While modern orthodox medicine is starting to recognise other causes behind the development of pathologies beyond “bad luck”, such as genetic and environmental factors, a much wider view of health and disease is required in order to unpack all of the causes and contributors to changes in health and wellbeing. In this article, I will explore how structural, biochemical, mental, emotional, spiritual, genetic and environmental factors can all play a part and the mechanisms of how each can effect changes in health.
Are you interested in a holistic approach to health and nutrition that incorporates naturopathy? Read about my programs here.
Our modern lifestyles are quite different to those of our ancestors. The invention of the computer and mobile phone and their complete integration into modern life has led to the predominance of a sedentary, inactive lifestyle, both during working hours and our leisure time. This has led to the development of chronic poor posture amongst a large proportion of the population. Those focussed on the study of the human structural form, such as chiropractors and osteopaths, recognise the importance of this development on health. When our bodily structure is misaligned or extra stress is placed on certain parts due to extended periods of poor posture and lack of activity, pressure can be put on certain parts of the nervous system. This can occur, for example, through compression of certain spinal discs. In this state, the messages of the nervous system to various parts of the body are impaired or can even be cut off, resulting in reduced motor function and pain, as well as reduced function of the part of the body in question. Figure 1, below, illustrates how the different spinal discs are linked to different parts of the body and related pathologies through the nervous system.
An emerging science known as PNEI (psycho-neuro-endocrine-immunology) is beginning to make the links between these four systems of the human body. In the past, each system was assessed individually as there was not understood to be any link between them. However, we are now beginning to understand how these systems interact thanks to the work of Candace Pert, in her book Molecules of Emotion (Pert, 1999). Pert has shown that signals received by one system, for example the immune or nervous system, can then trigger a stress response through the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal system (known as the HPA axis). Therefore, it could be understood that prolonged triggering of the immune system or nervous system through structural issues could cause a chronic state of stress and all of the associated negative effects on mental, emotional and physical state that this entails, such as lack of rest, poor digestion, reduced immune system function, development of addictive behaviour etc. some of which we will explore in more detail below.
I will now examine in more detail the process of the development of stress and its physical and emotional effects on the body. Hans Selye, through his experiments on rats, developed the theory of the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) which outlined three main stages that an organism passes through when exposed to a perceived stressor. These stages are (Sharma, 2019):
- The Alarm stage, where the HPA axis is triggered to prepare the organism to deal with the perceived stressor. At this stage, the pituitary gland signals the adrenals to release adrenaline in order to assist the body in either fighting or fleeing from the stressor.
- The Adaptation or Resistance stage is entered when the initial perceived stressor continues to be present beyond the initial encounter. At this point, the adrenals switch to producing cortisol which is longer acting than adrenaline. This signals the liver to release stored glucose so that the organism has sufficient energy to deal with the continued exposure to the perceived stressor. Furthermore, the cortisol triggers the release of insulin in order to take the glucose released into the cells of the body.
- The third and final stage of the GAR is the Maladaptation or Exhaustion stage. This occurs when the adrenals become exhausted at the prolonged requirement for stress hormones and their ability to produce the cortisol starts to fall. Since the presence of cortisol signals to the hypothalamus that the stress is being dealt with, turning off the feedback mechanism, during this stage the reduced cortisol production makes the body believe that the stress is not being dealt with adequately, resulting in a continued stress signal (ACTH) from the hypothalamus. The presence of this signal results in increasing anxiety for that person. When anxiety is present for too long, insomnia can develop and then this can lead to depression and related states such as learned helplessness, self-mutilation and even suicide.
Once a person enters the third stage of the GAS, the body is no longer able to deal with the stressor and a wide range of worrying symptoms will develop such as insomnia, anxiety, weight gain, migraines, increased susceptibility to addictions, missed periods or PMT, fatigue, emotional instability, increased blood pressure and heart rate, inability to eat or concentrate and many more (Sharma, 2019). Infertility and other related sexual issues can also develop due to the “pregnenolone steal”, where the cholesterol needed for making sex hormones is not available in sufficient quantities due to its requirement for the production of cortisol (Sharma, 2019).
As stated in the previous article, a key factor in determining the effect of a stressor on the person is their perception of said stressor (Sharma, Morison, 2019). How the brain perceives an event, be that external or internal, will determine the response of the HPA and the resulting stress on the body. Therefore, different people will react or cope with similar stressors in a different way. The determining factor is linked to the limbic system in the brain, specifically the amygdala and the hippocampus and their stored emotional experiences and memories (Morison, 2019). While the prefrontal cortex, which has the potential to regulate the activity of the amygdala and the hippocampus, can be trained through the practice of meditation and thought control (Sharma, 2019), a major factor in one’s perception of stress, and hence their reaction to it, is that person’s previous life experiences, including while in-utero. It is therefore unsurprising that studies have shown that one’s perceived social economic status has a significant correlation with health outcomes (Sapolsky, 1994), as discussed in the previous article.
Furthermore, it has been shown that predispositions from one’s genetic inheritance can also effect one’s stress response (Morison, 2019). Presumably, the message has been passed down through the genes that the world is a stressful place, so certain parts of the brain are predisposed to be dominant over others, allowing an easier and faster triggering of the HPA.
One’s spiritual and mental perspective could also have a positive or negative effect on one’s perception of stress and therefore affect the stress response. For example, if one believes that everything happens for a reason, taking the attitude of going with the flow and learning from setbacks (this could be described in other terms as being related to “God’s will” or that of any “higher power”), then one could potentially perceive stressful events in a more positive way than otherwise, where, lacking a higher understanding of the necessity of difficulties and challenges, one could develop a negative mind set and patterns of thought.
This concept of people reacting to stress in different ways was explored by Brian McEwen who coined the term allostatic load. While Selye put forward a model that explained how the stress response was the same for all organisms, McEwen focussed on how people’s response differed based on the accumulative effects of several factors including some of what I covered about like past experiences of stress and their extent and religious beliefs but also personality type, social support network, living environment and health practices like diet, sleep and lifestyle. The idea being that the more negative factors that are present in one person (their allostatic load), the poorer their response to stress will be.
Are you interested in a holistic approach to health and nutrition? Read about my programs here.
In conclusion, research is quickly progressing in its developing understanding of the wide ranging factors that influence stress and health, some of which have been touched upon in this essay. As scientific research develops, it is worth noting that it is just beginning to be able to explain many things that have been known for a long time through lineages of ancient medical traditions like Ayurveda, Chinese and Tibetan medicine, who have always emphasised the importance of the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects to health and the holistic integrity of the entire human mind/body/soul system.
References
Morison, Jacquelyne, 2019, Naturopathy Course Notes, Module 7: Psychosocial, page 30, 34, School of Health, Stroud, UK
Pert, Candace, 1999, Molecules of Emotion, Simon & Schuster, UK
Sapolsky, Robert, 1994, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, page 356, 367 WH Freeman, NY, USA
Sharma, Mary, 2019, Naturopathy Course Notes, Module 7: Psychosocial Skills, pages 87-89, 91, 1212, 126, 131-134 142, School of Health, Stroud, UK
