Rates & Sessions

What Happens When You Are Under Stress

The reaction to stress is a primitive adaptive response the purpose of which is to help you survive in “stressful” situations. Your body responds exactly as it did thousands of years ago. To understand its impact on your physical self, let’s go back to cave man days. You are out hunting for dinner and suddenly you see saber toothed tiger who is also out looking for a meal. You freeze. You are very still, but your body is not. Your concentration is hyper-acute and focused. You brain is working as fast as it can analyzing all possible choices and outcomes. Your body has prepared you for the response to an aggressive onslaught.

Your breathing rate has doubled. This brings more oxygen into your lungs and is filtered into the blood stream. Your blood pressure has increased twofold. This speeds the flow of blood through the veins and arteries to provide faster access to white blood cells if there is an injury or cut. Your pancreas has released stores of sugar to give you more energy instantly. You notice that your muscles are very tense, but ready to spring into action.

All aspects of your body’s functions that are critical for survival are on high alert, but those not needed are decreased. Your digestive system is slowed. You can’t think of eating. Your reproductive system is not important. You certainly are not thinking of sex. Your immune system is lowered, since your body is not worried about catching a cold.

The tiger moves on, and you are safe. As you sit down to wipe your brow, you find that your heart rate and breathing are slowing down to normal. If you measured your blood pressure in your caveman way, you would find that it also dropped back to its usual level. Your body has returned to its pre stress condition.

Why Stress Is A Problem

The reaction to stress is designed to help you survive. When the stress is over, your body returns to its normal state of functioning. One problem with life today is that the stress does not end. Think of your Blackberry. That’s right, you have absolutely no free time. Now remember your obligations at home and at work. Think also about your other pressures, time, money, and schedules. Very often the stress does not remit in our lives, and our bodies do not go back to a normal state. Instead, they stay on high alert all the time.

The problem with this is that the aspects of your system that were not needed in survival mode are very much needed under normal conditions. Your immune system needs to function for you not to get sick. Dozens of studies have demonstrated a direct link between stress levels and lowered t-cell counts. Others have demonstrated the connection between stress and heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, and diabetes,. Gastro-intestinal disorders like IBS, peptic ulcers, headaches, sleep disturbance, sexuality, fertility, and memory loss are all targets of stress.

Depression Symptoms & Treatment

• Difficulty falling asleep or waking in the middle of the night
• Waking too early and not getting back to sleep
• Eating more or less than usual
• Having lower sex drive than usual
• Loss of pleasure in things that normally are pleasurable
• Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness
• Poor concentration

We treat your depression by starting with a full evaluation to determine its nature. There are different kinds of depression. One type is Reactive Depression, and it occurs as a normal reaction to a loss or a frustration that you can’t do anything about. If someone you care about dies, if there is a reversal of fortune, if any difficult life experience occurs, you might get depressed. Although this is a normal reaction, the depression is still very unpleasant and difficult with symptoms of great distress, hopelessness, helplessness, a profound lack of energy, such that you might just want to stay in bed. Your sleep patterns and eating can change drastically. You lose interest in things that you normally enjoy.

The good news is that Depression is treatable You can substantially reduce the amount of time you feel low.

Dual Diagnosis

Dual diagnosis (also referred to as co-occurring disorders) is a term for when someone experiences a mental illness and a substance use disorder simultaneously. Either disorder—substance use or mental illness—can develop first. People experiencing a mental health condition may turn to alcohol or other drugs as a form of self-medication to improve the mental health symptoms they experience. However, research shows that alcohol and other drugs worsen the symptoms of mental illnesses.

The professional fields of mental health and substance use recovery have different cultures, so finding integrated care can be challenging. Tracy has advocated for optimal clinical treatment for Dually diagnosed patients for years.