I’ve posted earlier about how harmful stress can be for your brain and body. Recently came across some very helpful info on the NIH website that sheds additional light on your body’s stress response:
Research indicates that there is one major factor that helps determine whether or not stress will be biologically harmful:
- Perception of Control
In other words, if you feel you have control over a situation, the stress associated with it will not be nearly as harmful to your brain and body.
If you feel you have very little control, then that’s when stress becomes toxic.
Newer research identifies this ‘circuitry of resilience’ as the prefrontal cortex suppressing mood-regulating cells in the brainstem alarm centers.
NIMH Director Thomas Insel, M.D. adds:
Lack of control over stressful life experiences has been implicated in mood and anxiety disorders
Tags: anxiety, control, NIH, resilience, stress, Thomas-Insel
