How Do Stress Hormones Affect My Ability of Building Self-Confidence?

When you have outside stressors acting on you a reaction takes place inside your body. Your body begins to release hormones that are known as stress hormones. These stress hormones each have a different effect on your body as well as level of building self-confidence.

Some of the short term effects are non-harmful but if the levels of the hormones do not go back to a manageable level then there can be long term and even permanent damage. Now that you know what a stress hormone is let's identify the individual ones and look at how they each affect your body.

Cortisol

The adrenal glands, which are located adjacent to the kidneys, produce cortisol This is a steroid hormone which helps the body to regulate blood pressure and other heart functions. It also helps the body to regulate the use of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. When the body becomes stressed cortisol production increases.

The release of cortisol leads to the breakdown of muscle proteins and the release of amino acids into the bloodstream. These travel to the liver and are used there for an extra boost of energy. This helps to feed the brain so that it will have more energy.

Also, other body tissues begin using less glucose for energy and begin to use fatty acids that the cortisol releases as an energy source for the muscles. This prepares the body to deal with the stress that is being felt.

Adrenaline

Another stress hormone that is released by the adrenal glands is adrenaline. While most people will recognize the name of this stress hormone they do not truly understand what it actually does. Adrenaline does boost your body's energy supply, increases your heart rate, and elevates your blood pressure. It does not automatically give you super human strength however.

ACTH

ACTH, or adrenocorticotropic hormone, is a hormone that is responsible for triggering the fight or flight response in several different body systems so that they are better able to cope with the upcoming stress. It also helps the body when it is ready to return to a state of normalcy.

CRF

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a hormone produced in the brain that is thought to aid it in managing how you respond to daily stress factors. It thought to assist the body and mind in reaching a state of near hyper vigilance. In addition it begins the chain of events that get the entire body ready to deal with stress. This includes facilitating the release of ACTH and cortisol.

Other Hormones Abound

While this list of stress hormones is definitely not all inclusive it will allow you to get an idea of just how much of a response the body and mind put into dealing with a stressful situation. There are long term effects when high levels of the hormones are maintained in the body. That is one reason that stress is so hard on those who suffer from it regularly. As with anything else in life too much of a good thing can be harmful as well. If you are dealing with high stress levels on a regular basis talk to your doctor. They may be able to help you to bring it under control before it brings you down and the stress hormones damage your ability of building self-confidence.