Podcast Summary
Understanding the role of our nervous system in relationship stress: The HPA axis, which includes the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands, controls our stress response. Relational stress can dysregulate our nervous system, leading to potential disease. Neuro somatic exercises and other tools can help create resilience and heal trauma.
Our nervous system plays a crucial role in how we respond to stress in our relationships. The HPA axis, which includes the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands, is responsible for controlling our stress response. When we experience stress in relationships, especially those with insecure attachment styles formed in early life, our nervous system becomes dysregulated, leading to increased threat load and potential disease. Understanding the function of the HPA axis and how it drives our physical response to stress is essential to addressing the impact of relational stress on our health. By working with our nervous system, using evidence-based neuro somatic exercises and other tools, we can create resilience, change behavior, and repattern trauma. Remember, life can look differently, and healing is possible.
Forming stress response abilities during development: Childhood and adolescence experiences shape our stress response through the development of the HPA axis and connections between the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. Understanding these foundations can help us cultivate resilience and improve overall well-being.
Our developmental experiences significantly impact the way our bodies respond to stress. During childhood and adolescence, we're essentially training our nervous systems to cope with the world. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis plays a crucial role in this process, as it regulates our stress response by producing hormones like cortisol. However, chronic stress and high cortisol levels can lead to various health issues, such as muscle loss, increased fat storage, immune system dysfunction, and inflammation. Early experiences of neglect or abuse can affect the development of the HPA axis, leading to abnormal functioning and increased susceptibility to stress later in life. Moreover, the connections between the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus – which integrate motion with cognition and regulate emotions and memories – are shaped during development and influence how we respond to stress. In essence, our developmental stages and experiences create the foundation for our stress response abilities. The concept "everything is a skill" in applied neurology emphasizes that everything can be trained, including our stress response. Therefore, understanding the impact of our development on our stress response is essential for cultivating resilience and improving overall well-being.
Childhood experiences shape our development and well-being: Childhood experiences, particularly those involving neglect or abuse, can significantly impact our development and lead to problematic disease states in adulthood. As adults, we have the power to retrain our responses and improve our overall well-being.
Childhood experiences, especially those involving neglect or abuse, can significantly impact a person's development and trajectory in life. This can lead to a shifted trajectory, causing individuals to develop in ways that may not be ideal for healthy relationships and emotional well-being. The HPA axis and brain's response to emotionally connective stress play a significant role in this development. The good news is that, as adults, we can work to retrain these responses and improve our overall well-being. Hans Selye, known as the "father of stress," discovered that chronic stress can lead to disease states in the body. Childhood experiences with high chronic stress loads can result in an insecure attachment, which becomes hardwired in our physical bodies. The job of the HPA axis is to turn stress and emotions into physical sensations, releasing hormones and chemical baths that, over time, can lead to problematic disease states. Essentially, our childhoods serve as a training ground, with some individuals training for survival rather than connection. The training is never truly over, and it's up to us as adults to make intentional, conscious changes to retrain our responses and create a more fulfilling, happier life.
The General Adaptation Response: Our Bodies' Way of Coping with Stress: The General Adaptation Response is a common physiological reaction to stress, characterized by immune dysregulation, decreased lymphatics, increased cortisol levels, poor mood, and poor energy. Prolonged stress can lead to exhaustion and maladaptive coping mechanisms.
Our bodies respond to stress in a common way, known as the general adaptation response or syndrome. Selye, who discovered this concept, noticed that patients in a medical clinic shared similar symptoms and responses to stress, regardless of their specific diseases. These symptoms include immune dysregulation, decreased lymphatics, increased cortisol levels, poor mood, and poor energy. Our bodies initially resist or adapt to stress, but if it persists, we can become exhausted and develop maladaptive coping mechanisms. This is particularly relevant in developmental contexts, where ongoing stress can have profound effects on our neurotags and physical body. In relationships, for example, occasional conflicts can be resolved, but persistent stress can lead to exhaustion and maladaptive coping mechanisms. Additionally, there's an emotional component to stress, which can manifest as anxiety or avoidance in attachment styles. Overall, understanding the general adaptation response helps us recognize the importance of managing stress and promoting healthy coping mechanisms to prevent long-term negative effects on our wellbeing.
Trauma and Relationship Stress: Individuals with complex or developmental trauma may have disproportionate reactions to relationship stress due to their nervous system's learned responses, leading to avoidance, isolation, and physical symptoms like inflammation and heaviness in the body.
For individuals with complex or developmental trauma, the stress response in relationships can be significantly different. While everyone experiences relationship stress, those with trauma may have disproportionate reactions due to their nervous system's learned responses. These reactions can lead to avoidance and isolation. Furthermore, these stress responses can manifest physically, with an inflammatory response that causes inflammation and heaviness in the body. Understanding this connection between emotional and physical responses to relationship stress can help individuals better manage their reactions and improve their relationships.
