Another outbreak of acne and insomnia that you can’t seem to shake off may be signs of anxiety. Your motivation and mood may be at an all-time low again. Somebody close to you must have mentioned your hormones could be haywire.
This suggestion is worth considering. After all, hormones and anxiety are part of the same chain.
Hormones: Chemical messengers
Hormones regulate many bodily processes. Your overall health, your ability to focus, and your overall mood are all related to hormonal functions. The symptoms you may be experiencing could be due to these chemical messengers. Your lowly emotional state is not just a passing inconvenience.
There could be something wrong with the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. The imbalance may be keeping you in the dumps despite the fact that there’s more than enough reason to smile at the world.
Hormones and chronic stress
In states of stress, the endocrine system loses its cool. If the body cannot manage stress the effects of too much cortisol and adrenaline secretion manifest. It’s not possible to correct the balance of hormones instantly, but you can change the way you respond to stress right now.
Perhaps, understanding that the hormones adrenaline and cortisol are associated with stress is a good start. After a basic lesson in endocrinology here in Provo, it’s amazing how residents start making fundamental lifestyle changes that restore the balance of chemical messengers in the blood.
A spotlight on the adrenal glands
An infection or inflammation triggers a stress response. Any environmental condition that threatens our safety results in the same response. Emotional disturbance results in similar hormonal changes. The reaction of the adrenal glands is part of a program designed to keep you safe and sound.
Unfortunately, the body will not thrive if it is continuously in a state of trying to survive. In a state of anxiety, your adrenal glands respond by releasing hormones. The best-known stress hormone is cortisol, which triggers a cascade of responses throughout the body.
When the body is stressed out
In times of stress, your body is subjected to pressures that are greater than normal. The situation is not sustainable. In periods of prolonged stress, various body systems suffer and lose optimal function. If you are anxious to begin with, you only suffer from more anxiety.
It’s a never-ending cycle of suffering – a constant feeling of being out of balance. As hormonal pathways respond to the body’s current needs, you will experience dysregulation and fatigue. Your body freaks out as much as your mind does.
In a constant state of stress, the endocrine gland is not functioning in a normal fashion. Soon enough, other body systems are affected – your heart and blood circulation, your lungs and digestive system, even your reproductive organs.
When something is wrong with your endocrine glands and the hormones they produce, a specific series of blood tests will reveal it. Most hormones have a normal rhythm, and any deviation from expectations would be easy to spot.
When you can’t seem to pick yourself up from a sour mood, and when anxiety rules your daily life, consider looking for an endocrinologist. Ditch over-the-counter pills and ask for expert opinion.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.