Not just
feels like the flight or flight, it's the real deal. The chemicals and subsequent feelings that we get when a stranger sits down at the table next to us in the coffee house are the same ones used by a zebra when its being eviscerated by a pack of hyenas, "Ho shiet... pump moar, Blood! Steal intracellular glucose, Muscles! ...it's time to get the hell outta here!"
It's just an insanely misplaced holdover from our past. We no longer operated solely in reality; nowadays we can invent our own imaginary hyenas for a fraction the price of flying to the Serengeti.
Inventing your own stressors has the downside of having no clearly defined beginning and end to the threat. We can stress about things that will happen, have happened and even things that probably won't, but might. This leads to the average human basically bathing their brains and bodies in (nor)adrenalin and cortisol nonstop. Such overindulgence of the sensory apparatus can lead to dementia, hypersensitivity, impaired critical thinking and attempts to self medicate with cartons of Ben and Jerry's.
As stated previously, one of the many effects of stress hormones is to utilize intracellular energy for use in the muscles... rather crafty... except when it goes on for so long that the cells are made weak and vulnerable to free radicals and, in the brain, excitotoxins, physical stress, seizures etc. Over time this may develop or exacerbate conditions of dementia. (high stress->neural death-->consequently no neural history of the event..."repression"?)
Exposure to higher than normal levels of cortisol increases the metabolism of the neurons in the special limbic nodule, amygdala. This causes increased sensitivity to future cortisol and increased response intensity. (high stress/trauma--> future jumpiness and paranoia..."PTSD"?)
Cortisol inhibits the unnecessary regions of the brain, notably prefrontal cortex... blah blah... making it hard to think clearly or rationally during periods of stress.
..also suppresses the immune and reproductive systems..
conclusion: we need to
chill out, mann
