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We always  hear  about  our  mental  health  and physical  health  or  mind  and  body,  but  I  want  to  encourage  you to  shift  that  thinking.  At  the  same  time, you are more likely to experience allergies or even autoimmunity,  which  occurs  when  the  immune  system  attacks  your own healthy cells. This is because stress dysregulates the immune system, making you vulnerable to viruses that  can  trigger  autoimmunity,  and  it  turns  on  your  genetic predispositions  to  autoimmunity.  Digestive  issues  begin  to  develop,  along  with  imbalanced  hormones,  depleted  neurotransmitters,  and  less  optimal  immune  function.  Let’s  stop  for  a  second.  I  want  to  further  dissolve  the  concept  that  your  mind  and  body  are  two separate entities. They are one interconnected system. However, it’s important to recognize that communication  also  occurs  in  the  opposite direction, from  the bottom  up,  so to speak.  The  vagus nerve is  the main part  of  the  parasympathetic  nervous  system  and  is  known  as  the longest  nerve in the body,  stretching  from  the  brain  down to the digestion  system.  It is essentially  a  superhighway, containing over  one hundred thousand  nerve  fibers,  with signals going  back  and forth with  vital  information.  That is why the  gut is  considered  the second brain  and  is  a regulator of so many  functions  in  the  body. The more your brain  perceives  stress,  the  more  it affects your  gut.  
The Sky is Crying
The  more your gut  is  stressed,  the fewer enzymes  it  produces,  the less able  it  is  to  digest  your  food,  the  fewer  nutrients  you  absorb,  the  more  the gut bacteria become imbalanced, the more severe leaky gut, and the more stress  is  communicated  back  to your nervous  system.  There  is  no  way  to  determine  what  came  first, the  brain  or  the  body,  so  to  speak.  It’s  like  the  chicken  and  the  egg  debate.  My  response  is  always  Yes!  It’s  all  happening  in  your  one  human  body,  so  it  is  most  definitely  all  related.  From  an  anatomical  and  physiological  perspective,  we  think  of  our  hearts  as  pumping  blood  throughout  our  bodies  and  returning  it  to  our  lungs  to  get  more  oxygen.  At  the  same  time,  when  we  think  of  a  heart  shape,  or  send a  heart  emoji,  we  are  thinking  of  the  emotion of  love.  But  it  turns out  that  our  anatomical  hearts are  involved  in  communicating  emotions and stress  to  our  brains  and  vice  versa,  also via  the  vagus  nerve.  Think  of  how  your  heart  races  when  you  feel  excited  or  stressed.  Knowing  this,  you  can  choose  activities  that  purposely  send calming signals along these pathways. These same activities  can  increase the hormone oxytocin, the love hormone, which  slows  the  heart rate  and  protects  your  heart  from  stress.  As your heart  rate  decreases,  so  does your  stress  response.  By  understanding  the  autonomic  nervous  system  and the vagus nerve,  we  begin  to  see  how interconnected  our  bodies  are.  Keep On Growing
Not only  that,  but we  can  also see how they correlate to the ancient system  from India of understanding the human energy centers,  known as  chakras.  The  seven  main  chakras  are  the  root,  sacral,  solar  plexus,  heart,  throat,  third  eye,  and  crown,  corresponding  with  the  major  nerve  networks  and  glands  producing  hormones  in  our  bodies.  We  need  them  to  be  in  sync  and  flowing  in  order  to  feel  well.  Now,  let’s  take  a  good  look  at  adrenaline.  Adrenaline  doesn’t  fluctuate  with  the  circadian  rhythm  the  way  cortisol  does.  It  is  pretty  steady  throughout  the  day  and  night,  unless,  of  course,  your  stress  response  is  triggered,  in  which  case  it  spikes  and  then  returns  to  a baseline level. Adrenaline is  active  in the  nervous system, acting as a  neurotransmitter  that  stimulates  activity,  thoughts, and actions. Adrenaline, as  we’ve  discussed,  also  acts throughout the body on the blood vessels,  heart,  and  muscles  to  get  you  moving  and  responding.  You  need  it  for  daily  activities,  exercise,  thinking,  moving,  and  even  breathing.  You wouldn’t  want  to  live  without  adrenaline,  yet  when  there  is  too  much  or  too  little  at  any  given  time,  it  can make  you feel  like  you  are  completely  out  of  sync.  The  neurotransmitter  dopamine  converts  to  norepinephrine  and  then  epinephrine.  Next,  norepinephrine  and  epinephrine  are  processed  further  to  small  molecules  called  metabolites,  which  can  be  eliminated  in  your  urine.  The Greatest Reward
The  process  is  essentially  a  cascade  within  your  cells,  converting  one  substance  to  the  next.  This  cascade  requires  certain  nutrients,  including  magnesium  and  B vitamins,  and  is  genetically  unique.  Some  of  us  process  adrenaline  more  quickly  and  are  more  likely  to  become  depleted.  Others  process  adrenaline  slowly,  and  while  they  can  still  become  depleted,  more  often  their  adrenaline  levels  will  remain higher  than optimal way after the stress  has  cleared.  Knowing  your  adrenaline  level  and  how  your  body  handles  it  is  critical  for  stress recovery. High adrenaline tells you that you’re  in stress  mode. If it continues, it won’t matter what else you do, because stress mode  will be working against  you.  It’s  essential  to  help your body get  out of stress mode and get adrenaline  back to a healthy level to give  yourself  the  best  chance  of  creating  resilience  to  stress.  Developing  awareness  of  and resilience  to stress is one thing. But  it’s  another thing  to  believe  that you’re  a superhuman performer who can withstand  stress  at all  costs. It’s  true that,  based  on  studies,  stressing about stress doesn’t help  any  situation.14  But  ignoring the fact  that  you  are living in  a  human  body that responds  to  stress  is also just  as  harmful. Only by  accepting  the ways  your  body responds  to stress  as real  and natural,  and  then understanding  that the  symptoms  you experience  are actually  signals from  within  to make  changes, can  you  realize  that  your stress response  has  become dramatically  out  of balance.  Only then,  after  gaining the  clarity of  sight needed to  heal,  can  you  learn how to harness  stress  to  empower  yourself.  Getting  out  of  stress mode, adjusting your choices and priorities, and feeling great start with understanding  how you got into stress mode in the  first  place.  This  hidden  factor  also  shows  up  differently  in  each  person.