Communication and Inflammation: Our past experiences and communication styles can trigger chronic stress and inflammation. Awareness and healthier communication patterns are crucial for reducing inflammation and promoting overall health.
Our past experiences and the way we communicate can impact our immune system, leading to inflammation. Using a very relatable example, the speaker shares how growing up in different families with contrasting communication styles led to anxiety and shame responses in their marriage. This communication pattern, even if it didn't result in explosive arguments, would trigger a stress response in the speaker, leading to inflammation. Neurologically, this response involves the activation of the HPA axis, which triggers the release of cortisol and adrenaline, which in turn initiates an inflammatory response. Chronic inflammation can lead to damage to our own body tissues, and this response can be conditioned through repeated exposure. It's essential to be aware of these patterns and work towards healthier communication to reduce chronic stress and inflammation.
Chronic stress can cause immune system imbalance and autoimmune issues: Chronic stressors can suppress or overactivate the immune system, leading to an imbalance of inflammation and potentially autoimmune issues. Brain areas involved in processing social threats can influence this response.
Chronic inflammation can lead to autoimmune issues and exhaustion of the immune system. The immune system sends out "scouting parties" of inflammation to find pathogens or invaders, but if it can't find anything to attack, it may eventually turn against the body's own tissues. Chronic stressors can suppress the immune system and overactivate it, leading to an imbalance of inflammation and anti-inflammation. The brain plays a critical role in this process, as social rejection and related cues can activate the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, leading to greater feelings of distress and a stress response. These brain areas are connected to the hypothalamus, which can influence inflammatory activities via endocrine pathways. Social threat can trigger physical responses due to the overlap of pain-related neural systems. Prolonged activation of these stress responses can deplete the immune system when it is needed most.
Understanding Neurology: The Science of Hope: Neurology reveals the deep connection between our brains and bodies, and intentional training can help manage emotions like shame and stress.
Our brains and bodies are deeply interconnected, and understanding this connection can help us manage emotions like shame and stress. Society can put pressure on individuals to conform, leading to feelings of shame, even when we cognitively know we don't want to conform. This response is a protective threat response in the body, and it can be challenging to change the reaction using only our conscious mind. Instead, we need to intentionally train our bodies and nervous systems to respond differently through repatterning and intentional stimuli. Neurology is the science of hope because our brains are always changing, and even the trainable areas like the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula can be rewired. Our perceptions and interpretations of situations are unique to each person, informed by our previous experiences, social connections, and beliefs. Therefore, it's essential to be compassionate and understanding towards others' perspectives and experiences. In summary, recognizing the neurological factors that influence our emotions and perceptions can lead to hope and the possibility of change.
Healing complex trauma with compassion, curiosity, and trust: Focus on making nervous system healthier, learn tools to interrupt cycles of stress and shame, trust self and inherent worth, essential for creating new experiences and responses
Understanding and addressing complex trauma requires compassion, curiosity, and trust. Our past experiences shape not only our worldview but also our neurology, and suppressing our authentic self can lead to chronic stress and disease states. Trusting ourselves and our inherent worth is crucial, as is the ability to process and move past normal shame. Neurosomatic intelligence and nervous system training can help us interrupt the cycles of stress and shame, providing us with the capacity to respond differently to conflicts and create new experiences. It's essential to start by focusing on making our nervous system healthier and learning when to use the tools to create new responses.
Exploring the importance of understanding and regulating our nervous system for relationships: Daily training of the nervous system can help identify triggers, build resilience, and create a framework for positive change in relationships. Personalized practices are essential, and resources like Neuro Somatic Intelligence offer valuable insights.
Understanding and regulating our nervous system is crucial for building intimate connections and navigating relationships. Daily training of the nervous system can help us identify triggers, build resilience, and create a framework for positive change. The world's focus on wellness practices is a reflection of this growing awareness. It's essential to remember that everyone's nervous system is unique, and developing a personalized practice is key to reducing stress and improving relationships. For practitioners, therapists, and coaches looking to incorporate this knowledge into their work, consider enrolling in Neuro Somatic Intelligence's next cohort. And for those new to this topic, starting with earlier podcast episodes on attachment styles and development can provide a solid foundation.
Learn to retrain your stress response: Through intentional work and nervous system regulation techniques, you can transform your stress response and create stronger connections in life
Your stress response is a learned skill that your nervous system has acquired, and you have the power to retrain it to produce a different reaction. This transformation can be achieved through intentional work and nervous system regulation techniques. By doing so, you can create stronger connections and relationships in your life instead of constantly dealing with a reactive side of stress. Your current experience of feeling tired but wired doesn't have to be permanent. If you resonated with the phrases and concepts discussed, consider joining Brain Based Wellness for a free 2-week membership or NSI for practitioners. These resources can help guide you towards a new way of being and living that aligns with your deepest desires.