3 Steps to Regulate HPA Axis and Defeat Chronic Stress
Accumulated stress, cognitive distortions, and unpleasant emotions can dysregulate the HPA axis and hormones, but we can manage them.
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is a complex neuroendocrine system. This conceptual system comprises glands, hormones, and feedback loops regulating the body’s stress response. The HPA axis is central to homeostasis, stress responses, energy metabolism, and neuropsychiatric function.
The HPA axis involves the hypothalamus (a brain region), the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands, which release stress hormones that help the body respond to stressors. I introduced endocrine glands before.
As part of the endocrine system, the HPA axis is closely linked to the nervous system. It also affects the immune and cardiovascular systems. Chronic stress can adversely affect genes, mitochondria, cells, tissues, organs, systems, and the mind.
Dysregulation of the HPA axis can make physiological and psychological impacts on the body and mind. Our negative thoughts and unpleasant emotions can adversely impact this system and cause hormonal and neuronal imbalances, leading to physical and mental health issues.
Cumulative stress from childhood impact the HPA axis. For example, as documented in this 2020 review paper, “substantial evidence from various studies suggests a preeminent role for early adverse experiences in the development of psychopathology affecting the HPA axis.”
Without going into scientific or technical details, I briefly introduce the key components and functions of the HPA Axis and provide practical tips to address the risks causing its dysregulation.
An Overview of HPA Axis and Its Dysregulation
When we experience a stressor, whether a physical threat or emotional reaction, the HPA axis is instantly activated. The HPA axis comprises complex interactions between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands.
The hypothalamus is a critical brain region that controls the stress response. It also has many functions, like regulating the autonomic nervous and endocrine systems, body temperature, hunger, thirst, sleep, and emotional responses.
Related to the HPA axis, the hypothalamus produces CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone). CRH stimulates the pituitary gland to release ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone). Then, ACTH stimulates the adrenal glands to produce cortisol (a stress hormone).
As I documented in previous articles, cortisol increases blood sugar levels, suppresses the immune system, and increases heart rate and blood pressure, affecting our metabolism.
For example, when cortisol levels are elevated for a prolonged time, the body cannot access stored fat as an energy source. Therefore highly stressed people cannot lose belly fat despite excessive workouts.
Even though HPA Axis creates a physiological effect, the process also has a physiological impact leading to mental health disorders.
The HPA axis dysregulation might cause chronic stress, leading to elevated cortisol levels and dysregulation of the feedback system. This can contribute to the development of mental health disorders.
For example, dysregulation of the HPA axis is associated with psychological disorders like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“The most consistent findings in the literature show increased activity of the HPA axis in depression associated with hypercortisolemia and reduced inhibitory feedback. Besides melancholic depression, other conditions may be associated with increased and prolonged activation of the HPA axis, including panic, GAD, phobias, and anxiety.” [Source]
A complex feedback system regulates the HPA axis. For example, cortisol acts as a negative feedback signal, inhibiting the release of CRH and ACTH when cortisol levels are high. This feedback system helps maintain the body’s stress response within a normal range.
The major causes of HPA axis dysregulation are accumulated stress, sleep disturbances, nutritional deficiencies, chronic inflammation, traumas, infections, pathogens, and toxins.
Symptoms of HPA axis dysregulation include chronic fatigue, insomnia, mood fluctuations, weight gain, digestive discomfort, immune issues, decreased libido, irregular menstrual cycles, overeating, or undereating.
Treatment for HPA axis dysregulation requires strategies like lifestyle changes, therapy, and medication.
3 Psychological Risk Factors Causing HPA Axis Dysregulation
Even though many factors affect the HPA Axis, I introduce and discuss only three major risk factors in this section. I excluded health conditions, age, environmental factors, and genetics that can adversely affect this system. I also provide practical tips to address them after each discussion point.
1 — Accumulated stress [Major Culprit]
Accumulated stress (physical or psychological) can adversely impact the HPA axis homeostasis. Besides, dysregulation of the HPA axis can lead to more stress and contribute to developing stress-related health problems, like cardio-metabolic and mental health disorders.
When we experience stress, it can trigger the release of stress hormones. Overactivation of the stress response and excessive cortisol releases can lead to dysregulation of the HPA axis.
Over time, accumulated stress (allostatic load) can lead to chronic dysregulation of the HPA axis, causing cumulative wear and tear and contributing to the development of stress-related health problems.
Besides, excessive oxidative stress can damage the receptors that cortisol binds to, disrupt the feedback mechanisms in the HPA axis, and impair the ability of cortisol to exert its effects on the body. Eventually, too much oxidative stress can lead to a decrease in our ability to respond to stress.
Practical Tips to Lower Chronic Stress
1 — Meet the fundamental requirement of the body, like getting restorative sleep, a healthy diet, regular exercise, recovery, rest, and fun.
2 — Use stress management techniques, like mindfulness practices, meditation, yoga, martial arts, self-talk, working in a flow state, gratitude, and journaling.
3 — Get more hobbies like reading, writing, sports, arts, music, dancing, gardening, pets, playing games, and altruistic activities.
