Cortisol Explained

Stress affects us all, in one way or another.

Some of us lean into our social support systems to cope and others struggle to find ways to distract themselves. With the current global events, it's been even more challenging to step away from the things that create tension for us and reconnect with our inner chill. Aside from the obvious things that come to mind like money, work and family issues, what actually is stress - and how does it happen in our body?

In order to survive, the human body uses hormones to control body functions and access fuel sources from within tissues. These hormones are almost like little cellphones, talking to their next door neighbour or their friends halfway around the world (a.k.a our body). Our stress hormone, cortisol, supports our body in adapting to stress; not to be confused with epinephrine or adrenaline, which is used in our bloodstream in more immediate emergency situations. Like bears about to eat us. Or dinosaurs - back when we were cavemen, or whatever it is exactly that we were 50 million years ago.

Cortisol is a glucocorticoid - or steroid hormone that attaches to glucocorticoid receptors - produced in the zona fasciculata (I laugh every time at this, guys) of the adrenal cortex. This is, in short, the outer tissues of the adrenal glands, sitting on top of our kidneys in our low-mid back. In order to produce this hormone, the adrenal cortex is stimulated by adrenocortical hormones (ACTH) sent from the anterior pituitary gland in the brain. In short, the brain sends a buzz down to our adrenals to get them movin' and groovin'.

When the body undergoes any sort of stress, such as trauma or surgery, intense exercise or pain, anxiety or fear, or lifestyle stress, cortisol is secreted into the bloodstream. In doing this, the liver is stimulated to produce new glucose molecules (called gluconeogenesis) from stored glycogen (the human version of storing carbohydrates). Glucose already in the bloodstream is prevented from moving into tissues, except for the brain. Fat tissue is broken down (called lipolysis), and finally, protein (usually from muscles) is broken down to provide the building blocks for gluconeogenesis or making new proteins for using elsewhere.

Cortisol also allows catecholamines - which can act as both neurotransmitters and hormones - to cause vasoconstriction or shrinking of the blood vessels with an associated increase in blood pressure. This explains why folx who are super stressed have incredibly high blood pressure - and why we make jokes about people raising our blood pressure when we see them or hear them speak. Like your boss.

You can imagine if our cortisol levels remain high with long-term stress (such as dealing with serious family or personal illnesses, domestic violence, intergenerational trauma caused by colonialism/ systemic racism/xenophobia, etc.), severe health issues can occur.

Because glucose is prevented from entering tissues and remains in the bloodstream longer, individuals can be at higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. High blood fat levels (in the form of cholesterol and/or triglycerides) can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke - and potentially pancreatitis, as excessively high triglyceride levels increase this risk in a non-stressed context. And of course, blood pressure running at high levels as an adaptation to stress is a problem. These can be managed with medications and lifestyle changes to support a balanced diet, regular activity and improving sleep, but ignoring stress as a trigger brings us one step forward and three steps back.

You can't exactly run away from your brain. Or your body.

Stress adaptation keeps us alive. If we aren’t able to keep our body systems running after an emergency is over, we’re in trouble. And the thing that keeps us going after is the stress reduction we so desperately need to stay healthy in the long run!

So what can you do to help this process along?

Breathe through the tough stuff - you can't stop stressful things from happening, but you can choose how to work through them. Use self-care practices to keep your inner cup full.

And when all the nonsense is over? Check in with a therapist or licensed mental health professional. Everyone can benefit from talking it out, and having a cheerleader in your healthy brain corner is an asset - both now and in the future.

Here's to health (& not letting stress get the best of us)!