The 3 types of hormones associated with stress

These are the main types of hormones associated with stress in the human body.

Stress is an experience that is as frequent in our daily lives as it is natural and, in most cases, useful. However, it is also true that many of the people who find it necessary to visit a psychologist or doctor do so because of problems triggered at least in part by stress.

That is why for decades, Psychology, Physiology and Neurosciences have been striving to help us better understand what it is that makes us stressed and anxious. This time we will focus on the more "micro" and psychobiological aspects of this phenomenon, giving a review of the main stress hormones..

The biological basis of stress

When we feel stressed, we are not experiencing a purely psychological phenomenon, much less a subjective one. Stress is a physiological and emotional mechanism that goes far beyond our awareness and involves a change in the state of many of our body's organs. and involves a change in the state of many of our body's organs. In fact, as a practical matter, we are aware that we are stressed after that process has already begun.

It makes sense that this is so: our ability to enter a state of stress exists so that not all of our actions depend on our having stopped for a while to reflect and decide what to do given a set of circumstances. In other words: stress is evidence that sometimes it is most useful to let our emotions guide us, not to rely entirely on reason. In this way, we are able to react quickly to signals sent to us by our environment, without wasting time thinking about what our next action should be (sometimes, the simple fact of doing so already causes us to miss opportunities).

Seen in perspective, stress is the fruit of millions of years of evolution shaping animal species exposed to all kinds of dangers: attacks by predators, falls, fights between clans and within clans, and so on. That is why, natural selection has given rise to neuroendocrine mechanisms capable of causing us to enter a state of stresswhich helps us to cope with these situations.

Thus, stress hormones are the molecules used by our body as messengers between organs and cellular tissues to, in a matter of seconds, be able to react quickly to fleeting dangers and opportunities, minimizing the risk of being harmed. For example, when the body begins to secrete stress hormones, this triggers phenomena such as the contraction of superficial Blood vessels (to avoid a large loss of blood in case of injury), an increased sensitivity to stimuli, having the sweat glands at full capacity to avoid overheating the body, keeping the muscles tense and ready for a fight or flight response...

Stress hormones are, in this circuit of parts of the organism that "transform" momentarily, part of the messengers that are in charge of making stress reach all parts of the organism, even the most distant areas of the brain.. I say they are part of them because in reality the functioning of hormones is too full of complexities and interactions to reduce it totally to a few messenger molecules; however, stress hormones are the most important and characteristic in this kind of processes. Below we will see what they are.

What are the types of stress hormones?

A hormone is a molecule used by our endocrine system to trigger reactions in various areas of the body by releasing these substances in the body.by releasing these substances into our bloodstream.

Many of these molecules are also neurotransmitters, in the sense that they can be used by our neurons to communicate with each other; however, when they behave like hormones, their effects take a little longer to occur, and the changes favored by them may remain longer or even become "fixed" in the body (for example, in the development of sexual characteristics during puberty and adolescence).

In this section we will look at the main characteristics of the types of stress hormones, the molecules that play a fundamental role in bringing us to a state of high psychological and physiological stress..

1. Catecholamines

Catecholamines include some of the most famous hormones and neurotransmitters. As far as stress is concerned, this category includes adrenaline and adrenaline and noradrenaline are of particular note..

Both are involved in the fight or flight response, accelerating our heart rate and blood pressure, so that the body has a greater capacity to extract energy from its resources and spread it throughout the body.

2. Cortisol

Cortisol is mainly secreted by the adrenal glands and leads to a release of glucose. It leads to a release of glucose so that it is available in the blood..

Similarly, it slows down the biological processes associated with the functioning of the immune system to focus the use of resources on other more urgent and crucial aspects in the short term, and this also leads to a reduction in the chances of inflammation in the short term, although in the medium and long term it favors the wear and tear of physical health.

3. Prolactin

Prolactin is another hormone secreted in large quantities by our body when we are stressed.. This protein secreted by the pituitary gland is linked to biologically important activities, including feeding and reproduction.

One of its effects is the inhibition of estrogen creation, and it is believed that this has to do with why many women with excessive stress problems suffer menstrual disturbances.

What about the psychological dimension?

So far we have briefly looked at several of the biological mechanisms involved in the stress response, but being stressed is not just about physiological processes such as muscle tension or sweating.

When our stress level rises, it also also involves experiencing changes at the psychological levelThis relationship between the physiological and the psychological works in both directions. And this relationship between the physiological and the psychological works in both directions: sometimes, without realizing it, we ourselves favor the appearance of stress problems by having internalized dysfunctional habits and patterns of behavior, which predispose us to enter again and again these hormonal and cerebral mechanisms.

The good news is that in the same way that our actions can reinforce stress, they can also help to mitigate it, something that is very useful in psychotherapy.

Do you want to attend psychological therapy?

Stress problems can be effectively addressed and overcome through psychotherapy; currently, there are techniques and treatments that allow patients to learn to better regulate their emotions and establish behavioral patterns to mitigate anxiety.

So, if you are interested in starting a psychological therapy process, contact me; I am a psychologist specialized in the cognitive-behavioral model and in contextual therapies; I attend adults and adolescents both in person and online by video call.