What is This Ubiquitous Thing We Call Stress?
It is estimated that 75-90% of all visits to primary care physicians, are for stress-related problems. Unmanaged reactions to 
stress have been shown to be greater risk factors for cancer and heart disease than cigarette smoking or eating high cholesterol foods!
As long as we have been on this planet, stress has been part of the human experience. Stress can come from how we perceive and deal with the world around us, or how well our internal organs function. Dealing with financial woes, marital issues, stress at work, guilt, worry, frustration, anxiety, depression are all contributing factors. The effects stress can have on our body vary depending on our body’s ability to adapt and the severity and longevity of the stress.
When we are exposed to stressful situations, our hormones and nervous system are activated; this is called a neuro-endocrine response. The adrenal glands play a main role in this process. Long-term exposure to stressful situations can overstimulate the adrenal gland impacting the health of the whole body.
Over time it becomes more difficult to maintain proper blood sugar levels, to slow down for rest, recovery, and repair, to get good quality sleep, to balance hormones, to maintain bone mass, to produce effective general immune function, to effectively regulate inflammatory processes, or to detoxify the body. Without proper intervention, continued high adrenal stimulation can lead to adrenal exhaustion and lowered cortisol levels. Eventually adrenal or cardiac failure can occur.
Three distinct phases of adrenal exhaustion have been identified. The first phase expresses increased output of the hormone cortisol; the second two phases represent the various stages of cortisol depletion. Pregnenolone along with DHEA are the counter-regulatory hormones to cortisol. The balance of these hormones is critical to your well-being and relates directly to your adaptive capacity.
An Integrative Assessment Technique evaluation can clearly depict how you are adapting to stress and your state of adrenal exhaustion. A functional medical test, known as a salivary adrenal stress profile, is also used to determine your level of adrenal fatigue. At times both are utilized to accurately define and measure the proper supplementation and lifestyle modifications necessary to restore your health. Stress, and many of the factors driving it, can now accurately be assessed and addressed.
Don’t let the effects of stress ruin your life, call us for an assessment today 212.333.7300.
