We’ve all been inundated with the word “stress” and can universally come up with ways it manifests in our daily lives. When the body is under a stressor(s) of any kind- environmental, physical, infectious, emotional, or psychological trauma- hormones including adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol are deployed in excess to increase our ability to react and respond to the threat. We refer to this as the Alarm/Reaction Stage, and under normal circumstances, this response is only temporary and we return back to a parasympathetic-dominant state of wellbeing once the injury or assault is dealt with. With chronic stress, however, we often see a 3-stage progression from the initial alarm/reaction stage to one of resistance, and finally exhaustion. We now know this affects our health at a cellular level.
Resistance Phase: This occurs when there is no signal or sense of safety to return to, and the body adapts by making more cellular hormone receptors to handle high levels of stress, but we don’t always feel the underlying “fight or flight” response as acutely. This is where we begin to see impairment of the limbic system, the network of brain structures involved in emotion, memory, motivation, and the regulation of stress and survival-related behaviors.
Exhaustion Phase: Immune function and vital processes become compromised as the body directs more resources to dealing with stress rather than regulating digestion, immune and endocrine function, etc. This occurs as a result of a stressful situation + limbic system impairment + unresolved trauma and is characterized by a lack of capacity to produce stress hormones with symptoms of fatigue, burnout, overwhelm, freeze response, anxiety, decreased stress tolerance, and immune dysregulation.
Getting stuck in a threat mode without a sense of safety to return affects us down to a cellular level, a phenomenon known as the cell danger response (CDR), a term first developed by Dr. Robert Naviaux. Our cells- specifically our mitochondria– get stuck in protection mode in response to a trigger (infections, toxic exposures, psychological/physical trauma or injury, etc), and the body cannot complete the healing process- even if the original threat has passed. Furthermore, their cell membranes, which dictate cellular function and energy production to a large degree due to their semi-permeable nature, often become damaged.
This is essentially the body saying “I am not ok” at a cellular level, which can have devastating effects including a continued dysregulated immune system, excessive inflammatory reactions, impaired organ function, inability to fully absorb nutrients, and the inability to remove toxins appropriately. Clinically, I refer to this as an overwhelmed stress bucket.
How can one begin to unravel this complex entanglement of stressors and dysfunction? It certainly does not involve prescribing endless one-size-fits-all “protocols” to patients, who usually have a degree of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and sensitivity. While addressing and managing some of the physical stressors that underlie an aberrant mast cell/inflammatory response, I usually find that directly addressing the nervous system component via regulation practices, somatic experience, and limbic system rewiring to be not an adjunct or secondary tool, but a primary intent alongside the medical component. Getting outside daily in nature, optimizing our circadian biology, gentle movement, mitochondrial, mast cell, adaptogen herbal and homeopathic support can give additional benefit depending on the patient. I often remind patients that it often takes years to reach this point, and it can take just as long to restore health and resilience, a term known as salugenesis.