addiction

Hi Maggie,

Thanks for the feedback.  I have been thinking about this cortisol/stress thing all day.  I really wonder if it is possible to become addicted to cortisol, and to practice behaviors that release more and more cortisol until our adrenals are exhausted.

I know current lifestyle stimulates adrenals constantly, but I wonder if we add to it.

I think of Grandma - her crepey skin, the bags under her eyes, her constant worrying. Did she worry to maintain her cortisol levels as high as possible?  It seems we might need the cortisol to remain hypervigilant. We learned young to stay awake, ready for something bad to happen at any time.  When it finally happens, we can relax for a short time.

Anorexia keeps cortisol levels high.  We have had a brush with that...was it to maintain cortisol levels?

I do the Grandma worry thing. We've discussed the magic of that in the past. If I worry hard enough, the bad thing does not happen. I am saving the world by maintaining vigilance. Sounds crazy...but I feel this.

Am I addicted to cortisol?

Alcohol consumption raises cortisol.
Sugar and cortisol work together...
MSG raises cortisol.
Gluten raises levels...
Smoking cigarettes raises levels...

It seems that all our favorite addictions raise cortisol. So how is numbing connected to elevated cortisol?

The more I read, the more it seems we are addicted to cortisol...right from the time of the first trauma.

Thoughts?

Love and hugs,

Clare