Have you ever felt stressed out? Most of us have at one point in time. This stress may have been physical, emotional, mental or hormonal (or a combination) and signals an alarm for the body to react and respond.
The body perceives any imbalance or threat to homeostasis as a potential stressor.
Our body responds to stress in many different ways, but one thing that all stress has in common is that it increases the level of a very powerful hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone produced and released from the adrenal glands (adrenals) involved in the regulation of metabolism in the cells and helps us regulate stress within the body.
The adrenals release adrenaline, cortisol, and aldosterone. Adrenaline increases your body's heart rate, increases blood pressure, and takes blood from your frontal lobe. Cortisol increases your blood sugar, giving your activated organs more energy. Aldosterone helps keep your salt levels in balance. Your body is now activated, giving you more muscle power and greater endurance to fight off, or flee an attack. This triggers your body into the fight or flight response. This is the first stage of the body's stress regulation.
The Stages of Stress
Stage 1 - THE ALARM STAGE (FIGHT OR FLIGHT)
The body will initiate the 'fight or flight' stage if it has been encountering some stress recently. This stress may be physical, emotional, mental or hormonal in nature and signals an alarm for the body to react and respond.
Adrenaline and cortisol, the body’s main stress hormones are released from the adrenal glands in response. This triggers the body to switch from the ‘relaxed’ parasympathetic nervous system to the ‘stressed’ sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response).
The body may start experiencing mild symptoms of one or more of the following:
- increased anxiety
- insomnia
- low energy
- muscle tension and pain
- increased perimenopause symptoms
The priority at this point is to take action to avoid progressing into the more chronic Stage 2 (Resistance) and Stage 3 (Exhaustion) stress responses.
Stage 2 - THE RESISTANCE STAGE (WIRED BUT TIRED)
The body most likely has been experiencing an extended period of stress and has progressed from Stage 1 – The Alarm Stage (fight or flight).
The body’s main stress hormones adrenaline and particularly cortisol that were activated in Stage 1 will continue to be released by the adrenal glands in response to the stressor. This will result in the body continuing to activate the ‘stressed’ sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) whilst limiting activity of the ‘relaxed’ parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).
The dangers of resistance stress and the extended release of stress hormones include increases in blood pressure and blood sugar, decrease in immune function and defence against infections, digestive issues, insomnia and weight gain (especially belly fat).
The body may experience regular symptoms of one or more of the following:
- increased anxiety
- insomnia
- low energy
- muscle tension and pain
- increased perimenopause symptoms
- digestive problems
- frequent infections
- mood changes
- poor concentration
The resistance stage signifies that the body is reaching its limits in coping with the stress.
At this point if the stressor can be dealt with, the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) can be activated, return to normal function and begin reducing the amount of stress hormones (particularly cortisol) that are being produced. As parasympathetic nervous system function increases, sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) decreases, allowing more balanced rhythms and nervous system activity.
If the stress is not resolved at the resistance stage, it can become chronic. This is the final stage of stress, the Exhaustion Stage.
Stage 3 - THE EXHAUSTION STAGE (ADRENAL FATIGUE / BURNOUT)
The body has most likely been experiencing extreme amounts of stress over an extended period of time, moving through Stage 1 (fight or flight) and Stage 2 (Resistance) of the body’s stress response without resolving the stressor(s).
Your body’s main stress hormones adrenaline and particularly cortisol will have been continually released by the adrenal glands in response to the stressor. This results in the body continuing to activate the ‘stressed’ sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) whilst limiting activity of the ‘relaxed’ parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).
The dangers of the extended release of stress hormones (particularly cortisol) include increases in blood pressure and blood sugar, increased anxiety, decrease in immune function and defence against infections, digestive issues, insomnia, mood changes and weight gain (especially belly fat).
The body is most likely experiencing many of the following symptoms:
- increased anxiety
- insomnia
- chronic fatigue
- muscle tension and pain / fibromyalgia
- increased perimenopause symptoms
- digestive problems
- frequent infections / autoimmune issues
- mood changes
- poor concentration
- low motivation and interest in many areas of life
The exhaustion stage of stress (also referred to as adrenal fatigue or burnout) is chronic stress that causes dramatic effects on the body. At this point, the body is unable to continuously manage stress and the effects caused in the exhaustion phase. It has used up all its resources, including physical, mental, emotional and hormonal and struggles to recover from the stress that is being presented. The longer the body stays in the exhaustion stage, the more dramatic the effects are on the person. The exhaustion phase can cause long-term health complications.
Am I experiencing Adrenal Stress? Take the Quiz
Our simple quiz will help you to identify whether you are experiencing adrenal stress or imbalance and what stage of 'stress' you are in.
Is it time to balance your stress and boost your adrenal health?
Taking action: Kinesiology as a stress management system.
At the core of sessions (in-clinic and online) at Healthy Kinect we calm and strengthen your mind and body and support adrenal balance with kinesiology and energetic balancing techniques to transform your stress into physical, emotional, mental and hormonal balance.
We focus on identifying your key stress imbalances, calming your nervous system and stress response patterns (aka fight, flight, freeze), balancing hormonal, emotional, mental and physical stress and your energetic fields (meridians and chakras).
Sessions incorporate specific and tailored kinesiology and bioenergetic protocols and may include acupressure, aromatherapy, bioresonance and meditation/tapping activities.
Support activities/strategies are also provided to continue a self-stress balancing program at home.
Kylie Nicholls
Registered Kinesiologist (AIK).
Coach and Educator - B.Ed Physical Education/Human Movement.
Certified Aromatic Kinesiologist.
Training completed in: 5 element bioenergetics; optimising adrenal, thyroid and immune function.
Stress and Adrenal Balancing Personal Trainer!