4 — Try water or soil-based therapies that I introduced in this article.
5 — Consider psychological therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy.
2 — Cognitive Distortions [Triggering Effect]
Cognitive distortions, overall negative thoughts, and rumination have a triggering effect and can impair the HPA axis as they trigger the excessive release of stress hormones. Thus, our thoughts, if not managed, can lead to dysregulation of the HPA axis by activating stress responses in the brain.
Cognitive distortions are inaccurate and irrational thoughts and beliefs. They can interfere with our perception of reality and influence our emotions, judgments, and behaviors.
These automatic thoughts come from our unconscious mind, coded as emotional memories. With strengthened neural pathways in your brain, these memories can evolve into habits and become unrecognizable. Therefore, it can be challenging to change them.
Cognitive distortions might manifest as unfavorable self-talk leading to low self-esteem, a sense of worthlessness, anxiety, fear, frustration, anger, envy, depression, guilt, shame, and other unpleasant emotions, causing physical and mental disorders.
People with cognitive distortions might have difficulty solving problems and building meaningful relations leading to physical and mental health issues and low quality of life. There is a strong connection between cognitive distortions, emotional regulation, and behavioral outcomes.
Practical Tips to Manage Thoughts
1 — Observe and identify your thoughts through self-talk, journaling, expressive writing, feedback, or other methods that suit your needs.
2 — Accept all thoughts, no matter how terrible they might look or sound.
3 — Challenge thoughts by asking, “Is this real or true?” and use open-ended questions to explore them and create more options.
4 — Reframe negative and unpleasant thoughts into positive and pleasant ones using cognitive restructuring.
5 — Use mindfulness, meditation, and self-care to manage cognitive distortions.
6 — Practice a growth mindset, acceptance, optimism, and gratitude.
By effectively managing cognitive distortions, we can achieve tranquility amidst inner and outer turmoil by increasing our adversity quotient and making ourselves more resilient.
Regularly practicing these steps can create better thinking patterns, regulate emotions, and help us gain healthier habits. I cover emotional regulation affecting our behaviors in the next section.
3 — Unpleasant Emotions [Agrevating Impact]
Unpleasant emotions such as anxiety, fear, anger, frustration, guilt, grief, envy, jealousy, dissatisfaction, and boredom can adversely impact the balance of the HPA axis and imbalance our hormones and neurotransmitters.
Unpleasant emotions triggered by negative thoughts and aggravated by damaging habits can cause excessive release of stress hormones. When the HPA axis gets imbalanced, we feel more unpleasant emotions. People with anxiety disorders and depression have dysregulated HPA axis.
Our emotions are important as they convey important messages from our inner world caused by biochemical and electrical signals.
Feeling various emotions, acknowledging, understanding, and expressing them is necessary for our physical and mental health.
Awareness of our thoughts (especially cognitive distortions) and feeling is critical for emotional regulation as they might create strong emotions if we don’t notice them and manage timely.
The limbic system might hijack the thinking brain. It stops rational thinking, putting us in a vulnerable state. As a result, we get flooded with unpleasant emotions.
Therefore, we must leverage our thinking brain and calm the limbic system, especially the amygdala, to manage our thoughts and emotions. In addition, we need to use the body and breathing to manage them.
Progressive muscle relaxation and breathing exercises can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, strengthen the thinking brain, calm the limbic system, and lower stress. The body and mind can respond to stress better when we activate the parasympathetic nervous system.
Practical Tips to Regulate Emotions
1 — Practice mindfulness and meditation to observe thoughts and feelings systematically.
2 — Identify triggering thoughts and feelings generated by specific situations and respond rather than react.
3 — Practice deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, stretching, dancing, and gentle exercises when you feel flooded with unpleasant emotions.
4 — Create emotional self-defense by practicing self-care, self-compassion, self-love, and setting emotional boundaries.
5 — Be grateful, record your blessing, and show kindness to yourself and others with empathy and compassion if you disagree with them.
6 — Convert negative feelings to positive ones intentionally and systematically. Rewire your brain for new habits. For example, you can convert envy to admiration and boredom to excitement.
7 — Slow down at work, get new hobbies, engage in activities you enjoy, improve your relationships, and grow your social connections.
8 — Consider formal therapy or self-therapy when you feel overwhelmed by your emotions. For urgent situations, seek timely professional support.
Conclusions
Living a mindful and meaningful life can help us manage our thoughts, regulate our emotions, gain better habits, and lower our stress.
However, there may be times when we need professional advice and support to deal with turbulent emotions and uncontrollable traumas.
Hiding our emotions and traumas, fearing to express them, can harm our health. Expressive thoughts and emotions in a timely and healthy way can liberate us and prevent accumulating stress.
Healthy people can usually manage their thoughts and regulate emotions. However, some underlying health conditions might be challenging to deal with and require professional support, medication, and therapeutic interventions.
We must defeat mental health stigma and seek support confidently when needed. This requires awareness, education, challenging stereotypes and misconceptions, and promoting acceptance, understanding, and unconditional support for those who experience mental health challenges.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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