Although stress is inevitable and part of life, living with fear and anxiety every single day is not. And although our bodies are built for stress, it’s not meant to be in this state 24/7.

 

Did you know according to the CDC the second leading cause to COVID death is anxiety and fear-related disorders. Feel free to read the study in the link below.

 

 

Long term doses of cortisol which is the hormone that is released under stress will damage our brain and cause depression along with other illness’.

 

Let’s quickly go over how this works in our body and the damage cortisol has in our bodies long term:

 

First the amygdala activates the sympathetic nervous system so we go into the flight or flee response. Our blood sugar raises and releases cortisol. Our digestion slows down because who needs to worry about digestion when we need all of our blood flow to our limbs to flee the circumstance or at least that was the circumstance hundreds of years ago (being chased down or hunted). Now this happens on a daily basis multiple times a day. 

 

Long term release of cortisol leads to hypertension and strokes.

 

Another deadly thing cortisol does is kills neurons in our hippocampus controls memory and emotions which put us at risk for depression. This is why stress is associated with memory loss- think mommy brain (we forget where we left the keys only to realize they were in our hand the entire time) lol.

 

Last but not least cortisol is an appetite stimulant. We crave comfort food when we are stressed – ice cream, chocolate, chips, cookies etc. This sugar makes us feel good in the moment but it causes much more harm in the long run. Our blood sugar raises, our cortisol raises, we start gaining weight, our body is full of inflammation and now we are struggling with obesity and the other underlying diseases. 

 

So, what do we do when we are stuck in this vicious cycle? 

 

Well, like we stated fear and anxiety is physical, it’s something we feel in our body. When you become fearful our breathing changes, our body temperature changes, it causes a trigger effect and hormones are affected. 

 

The great part is you can change your physiology because courage is also a mental and physical state. 

 

You can change your physiology from fear to courage by training your mind and body daily. 

 

By putting yourself under hard circumstances that are under your control you train your mind and body to face fear and push through it. Remember courage does not mean you’re not scared it means your face fear and move forward. 

 

When you are feeling anxious the best thing to do is MOVE. Do something. This changes your brain chemistry, activates the brain allowing you to have more control of your amygdala, decreases muscle tension and so much more. 

 

Feed your mind daily as well. Control what goes in and make sure it’s only making stronger not fearful.

 

With all that being said:

 

If you want to change your life, start with your human body! 

 

Eat well, Train hard, your life depends on it.