Why Trauma and Stress Trigger Weight Gain and Diabetes (Hint, it's Cortisol)
Therapy in a Nutshell
Understanding the Stress Cycle and Its Impact on Health
This chapter explores how stress affects the body, particularly through the nervous system and the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. It emphasizes the health risks linked to chronic stress and the need for effective stress regulation.
Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership
Why are people who experienced more trauma in their childhood more likely to develop diabetes and obesity?
One of the lasting impacts of trauma is that it damages our brain’s ability to regulate stress. So let’s talk about the stress cycle, and we’ll come back to how that impacts insulin and weight gain.
When someone experiences repeated trauma or chronic stress, their nervous system’s fight/flight/freeze response gets stuck “on”. Stress releases Cortisol which increases blood sugar and stimulates appetite. And when that stress response is stuck on, that can lead to weight gain, insulin resistance and diabetes if the stress is chronic.
Now what if that stress response has been stuck in the “on” position since childhood? If we take a look at the trauma side of this, childhood trauma can dysregulate the stress centers in the brain. A child who experiences multiple ACEs will be on constant high alert, making it more likely that the stress response rarely gets turned off. These kids have seen the bear multiple times, and it could be coming for them at any given moment. And this is why the ACEs study showed such drastic impacts on obesity and diabetes for people with repeated childhood trauma.
Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell
Learn more in one of my in-depth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com
Support my mission on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/therapyinanutshell
Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.therapyinanutshell.com
Check out my favorite self-help books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/best-self-help-books
Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger Institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.
And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe
If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services.
Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC
The AI-powered Podcast Player
