Social media, high work pressure, children, studies, and so much more that occupies us daily are the stimuli we constantly receive. Kirsten Elsdijk, an experienced kPNI therapist, often sees people with an overstimulated brain. In this article, she explains what happens in our brains during these busy times and how to deal with it.
What happens in the brain during stress?
The moment your senses perceive danger – seeing, hearing, or feeling – they send a signal to other parts of the brain. One of these parts is the amygdala, also known as our system's smoke detector. Danger can be physically, psychologically, or emotionally threatening. The stress hormones produced in response are meant to prepare your body to fight, flee, or freeze. The purpose? Survival.
You can probably imagine that our system is not meant to be in this 'stress mode' all day long. Modern stressors such as a bad relationship, financial problems, depression, providing informal care in combination with a busy job and family, or simply juggling many tasks, cause this stress response to persist for weeks, months, and sometimes even years. This is despite the fact that the stress response, from an evolutionary perspective, should only last about 20 minutes. The danger of the bear chasing you would have long since disappeared after twenty minutes.
A prolonged chronic stress response places a great burden on our body. All that time, adrenaline and cortisol are released; these hormones activate your genes to produce certain proteins. These proteins, in turn, cause a reaction in your body that can lead to symptoms, thus completing the circle.
Increasing imbalance
Many people do not realize that a chronic stress response is ongoing in their body. They have become so accustomed to negative patterns and thought streams that they are unaware of the hormonal stress response in their bodies. Often, we developed one or more coping mechanisms in our youth to alleviate our pain, anger, or sadness. Early life stress in children can lead to significant problems later in life.
If you are not aware of the negative patterns that hinder you, nothing will change. After all, every person is controlled by their subconscious for as much as 95%. Furthermore, 95% of the thoughts you have today are the same as yesterday's thoughts. If your brain is filled with negative patterns, negative thoughts are repeated every day. Each time this happens, stress hormones are released, and the chronic stress response continues.
The fact that we have many more stimuli to process than before does not help. We all have a smartphone, are reachable all day, and are exposed to a lot of radiation. Additionally, the dietary pattern of the average Dutch person does not have a positive effect on the quality of the gut flora and many suffer from deficiencies in certain vitamins or minerals. These and other stimuli cause us to be overloaded. As a result, more and more people are struggling with depression, loneliness, and burnout.
It's all about energy
In a healthy body, the brain is in charge; the brain uses no less than 25-30% of all the energy we have available. This is an enormous amount when you consider that your brain accounts for only 2% of your body weight. Our brain is responsible for controlling other functions in the body. To come up with solutions, it is crucial that this energy is available to the brain.
When you contract an infection, the immune system demands so much energy that a deficiency arises in the brain. To prevent death from sepsis (blood poisoning), it is important that our system works this way.
However, if you are dealing with multiple and prolonged (low-grade) inflammations, you can imagine that the immune system will continue to consume energy that should actually be available for the brain for a very long time. The consequence of this is that other systems are neglected, leading to new symptoms in other parts of the body in the long term. This creates a domino effect with more and more symptoms, which can be traced back to an overactive immune system.
Help your brain along!
Perhaps – after reading this article – you have concluded that your immune system is also overactive and your brain is overloaded. In my consultations with clients, I often see this. They no longer know where to start. Fortunately, our team of therapists is ready to help you on your way to a healthy and balanced brain. I have listed some tips for you.
- Supplements can be a valuable addition to support the immune system and/or brain.
- Saffron contributes to emotional balance*
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Vitamin D supports the immune system.
- When we cannot eliminate the cause of stress, it is important to build in relaxation. Make time for moments of relaxation and things that give you energy. For example, a walk in nature, skin-to-skin contact, yoga, meditation, reading, taking a warm bath, or journaling.
Because our subconscious is 95% in control, it is important to discover and change patterns in the subconscious. Together with my fellow therapists, I am ready to help you on your way to a healthy and happy life. Click here for more information about the 1-on-1 consultation.
*This claim is awaiting European approval
**Always consult our therapists when taking these supplements if you are using medication
