If you’re like many people, you have a fair amount of stress in your life.  This is more true now than ever before.  Whether you’re dealing with financial issues, a troublesome co-worker, or not having enough hours in the day, stress is taking its toll.  You’ve heard from everyone from your doctor to fitness gurus that stress impacts your health, and you know it makes you feel bad.  But what’s the big deal about stress anyway?  The answer in one word:  hormones.

When we think of hormones, most of us think of sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone.  But actually, there are hormones in our bodies that are much bigger players than the sex hormones.  Without them we could not survive even for a short period of time.  Those major players are adrenaline, insulin, and cortisol. 

Interestingly, the hormones that are released when you are under stress are adrenaline and cortisol, both of which are “breaking down” hormones, because they use up chemicals and nutrients in your body.  Both are released during stressful situations that give you the feeling of impending threat or danger, called the “fight or flight” response.  Adrenaline causes muscle loss because it helps your body use (or break down) anything available for fuel in order to escape.  Cortisol’s job is twofold:  first, to raise blood sugar so there is energy to move your muscles and run away.  The second job of cortisol is to shut down any high-energy functions of your body not needed for the fight or flight response, including the immune system, and some functions of the brain and emotions.  Prolonged high cortisol levels are associated with depression, memory loss, and frequent illnesses or infections.

When cortisol levels are high, and all that extra energy isn’t used (which is usually the case–we never actually run away from a short deadline or demanding boss!), more insulin (a “building up” hormone) is produced to lower blood sugar.  Here’s the interesting part–people with consistently high insulin will gain weight over time, and are prone to inflammation, arthritis, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

So, in response to the question, what’s the big deal about stress, anyway?  There are two answers.  The first is that it feels bad and aggravates existing health conditions.  The second is that it is associated with suppression of the immune system, depression, weight gain, muscle loss, memory loss, arthritis, inflammation, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

Now, knowing how damaging stress can be to your health, what can you do to bring more tranquility and less “overwhelm” into your life?  While there are many ways to tame stress, most people don’t think about acupuncture, which is incredibly effective for stress and anxiety.  In just a treatment or two, you can change your stress response, support your immune system, and feel less overwhelmed.  What a great way to bring more peace and pleasure into your life!