Worried Sick? How stress makes you ill by altering your genes (and what you can do about it)

We all know the saying “I am worried sick” but how does stress impact on our health? We all have been in situations where we felt that a situation was making us ill, for instance, working with a bullying boss or worrying about the health of a loved one.

Many illnesses are directly linked to be caused or exacerbated by stress, naming only a few:
 

·         Cardiovascular disease
·         Inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, eczema, skin problems, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
·         Digestive disorders
·         Headaches and migraines
·         Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
·         Fibromyalgia
·         Cancer
·         Immune system dysfunction
·         Diabetes
·         Hypertension

How can stress or our emotions contribute to the development and maintenance of these conditions? We have known for a long time that certain illnesses are linked to stress, such as experienced in a strained marriage, losing a job, financial worries, being unhappy in your job, caring for someone who is chronically ill or working for a difficult boss. Often there is no easy solution to the problem and we may feel powerless to change the situation.

Exciting new research has helped us understand how unmanaged stress can alter our genetic expression and thereby give us the tools to help prevent illness during times of mental and emotional strain.

Researchers have found that chronic stress changed the activation of genes in immune cells allowing for higher levels of inflammation. In both humans and animals, immune cells are released from the bone marrow every day. Stress produces more inflammatory cells which is meant to protect the body from threats such as viruses, but when the inflammation continues for long periods of time, it increases the person’s risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity to name just a few. In fact, researchers from the Ohio project found nearly 3000 genes were altered in mice that were placed in stressful situations.

In human studies about 400 genes have shown to be altered in individuals experiencing a low-grade sense of uncertainty or threat over a long period of time leading to significant effects on the body.

Worrying about stress isn’t necessary though, there are very simple techniques that you can use to alter the stress response and immediately halt the damage to the body. In fact, a little stress is good for the body, it can drive us to achieve our goals.  It is only when our emotional responses to stress becomes negative and the body becomes overwhelmed by stress, that our physiology changes to have a negative impact. For instance, the studies showed that situations that we feel we have no control over tend to have the biggest impact.

 

Often there is nothing that we can do to change external circumstances but we can alter our emotional response. One very simple but powerful technique helps to release distress and bring more coherence to heart rhythms and as a result quickly neutralizes the effects of stress. The Quick Coherence technique, developed by the Institute of Heartmath, takes only one minute to do once you’ve learned the technique.  If practiced frequently, it can have a huge impact on how the body responds to stress.

 

The Quick Coherence Technique

 

Step 1: Focus your attention in the area of your heart or the centre of your chest. You may place your hand over your heart to keep your focus there.  If your mind wanders, just keep shifting your attention back to the area of your heart while you do steps 2 and 3.

 

Step 2: Heart Breathing – as you focus on the area of your heart, imagine that your breath flows in and out of that area.  This helps keep your mind focused on the area of the heart allowing your heart and breathing rates to synchronise.  Breathe slowly and gently in through your heart (to a count of five or six) and slowly out through the heart (count five or six). Do not force the breath, just allow the breathing to be smooth and easy.  Continue to breathe until you find a rhythm that feels natural.

 

Step 3: Heart Feeling – as you continue to breathe through the area of your heart, recall a positive feeling.  Imagine a time when you felt good inside and try to re-experience it.  This may be a feeling of appreciation or care for a special person or pet, a place you enjoyed or an event. Allow yourself to feel this good feeling of appreciation or care.  If you cannot feel anything positive, don’t worry – just try to find the attitude of appreciation or care.  Try and sustain this feeling by continuing the Heart Focus, Heart Breathing and Heart Feeling.

 

The technique may feel a little uncomfortable at first, building coherence is a process and takes practice.  Just keep a genuine intention of creating a heart feeling.

 

Start by practicing the technique several times a day.  Make some notes about what commonly triggers feelings of anxiety, anger or stress.  With practice you can reset your system into increasing coherence.

 

By Charmaine Shepherd  B.Sc. Biomed., N.dip. Ac, MBAcC

Charmaine Shepherd is an acupuncturist and Coherence Coach, Director of the Centre for Holistic Health and Author of Is it all in your mind? 10 Steps to Resolving the Underlying Causes of Anxiety and Depression. Available on Kindle! helping people regain their health with the use of natural treatments.