THE ALCHEMY OF STRESS - UNDERSTAND YOUR ALLOSTATIC LOAD AND TAKE BACK YOUR POWER.

28/4/2020

Yes you are stressed! And you probably don't feel like there is anything you can do about it. The situation we find ourselves in globally is unprecedented to say the least and no-one....and I mean no-one knows what the *$#%^# is going on. Whether you are feeling pretty chill and are blessed enough to be financially secure and physically well or whether you're feeling utterly overwhelmed and terrified, I promise you that merely the current unnatural state we find ourselves in is skyrocketing your body's stress response and driving you into sympathetic-nervous system overload and stress loop. As human beings we are not designed to live in isolation (introvert or not) we need to interact with other people, in person. We need to see their faces and feel their energy. This is how we make sense of the world around us. So when we are in a state of isolation, and when we are constantly being fed a fear driven narrative; and this is unfortunately happening whether you follow the media hullabaloo or not. Its happening because that is the subconscious message that is being received by your nervous system when you pop to the shop and everyone around you is masked up and gloved with big fearful eyeballs staring out from under said masks while the squirt noxious chemical sanitizers at you. When you only see others faces on a screen. When all conversations are about fear and uncertainty. When you are bombarded with words and phrases like isolate, stay safe, protect yourself, protect your family, pandemic, quarantine etc, etc, etc. All of this creates a subconscious narrative of fear, lack, isolation, danger and uncertainty....basically a breeding ground for a full on sympathetic nervous system party! (if you don't know what your sympathetic nervous system is, please read my previous blog post alchemise-your-nervous-system-to-reduce-stress-and-increase-immune-health.html) So what does that mean for your health and your sanity.... well you've probably noticed that you're getting tired pretty quickly, or that you just don't feel like yourself or even beginning to feel ill or like you can't cope with even the slightest bit of stress, things that usually would have been no issue are suddenly overwhelming. This is all due to a sudden increase in your Allostatic Load - scary vague term but actually quite easy to unpack. Have a look at this nifty picture, its gonna show you kinda what happens in your body when your sympathetic nervous system gets triggered. Okay so your brain takes in all of this information, everything you see, hear, feel etc. it then tells your body what it thinks is going on and releases chemicals and hormones (the panic juice) into your body as instructions for certain things to happen. Basically the hypothalamus sends a messages down your nervous system to your lungs to make your breath short, quick and shallow, your heart rate increases, your liver turns glycogen to glucose, your adrenal glands pump you full of adrenaline, your blood pressure goes up, and your digestive system slows down, you release Catecholamines (panic juice basically) your psoas, pectoral and shoulder girdle muscles tighten up ready for action and blood is driven from the organs and intestines to the extremities. Whamo sympathetic nervous system is a go! The conversation looks a bit like this - Brain "Danger! Danger! I'm switching on your fight or flight mode and releasing the catecholamines" (big word for stress neurotransmitters & hormones aka Panic Juice - Epinephrine, Dopamine, Cortisol, Norephidrine) Body "Okay! Cool I'm ready, let's go, lemme run, hide, fight, lemme at'em!" The problem with this dialogue is that it doesn't work in our modern world where the threats are 99% invisible stress caused by the litany and constant bombardment of our environment. This system was designed to keep you safe from predators that wanted to eat you. Now the only thing that's eating you is your internal dialogue trying to make sense of this chaos. So your Allostatic Load can be thought of as how much crap are you currently packing into your stress bag how much panic juice are you downing. How heavy is your load and what is that load you're carrying 24/7 doing to your physical, emotional and I believe most importantly spiritual health and well-being. The end result of this Allostatic Load getting outta control is that you get sick. Yup it's that simple, our bodies simply weren't built for this. I don't care how hardcore you think you are or how badass you think it makes you to be under obscene amounts of stress, you can only do it for so long before this sh1t is gonna hit the fan and your body will collapse into illness. The list of stress induced illness is so freaking long I can write a Russian novel about it. It is by far the biggest threat we face as a society because being under the influence of the sympathetic nervous system and and allostatic overload makes us make crappy decisions, it lowers our ability to think clearly and to reason, it makes us fearful and easily manipulated. You are not yourself in these states and you cannot function from a place of truth and support when you are in this loop.

So break the loop! Step away from the panic juice! it's easier than you think!.... if you want to know how please read my previous blog post alchemise-your-nervous-system-to-reduce-stress-and-increase-immune-health.html Here I give some really simple and accessible techniques to switch off your sympathetic nervous system and switch on your parasympathetic nervous system so your body and your soul can have a break and you can come back into your power. If you need more help or info, please contact me, or book a session with me and remember you are in control of your body, your emotions and your health! you might simply need some tools to take your power back! In Alchemy Isa