Hyper-vigilant Hardwiring

“Chronic stress” has descended into the realm of old news as experts endlessly enumerate the risks associated with it. But what even is chronic stress? And why is it harmful? Before we delve into the dangers of persistent, low-grade stress, let us first understand its biological underpinnings.

Let us conceptualize the stress response as a rubber band. As we become stressed, our internal rubber band expands as hormones are secreted, heart rate increases, and blood is sent to our extremities. Once the perceived stressor passes, our body returns to homeostasis, defined as a relatively stable equilibrium. At this point, breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure flatten.

If someone is in an everlasting state of strain, their rubber band is tirelessly tugged, and eventually, it may lose its original shape. To add another metaphor into the mix, the same way driving down a familiar highway may become second nature, the stress response may become second nature to the brain as it becomes habituated to the neural pathways associated with stress. In this way, stress can become a person’s default mode.

This in part explains why individuals chronically stressed may develop stress responses that are hypersensitive. The struggle is twofold - not only is the indelible imprint of stress biologically hardwired, but individuals may become unwittingly addicted to stress as they are accustomed to the high of constant activation of the arousal centers in their nervous systems. What may render alert guardedness challenging to detect, much less alter, is that it operates under the subconscious purview.

All that we desire for better health - things like speedy digestion, diligent detox, and deep sleep, are largely under subconscious control, and these physiological functions are most effectively accomplished when we are relaxed. After all, how can the body focus on digesting food when blood is thwarted away from the digestive organs to the hands and legs to mobilize for action? And how can one fall asleep when the mind is ceaselessly racing? This is precisely why the sympathetic state is coined the “fight or flight” response, while the parasympathetic state is described as a time to “rest and digest.” The energy expended during stressful moments usurps the body of the wherewithal to carry out its remaining functions.

With these realities in light, it is no wonder that marginalized communities experience poorer health outcomes, not to mention the disturbing prognosis for those abused early in childhood. A Kaiser Permanente study found a powerful relationship between the breadth of exposure to childhood adversity and multiple risk factors for many of the leading causes of death in adults (e.g. heart disease and cancer). And yet, correlation does not equate causation, and economic disparities only compound these struggles.

Reader, all the above is not to suggest that all or even most individuals experiencing chronic stress and/or anxiety hail from adverse home environments, nor is this entry meant to impart blame on parents. If we commence a blame game and fault our parents, we must then ask ourselves the question...how did their childhood shape them, and where did they pick up their own ails? Should we point fingers at our grandparents? But what about their childhood and historical contexts? As the brilliant thinker and author Garbor Mate has shared: "by that logic, we go back blaming Adam and Eve, or some poor ape ancestor sitting in a tree eating a banana." We are all profoundly impacted by our upbringing for better and for worse, and how could anyone enter the threshold of adulthood completely unscathed? It seems that stress is part of the universal human experience that is becoming more and more a feature of our cultural climate.

You may be wondering, where do we go from here? Rest assured, there is a silver lining.

Simply being aware of this reality is empowering in it of itself. After all, becoming attuned to your stress-inducing thinking patterns creates a space between these thoughts and yourself. Apprehending that you are accustomed to certain maladaptive coping strategies, thinking patterns, and relational tendencies can inspire you to make better choices. And just as the brain is molded in our early years, this neuroplasticity persists as we age. In this way, committing to new habits may make room for new rewiring.

Remember, you are ongoing.