"I used to do this with my daughter
when she was a baby. Rubbing her belly always helped her calm down. I never thought I'd do it myself," she said as she released a big sigh. "When you breathe deeply and gently
rub your belly, it triggers the relaxation response via the vagus nerve. It’s the larg- est nerve exiting your brain that runs from your skull all the way down into your abdomen. It’s one arm of the autonomic or automatic nervous system that runs everything in the background. It’s the parasympathetic or the relaxing, regen- erative and healing arm of this nervous system that works without our thinking about it…. although our thoughts do affect it. The vagus nerve slows down heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and stimulates our bowels to move things along among many other things," I smiled. "You may stop rubbing your abdomen
now. In this crazy, stress filled world each of us has to figure out how we can put the world on "pause" so that we can take care of what's really important -- ourselves. Now, I'm not saying that rubbing your abdomen is going to fix everything, but when you get stressed out, whether it is when you are driving or sitting at your desk, tell yourself ‘I deserve a break today’ or whatever words work for you and take
a few minutes to relax,” I suggested. “Then you will be more refreshed and have the broader perspective that you need to deal with whatever is troubling you.” "I do not believe how much better I
feel right now.” Debbie’s eyes widened. “How long will this last?" "Probably until your cell phone rings
or until you start driving back to work," I smiled. "But if you practice this on a daily basis, several times a day, your body will learn to calm down faster and stay calm for longer periods of time. "Let me explain what's going on. Our bodies are designed perfectly to respond to stress in the short-term. When we are stressed, our hypothalamic -- pituitary -- adrenal axis (HPA axis) switches on the other arm of the autonomic or automatic nervous system called the sympathetic or alarm nervous system and produces nor- epinephrine, cortisol and a cascade of chemical reactions so that we can deal with the stress. Our concentration and focus are heightened, heart rate and blood pressure go up and blood is diverted away from our gut to our muscles and we enter survival mode. We're ready to kill the tiger or run from it. “Flight or fight was very useful when
we lived in the jungle with tigers. Unfor- tunately when this alarm signal is turned
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on by all the daily stresses we experience, sometimes it doesn't turn off. Chronic stress causes chronic elevation of cortisol levels and chronic overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. You’ve expe- rienced how that feels recently. Over time it will cause more symptoms and illnesses. “It causes depression and anxiety by
lowering the levels of calming neurotrans- mitters. It lowers serotonin, resulting in obsessive, rigid thinking, carbohydrate cravings, and being hypercritical of our- selves. It lowers acetylcholine, which is the calming neurotransmitter in the vagus nerve I mentioned before. So it’s harder to get calm in your brain and in your body. You must choose to relax. It won't come automatically when you’re chronically stressed. You have to work at it. “Acetylcholine is also responsible for recording and accessing memories. This happens in the hippocampus, which is a switching station in the brain for memory. Chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels damage the hippocampus. This makes it hard to retrieve memories or to learn new things. That’s why so many people who are chronically stressed have difficulty remem- bering names. The size of the hippocam- pus actually shrinks in people who experi- ence chronic stress due to nerve cells dying from the toxic effects of cortisol,” I explained. “I do that. I can't remember the names
of clients that I'm working with sometimes. It's really embarrassing. Can I fix it?” asked Debbie. “Yes, you can grow new healthy nerve
cells again and regain your memory, but you must take responsibility for your health and make some changes,” I explained. “Let me tell you a few more things chronic stress does to your body. “It makes more abdominal fat increas-
ing the risk of diabetes and interferes with thyroid function which contributes to weight gain. “Lastly, chronic stress makes your
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blood stickier leading to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. It also raises your bad cholesterol and lowers your good cholesterol. There are many other conse- quences of chronic stress; these are just a few which apply to you,” I concluded. "I got it. The problem is I can't get calm
or stay calm," said Debbie. "I know. You’ve been stressed for such a long period of time that your alarm sys- tem is stuck in the ON position. Popping
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