Chronic Stress Shrinks Your Brain

Now is the time to motivate yourself to make the necessary changes to reduce and possibly eliminate stress from your daily life. Stress does affect the memory and the emotions by reducing the activity in your hippocampus or “memory center” of the brain; and at the same time increasing the amygdala (the “fear center”). While this is occurring, the stress hormone cortisol stops the production of new brain cells. Thus leading to early onset dementia or Alzheimer’s. Stress also reduces the development of dopamine and serotonin which leads to depression.

Serotonin’s important role of the brain function has to do with your mood, learning, appetite, control, and sleep. A deficiency with the serotonin can lead to depression, anxiety, ADHD, and alcoholism.

Dopamine’s role is one of pleasure and reward centers of the brain. Lack of dopamine leads to lethargy, decreased memory recall, anxiety, brain fog, lack of motivation, depression.

GABA, a neurotransmitter within the brain, blocks the impulses between nerve cells in the brain.  Deficiency in the GABA levels may be linked to anxiety or mood disorders, chronic stress, depression, muscle pain, headaches, as well as sleep issues and memory problems.

Chronic stress, my dear friends shrinks your brain. The prefrontal cortex which controls decision making, and well as the controlling of impulse behavior shrinks with long term stress. The hippocampus also shrinks with chronic stress; affecting learning, emotional regulation and memory. Stress also affects the blood-brain-barrier, which is supposed to protect your brain from harmful.
If Our Body Isn’t Healing, It May Be Stuck in Stress Mode

I care for your healing,
Marie