She started to take on more responsibilities trying to prove her worth. In addition to cooking, cleaning, and working full time, she began to care for his aged mother who was moved into their home. Karen continued to go to her doctor, now with symptoms that had a real name. Her list of daily medications began to grow. She was depressed and now on antidepressants, antacids for her stomach, blood pressure medications, medicine for joint pain, and sleeping aids.
Karen decided, “I’m out of here” and, after 20 years of marriage, she finally left!
What happened? Karen was healthy prior to her marriage. What caused such a drastic change? Was she genetically predisposed and destined to get sick anyway? Or did her stressful relationship play a role in its development? What about lifestyle (diet, lack of exercise); did it play a part in her disease?
Can I say with 100% certainty that her diseases were caused by the stressors in her life? No, I can’t say for sure that this was her case, but the scientific research shows that prolonged stress is a major factor in the development of many diseases. When we connect the dots, in many cases stress emerges as the salient feature.
Connecting the Dots
In Western society the field of medicine has exploded with technological advances and is making unprecedented strides in treating disease. If you lived back in the 1800s and had tuberculosis, more than likely you would not have survived. Back then, the disease was a death sentence. Not only was it common to die from TB, but also from pneumonia, simple wound infections, and even diarrhea. With the discovery of antibiotics and proper hygiene, such as simple hand washing, deaths from such previously fatal illnesses are now rare in Western society.
However, in recent times there has been a proliferation of other diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. When it comes to making a diagnosis and treating symptoms, we in the United States are second to none; however, we have failed markedly in identifying the root causes of these killer diseases. I believe that it is time for a new approach to an old way of looking at disease—an approach that focuses on the mind.
There are connections and links traversing the magnificent structures of the mind and the body. They are in constant communication, and when one suffers the other sympathizes. This pathway begins in the brain. Is it possible that some of the most common diseases that afflict us have their origins in the mind? Can our thoughts impact the structure and function of our bodies? Can what is happening in the brain affect the heart, lungs, and even the bones? Can our thoughts change the structure of our cells? Can they influence or cause alterations in the DNA?
An exciting new field of science has weighed in on the subject matter, and it says yes. It is the field of study called psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and it looks at the connections between the brain, chemical messengers, and the immune system. Scripture weighed in on the subject centuries ago, stating: “For as he thinketh in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Yes, our mental status affects the function of our body, and the body affects the function of the brain.
Remember that song from way back years ago “Dem Bones”?
Your hipbone connected to your backbone,
Your backbone connected to your shoulder bone,
Your shoulder bone connected to your neck bone,
Dem bones, dem bones, dem bones.
Just like the bones come together, connecting to give us a frame, we see direct links between body organs. The brain, immune system, and endocrine system are in constant communication with all parts of the body. As they talk, they send impulses, releasing and inhibiting chemicals and hormones through specific pathways. And the brain is the conductor; it sets the tone.
Just imagine your brain, which is only three pounds. It is the conductor of every organ in the body—heart, lungs, the reproductive system; all are servants to the brain. It tells the body what, when, where, and how to behave. And the body obeys (even if the brain is sending bad instructions).
It All Starts in the Brain
How does it all work? How does stress affect the mind and the body? Let’s take a look in real time. Let’s say you are at home just relaxing and feeling very comfortable in your easy chair. You are lunching while leisurely flipping through the newspaper and listening to the news. And suddenly—bam! bam! bam!—you hear a forceful knock on the door. Before you can ask who it is, a squad of police kicks the door open, and all eyes and guns are pointed at you!
Well, right about now you are not feeling very comfortable! That leisurely, relaxed feeling that you just had seconds ago is all gone, and you are now sweating bullets. But the police are very polite! They say, “We are so sorry. Oops, it’s the wrong house.”
You are grateful to learn it’s a mistake, but your body has encountered major stress and is still going through some serious changes. Their blunder has kicked off a cascade of events right now in your body.
Let’s take a closer look at what happened:
Messages from the outside world are picked up by our senses; this information is transmitted on nerves cells with lightning speed and registered at the relay center (the thalamus). The thalamus sends the information to the limbic system (the emotional part of the brain) and the frontal lobe (the thinking part of the brain); they witness what just happened! The frontal lobe says: “Just relax, take a deep breath, calm down; thank goodness I wasn’t shot!” But the emotional part of the brain is hysterical! It’s shouting and yelling and screaming, “What do you mean, just calm down?! You saw what just happened! Don’t just stand there, do something now!”
This “do something now” sets into motion a series of connections from the brain to the body, along a pathway called the HPA axis. This axis is composed of the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands (Preston, 2009).
Before we take a look at what messages are being sent and how this relates to the police blunder, as well as to Karen who was emotionally abused, we need to understand the functions of the three parts of this HPA axis. We will then see the connections between our brain, hormones, and immune system.
The hypothalamus is located in the brain and so is the pituitary gland. But the two adrenal glands are quite a distance away—on top of the kidneys. Although they are a distance from the brain, they receive messages within milliseconds.
The hypothalamus has many important roles. It’s the body’s thermostat and controls temperature, thirst, hunger, and sexual drive. It regulates blood pressure, heart rate, digestion of food, sleep cycle, and the immune system—all of which are under the control of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). These functions, as the name implies, are automatic.
Another important role of the hypothalamus is the release of the stress hormone, corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH). CRH production and the function of the ANS are the two major players in the hypothalamus that impact physical and mental health.
The pituitary gland is the size of a pea and is located at the base of the brain right under the hypothalamus. In the past the pituitary was called the master gland; however, we now know that the hypothalamus is its master. It tells the pituitary when, where, and how to do its job.
The pituitary gland is a major endocrine system; it directs the release of chemical messengers in the form of hormones. It is the link between the brain and the body. Its hormones are secreted into the blood stream and head for targeted organs, carrying messages as to how and when the body should respond. Some of the hormones controlled by the pituitary gland include: thyroid hormone, prolactin (which stimulates breast milk production), human growth hormone, and ACTH (adrenal gland stimulation).
Without the proper regulation of hormones, the body will malfunction. Case in point is novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie, better known as the creator of the character Peter Pan. His writings have entertained children for many generations. In the book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, Robert Sapolsky, a Stanford neuroscientist,