Hey Guys,
I´ve researched (a little) and have written an article I want to share about adrenaline!
Adrenaline, together with tension, and a tired nervous system plays such an important role in anxiety that it´s vital to know about it. In order to be able to cope with yourself you must have a complete understanding of why you are suffering. I´m not talking about understanding some deep-rooted cause which started in your childhood, that used to be the standard approach.
What I am talking about is understanding the role of your emotions, and the effect they have on your nervous system, how it becomes tired due to feelings such as fear, frustration, anger, regret and so on. How we are mentally and emotionally fatigued, which causes anxious thoughts to stick, and strange mental and emotional symptoms to occur. And how by trying to fight it all, by adding fear to it, we are unknowingly sustaining it.
In this article let me tell you a little bit about adrenaline. The medical name for it is epinephrine. It´s a hormone and a neurotransmitter (a chemical which helps brain cells communicate). It is produced in a part of the adrenal glands called the medulla. And also at the ends of nerve fibres, where they send nerve impulses to organs such as the heart and lungs. This causes many physiological changes such as the heart to beat faster and a faster-rate of breathing.
Adrenaline stimulates the fight-or-flight response. Back in our caveman days this was very useful. When a saber-tooth was running towards us we naturally felt extremely scared. The impulse of fear in our brain sets off a set of chemical responses in our bodies. The adrenal glands start pumping out adrenaline, which then travels in the blood stream to our muscles and organs. And the nerve endings themselves also release adrenaline into muscles and organs.
We get a jolt of energy that kicks us into action, and off we go. Ready to sprint away from the saber-tooth, by climbing up a tree, hiding in a cave, or if we were ballsy enough maybe picking up a club and trying to fend it off.
Without the action of the adrenaline we would, as a species, probably have been wiped out. Adrenaline was an essential survival mechanism. Without it we would have seen danger and felt relaxed. We wouldn´t have gotten the surge of energy running through our muscles to enable us to run away from danger or to defend ourselves against attack.
While we no longer live in caves, and are not being attacked by saber-tooth tigers anymore, we still have this survival mechanism within us. And it still usually serves us well. If we are in an emergency situation we have the necessary energy to take action. If we didn´t we´d be like the ill-fated dodo, staring danger in the face and being totally unreactive. And we all know what happened to them. So, although adrenaline causes, what seem like unpleasant symptoms, we really need to appreciate having it.
So, ¨how is adrenaline relevant to my suffering?¨ You may ask. Like forementioned, it causes the symptoms. We feel anxious, and this sends a message for adrenaline to be released. It travels through the bloodstream to many organs and glands, and also at nerve terminals in organs and glands.
Our muscles become tense. The heart palpitates, supplying more oxygen to our muscles so they are ready for action. Our stomachs may churn and tense. Our scalp muscles and necks may tense, causing tension headaches. Our chest muscles tighten, making breathing more difficult. Swallowing may become hard, as the throat muscle, called the globus hystericus, becomes tense with adrenaline. You might go weak at the knees, and find it difficult to put one foot in front of the other as your legs muscles are pumped with adrenaline. Adrenaline may be released around the muslces of your body to such an extent that you get spasms, or sudden jolts whcih shake you. And if this tension is sustained then aches and pains can occur.
When we feel symptoms like these the first reaction is that of anxiety and panic. Why is this happening to me? What the hell is this? Do I have an illness? Am I going crazy? Thoughts like these run through our heads. You may even go to the hospital and get some checks done. Everything comes back fine. And the doctor tells you it is just anxiety.
But he doesn´t tell you any more. He doesn´t tell you that your nervous system is sensitized, or that you are mentally and emotionally fatigued. And how adrenaline is being released because of the anxiety you´re experiencing, which is causing the symptoms you are fearing so much. So instead of feeling reassured, you start to think that they are missing something. Which then of course makes you more worried.
These symptoms you are experiencing are totally harmless. Adrenaline is a clear, colourless liquid, that medics even use it to resuscitate people who are having heart attacks. Adrenaline junkies even put themselves into situations where they willingly want it to be released and experience the effects of the chemical in their bodies. Is this chemcial which is used to save lives and what adenaline junkies crave really something to be scared of?
It´s a totally harmless chemical. It is natural to experience it. Our species have been experiencing the release of this chemical for thousands of years. It helped us to survive. So when you feel adrenaline running through your body don´t be alarmed thinking something bad is happening to you. Take heart that this has been happening to our species since cave man times. Don´t be afraid of the symptoms you are experiencing. They have never, and never will hurt you. Although at times you may become alarmed always remind yourself of this!
When your heart palpitates and you feel tense for example say to yourself, ¨Adrenaline is being released because I feel anxious and my nervous system is sensitized. It is totally harmless!¨ Isn´t this a much better and more sensible way to react than thinking, ¨Oh my God! What´s happening to me!¨ And then causing even more adrenaline to be released.
Don´t be afraid of how you feel. Face your fear, face yourself, let it all happen. Let yourself go slack, and sag towards the symptoms, the feelings and however you are feeling! This way you are not working yourself up into a bigger state, and you´re allowing the flow of adrenaline to die down.
I´m not saying it´s easy. The symptoms can catch you off-guard and you may not know what to think, and the natural reaction is to freak out and fight. But with practise you can learn to see it for what it is. Then your heart will palpitate, you´ll feel tense, maybe even have the shakes, and you´ll be indifferent to it all. You´ll be in the eye of the storm. True confidence will emerge. And this is when you take the power back!
Best,
Jon
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