WHICH STRESS TYPE ARE YOU?

Each of these stress hormones plays a different role in the stress response.

ADRENALINE prepares the body to flee by diverting all its reserves to muscles and increasing the heart and respiratory rates when you experience emotions of acute fear or panic. If you feel anxious or panicky, then you will pour out adrenaline. The symptoms of an adrenaline rush are uncomfortable but not physically dangerous, but they might lead to a panic attack or developing phobias. NORADRENALINE is our aggression hormone and prepares us to fight. So if you respond to stress with frustration or anger, it is noradrenaline (along with testosterone) that you are releasing. You might find your muscles tighten, your blood pressure and heart rate increase and you brace yourself to protect yourself physically.

Noradrenaline is potentially more damaging to physical health than adrenaline. It increases the risks of blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia and, potentially, stroke at a younger age. GLUCOCORTISOL comes into play with longerterm stress; its role is to provide the energy needed to keep the stress response active. High levels for a long period are toxic for brain and body. If you react to stress by pumping out high levels, you begin to experience constant fatigue, muscle tension, sleep difficulties, teeth grinding, you have problems concentrating and feel frazzled or wired. Worse still, if your stress continues, too much glucocortisol can lead to an increasing risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke and osteoporosis. It can even reduce capacity to pick off cancer cells.