HPA system

What the heck is the HPA System and what does it have to do with our overall health, including our skin issues?  It helps with our stress issues and I’ll tell you why right here…

What is the HPA Axis

HPA is the axis stands for:

• Hypothalamic
• Pituitary
• Adrenal

And, this helps our bodies with controlling our stress.  Picture this:

We are being attacked (by a lion, by our boss at work, it doesn’t matter what – you just need to feel like you’re being attacked).

Hormones are released and all of a sudden, you are wide awake and sharp.  The HPA axis is alerted, stress hormones like cortisol are sent to help.  Your heart starts beating and you are ready to run!

What’s the problem?

Chronic stress HPA axis problem arises.  If we’re under constant stress, we have an overactive HPA axis.  Cortisol is always there or at least out of balance to where it should be.

At times, cortisol will be low but it’s low during the day and that’s why we feel so tired all the time.  Other times, it will be high and that will happen when we’re trying to sleep but can’t, indicating that our natural melatonin levels are low.  The ongoing stress is the problem but I’m sure you already knew that.  But, this causes our HPA axis to always be working and now we have a malfunction of sorts.

If you’re always tired and can’t sleep, it’s a red flag that this is happening to you and you need to do something.  Plus, this can cause all kinds of problems with our menstrual cycles.  Yep – of course it does – everything affects our hormones.

Managing the HPA System

In order to manage the HPA axis, we need to manage our stress.  Again, this is probably no surprise to you.  We instinctively know we need to manage our stress better.  We drown our sorrows in alcohol, food, and TV or some combination of those (or others).   There needs to be a better way; otherwise, we’ll continue to have brain fog, tiredness, depression and anxiety.

Let’s talk about how to overcome this:

1. Determining when you’ve had too much.  I implore you to start listening to your body.  You know when you’ve had too much but often, you don’t know how to stop it…we’ll get to that next…but first learn when your body is trying to tell you to slow down.  Your HPA system will thank you.
2. Limits!  Set them and don’t feel bad about it!  And, learn to say ‘No!’.  You can’t do everything for everyone, despite wanting to.  Our bodies have a limit, so we need to set limits so it doesn’t eventually kill us – because in the meantime, we end up dealing with all the fatigue and period problems because of it.  If you want to fix these issues, set limits and stick to them.
3. Talk to a friend.  You don’t have to go into anything if you don’t want to but just reaching out to others when you need to recharge can do a world of good.
4. Do something you love – a hobby or meditation.  Working on a hobby can do wonders for our stress levels.  Our minds go to another place when we’re painting or gardening and we aren’t worrying about things like we would be if we’re just doing.  It’s also a form of meditation.  But, meditating for reals is great too.

Help your HPA system by managing your stress.  Little by little you will start to feel better.