Stress has some pretty nasty effects on your hormones and your body .
With respect to your thyroid , the stress hormones ( adrenaline and cortisol ) that your body produces actually inhibit the conversion of your non-active thyroid hormone ( T4 ) to your active thyroid hormone ( T3 ). It also increases your production of a hormone called Reverse T3 ( rT3 ), which blocks your body from properly using your thyroid hormone . Both of these effects cause hypothyroidism .
It ’ s also worth noting that your body does this for a reason and it ’ s not just to punish you . When under stress , your body naturally down regulates your thyroid because all it cares about is conserving energy . It does this as a survival mechanism so that you can conserve enough energy to outlast the stress .
Another problem with the stress hormone adrenaline is that it forces your body to increase the concentration of free fatty acids in your bloodstream . Because most people have large concentrations of polyunsaturated fats in their fat cells , when these fats are forced into your bloodstream they block your thyroid hormone from reaching your cells .
And those are just a couple of examples of how stress causes hypothyroidism .
There are also a large number of other negative effects that are caused by an overproduction of stress hormones as well including …
• Osteoporosis
• Damage to brain cells
• Accumulation of fat , especially on the back and abdomen .
• Damage to blood vessels
• Aging of the skin
• Damage to your immune system
• Damage to your nerve cells What You Can Do To Reduce Your Stress Hormones
First , the most obvious answer is to reduce as much outside stress as possible . You can ’ t eliminate all outside stress , but you can do a lot to minimize it . I recommend that you pinpoint your greatest source of stress and then brainstorm what you can do to help minimize that stress . Work on each source one at a time .
And don ’ t push yourself too hard . In our society , more is always better , but sometimes you have to stop , rest , and smell the roses .
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