be dire. Imagine if corporations, governments, celebrities and social media platforms were actively advocating to reduce the stigma for those struggling with their mental health? What type of results would we see? How many lives could be saved or changed for the better? Let’s get to work. Jay Coulter
Jay Coulter is a Mental Health Advocate, Professional Speaker, Blogger, Podcast Producer and founder of ConquerWorry.org. The platform's mission is to create awareness of the resources that are available to those who struggle with their mental health. Conquer Worry has over 100,000 social media followers and we would love to have you in our community. The ConquerWorry.org community can be found online and on most social media platforms.
TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | MEDIUM The Conquer Worry Podcast with Jay Coulter can be found on iTunes |YouTube | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio |
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