Stress Depletes Neurotransmitters

When dealing with daily stress the brain uses feel good transmitters called endorphins. When large amounts of endorphins are needed to handle stress, the ratio of many of the other transmitters, one to another, becomes upset causing a chemical imbalance. When we start to feel stress like a sense of urgency and anxiety more stress is caused as a result. Harmful chemicals are released in our bodies that do damage, causing even more stress. This is called the "stress cycle". Emotional fatigue can be a result, and be experienced and felt as depression. The body responds to emotional stess exactly as it responds to physical danger. We are usually unaware of this not felling at all as our bodies are constantly reacting to different emotions. Responding to this mental and emotional struggles with a "fight or flight" response. Which is designed to prepare our bodies for immediate danger. We really don't fight or flee, instead the high energy chemicals produced in many everyday situations boil inside of us, potentially taking years off our lives. Almost all body functions and organs react to stress. The body responds to stress with a series of physiological changes that include increased secretion of adrenaline, elevation of blood pressyrem accerleration of the heartbeat, and greater tension in the muscles, etc. Stress creates an excellent breeding ground for illness. Increased adrenaline production causes the body to step up its metabolism of proteins, fats, and carbs to quickly produce energy for the body to use. the pituitary gland stimulates the release of hormones cortisone and cortisol. These two hormones have the effect of inhibiting the functioning of disease fighting white blood cells and suppressing the immune response. This complex of physical changes known as the "fight or flight" response is also the reason that stress can lead to nutrional deficiencies. Researchers estimate that stress contributes to as many as 8O % og all major illnesses that include cardiovascular disease, cancer, endocrine and metabolic diseases, skin disorders, and all kinds of infections. Studies by the American Medical Association have shown stress to be a factor in over 75% of all illnesses today. Research linking stress to a variety of diseases and illnesses had been the subject of more than 20,000 scientific studies...interesting huh? So let's all try to cool down and not get so stress about Ap bio anymore... we don't want to get sick lol =]