“There is no standard normal. Normal is subjective. There are seven billion versions of normal on this planet.” ― Matt Haig.
Know that feeling of your heart beating faster in response to a stressful situation? Or perhaps, instead, your palms get sweaty when you’re confronted with an overwhelming task or event, and sometimes for no principal reason at all. That is anxiety — our body’s natural response to stress.
When brain chemicals are not regulated or balanced due to a stressful event, these neurotransmitters, which are responsible for mood, sleep, appetite, energy levels, and motivation, can trigger our “fight or flight response.” According to Shelly O’Neal Baer (LCSW, SAP Psychotherapist and Substance Abuse Professional) at Emerald Therapy, anxiety is the most common mental health condition in our society, affecting 40 million adults eighteen and older (18% of Americans). Anxiety may be a difficult disorder to live with, but it’s also a fascinating one. It may be caused by life experiences, an imbalance of chemicals in the brain, or both. Anxiety can feel like a “heart attack,” chest pain, increased heart rate, light-headedness or passing out, tense muscles, shortness of breath, stomach pains, insomnia, shaking or trembling, headaches, nausea or vomiting, reduced or blurred vision, sweating, and constant worry or obsessive thoughts. Regardless of the cause, I assure you it is treatable.
While anxiety and other mental health disorders are often stigmatized, the era of social media and internet platforms have made subjects like these less taboo and given many the confidence to broach the subject with their health care providers. Far too often, doctors will prescribe medications to suppress symptoms without first looking at underlying conditions that may be contributing to the issue.
Anxiety Affects Biochemistry and Vice Versa
When we talk about the biochemistry of anxiety, it can give the impression that your anxiety isn’t under your control. That could not be further from the truth. Your life experiences, emotions, and stress can actually change your neurotransmitters, just as neurotransmitters can affect your mood and anxiety. In fact, studies have shown that even if you were born with low neurotransmitter levels, there is a great deal of evidence that effective coping strategies can increase those neurotransmitters even though the levels were created biologically. It’s the same reason that those whose life experience caused anxiety can be treated with medications that affect neurotransmitter levels. The two combine and contribute to each other, so even exploring the biochemistry of anxiety shouldn’t cause you to feel as though your anxiety is beyond your control.
The Relationship Between Hormones and Anxiety
Anxiety disorders can be linked to chemical imbalances in the body and other physiological factors such as sleep, diet, and exercise. So too, hormone imbalances can also reduce or increase your anxiety. Progesterone, the female sex hormone, stimulates the part in the brain that is responsible for your fight-or-flight responses and may trigger your anxiety. Low testosterone contributes to anxiety as well, as it regulates the part of the brain that is responsible for assessing social threats and the emotions of others to allow us to lead a healthy social life. Stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol induce our anxiety in safe, normal scenarios like job interviews or dates. And oxytocin can intensify memories and generate dread towards future similar events.
While most doctors can and do run blood work that checks these levels, it will only give you data on where your levels were at the time they were drawn. The issue with hormones is the degree to which they can rise or fall throughout the month. A much more accurate picture can be attained through saliva or urine testing for all neurotransmitters and can be found at any local compounding pharmacy.
ANXIETY: THE GUT MICROBIOME IS INVOLVED
Anxiety is not altogether an unhealthy state. Anxiety is an evolutionary impulse that keeps humans safe from a multitude of threats. Feeling stressed out about an altercation at work is healthy. Your body is sending you a signal that something was not quite right about the interaction. Experiencing stress following a car accident is also healthy: your body is processing the trauma that occurred during the incident. However, when stress does not rise and fall with a single instance but stretches on and reaches the status of “chronic,” your body may fall into disrepair.
The question of the chicken or the egg is one that bears weight when looking at anxiety and gut health; poor gut health can lead to the onset of anxiety, but prolonged anxiety can also disrupt the proper balance within the gut. For this reason alone, it is important to fortify your body with a steady intake of prebiotics, probiotics, and digestive enzymes, to ensure that any stressful event is met with an appropriate bodily response, and to make sure any prolonged stress does not do undue damage to your body.
DID YOU KNOW?
Up to 90% of the body’s serotonin comes from gut cells, and a metabolite from T. sanguinis regulates about 50% of that production.
Although we typically think of neurological functions when we talk about hormones and mood regulation, regulation actually begins in the gut; the vast majority of the body’s serotonin receptors live in your gut. This means that to encourage proper communication between the food you eat, your gut microbiome, and your brain, you must address any deficiencies you might currently have in your diet, such as lacking fruits, vegetables, and protein or eating a diet high in processed foods and sugar.
How Anxiety Impacts Your Gut
Although your gut impacts your anxiety levels, your anxiety levels can also be problematic for your gut. One study demonstrated that the onset of anxiety caused an increase in stomach acid. In a single setting, this might not be problematic. Still, suppose stress becomes chronic, and stomach acid increases constantly. In that case, this can lead to poor absorption of nutrients, poor breakdown of food, acid reflux, and even ulcers, as stomach acid in high concentrations can damage the lining of your stomach.
Chronic stress can also increase gut permeability, which means that bad bacteria and fungi have a greater chance of experiencing population explosion and overriding the good bacteria residing in your digestive system. Chronic stress can also increase inflammation in the gut. Unchecked, inflammation can lead to increased and exaggerated immune response, which may serve as the basis for autoimmunity.
WHERE DO I START?
You can discuss testing called “GI Mapping” with your health care provider or qualified pharmacist. There are also multiple companies that offer costly but informative at-home testing.
“Wellness is a connection of paths: knowledge and action.” ~ Joshua Holtz
Text Box: According to some studies, regular exercise can often work as well as medication for some people to reduce symptoms of anxiety/depression, and the effects can be long-lasting. One vigorous exercise session can help alleviate symptoms for hours, and a regular schedule may significantly reduce them over time.
Text box: The information provided in this article is provided for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice.
As I began my journey to better health, I began to connect the dots that some of my health problems were contributing to the fact that I had a highly sensitized central nervous system. How well I balanced that led to how calmly I could get through the day. While I have my own coping strategies that do not include pharmaceutical help, I recognize the important part they play in helping others. In my clients who are dealing with anxiety, I have found that a combination of medication, counseling, and then addressing underlying factors in their health has allowed (some) of them to no longer need the medicine. Whatever route you take, I always advocate educating yourself on the choices you make.
Why Treatment for Anxiety Helps:
- It can help a client identify and uncover the underlying cause of their worry and fears.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps the client learn to think differently about a stressful or disturbing event.
- Treatment can help the client develop the coping skills, resources, and support system they need to better manage and navigate anxiety.
- Treatment can help the client be accountable and to track their goals.
- Treatment can rule out other physical or psychological issues that may mimic anxiety (like a heart murmur or depression.)
- Treatment for anxiety can “normalize” having anxiety and reduce the negative stigma of receiving mental health services.
- Treatment for anxiety can help clients return to their prior level of functioning before the stressful event occurred.
- Clients can be evaluated to see if medication management would be a helpful option.
