The “Toxic Stress” Theory

QUESTION:

Chronic fatigue is increasing.

 Autoimmune disease is increasing.

 We are living longer today compared with 100 years ago so why aren’t we living better?

Why is autoimmunity on the rise?

I have a theory that our lives have become so inherently stressful, our environment so inherently unnatural and toxic, that the only possible outcome is chronic illness.

While we can’t categorically say that chronic stress is the sole cause (our nutrition has become rather toxic too and undoubtedly plays a role in development of autoimmunity), I truly believe that the majority of us live with dysregulated nervous systems due to chronic stress.

We might be “high functioning”, look outwardly put together or professional, but our minds are not 😢

We know from studies within the field of psychoneuroimmunology that chronic stress alters the function of our immune system, potentially creating inflammation.

I have patients who follow the 6 pillars of lifestyle medicine or functional medicine. They eat natural whole foods, exercise regularly, have decent sleep patterns etc but still develop autoimmunity.

My theory is that this is due to sustained unmanageable levels of stress, and unacknowledged trauma (both micro and macro- trauma). By that I mean, UNMANAGEABLE FOR YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM, not unmanageable for YOU. There is an important difference!

➡️ It’s possible to live a healthy lifestyle and to believe that you are taking all the necessary steps to process stress and build resilience, whilst not realising that more work is needed

➡️ You might think you are dealing with stress by meditating regularly or keeping a journal but does your nervous system know that? Does your body physiology know that?

Stress management is, in essence, a full time job.

Nervous system dysregulation doesn’t “fix” itself with a yoga retreat, Breathwork session, CBT or any other single method 🙃

Just as we must employ a variety of exercise to keep the body fit, we must exercise (or exorcise?) our nervous systems regularly with a variety of techniques, like yoga, mindfulness, breathwork, somatics etc.

Why do you think autoimmune disease is increasing?

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