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blood pressure, Chest pain, chronic stress, Health, insomnia, Memory Loss, Shrinking brain, Stress, Stress hormones

Do You Have Holes in your Brain?

Mona Alvarado Frazier

from hungryzombie.blogspot

It sounds like something out of science fiction, but this is no Sci-Fi novel where Zombies eat brains. A recently released Yale University study, says that stress causes the brain to shrink. Houston neuroscientist and author David Eagleman states, “Stress is underpinned by particular hormones that circulate through the body and the brain. Those stress hormones are very bad…They eat away at brain tissue.”


      “What’s new to be stressed about is that stress is literally chewing miniature holes in your brain.”

These Zombie hormones aren’t doing this, negative continuous stress is. “…we evolved to have stress systems that are useful when you need a fast response,” says Eagleman. “What we did not evolve for is chronic stress, that 21st century stress that man and woman lives with.” Instead of a burst of a stress hormone, most people have chronically elevated levels.

     “The body is simply not built to have high levels of stress for long periods of time. That’s where the stuff eats away at your brain tissue.”

Stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Although it’s a normal part of life, too much stress is not only harmful to your brain but to your heart, stomach, memory, and blood pressure.

Stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between challenges. As a result, the person becomes overworked and stress-related tension builds until it leads to a condition called distress. When we experience headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, insomnia, memory loss or chest pain our body is telling us we are in distress.

       “…you get neurons dying, shriveling up and losing connections. It’s all really bad news.”

This is bad news, but not all is lost. We can help ourselves deal successfully with these zombie hormones. Yes, it all goes back to taking charge of our nutrition and exercise.

A list to ward off Zombie Brain Killers:

  • Complex Carbs: They prompt the brain to make more serotonin. For a steady supply of this feel-good chemical, it’s best to eat complex carbs, which are digested more slowly. Good choices include whole-grain breakfast cereals, breads, and pastas, as well as old-fashioned oatmeal. 
  • Oranges: These contain a wealth of vitamin C. Studies suggest this vitamin can reduce levels of stress hormones while strengthening the immune system.
  • Spinach:One cup goes a long way toward replenishing magnesium stores. Not a spinach eater? Try some cooked soybeans or a filet of salmon, also high in magnesium. Green leafy vegetables are a rich source of this mineral. Too little magnesium may trigger headaches and fatigue, compounding the effects of stress.
  • Omega-3 fatty acids:  Salmon and tuna can prevent surges in stress hormones and protect against heart disease, mood disorders like depression, and premenstrual syndrome.
  • Black tea: Too much caffeine, like that in coffee can boost stress hormones and increase blood pressure. Instead of reaching for that third cup, replace it with a cup of black tea. It can help you recover from stressful events more quickly.
  • Nuts:A handful of pistachios, walnuts, or almonds every day may help lower your cholesterol, reduce inflammation in the arteries of the heart, lower the risk of diabetes, and protect you against stress.
  • Avocado: Half of an avocado has more potassium than a medium-sized banana. In addition, guacamole offers a nutritious alternative when stress has you craving a high-fat treat.
  • Carrots or Celery: Munching on hard raw vegetables release a clenched jaw and that can ward off tension.
  • Toast with a little jam: Carbs at bedtime can speed the release of serotonin and help you sleep better. Heavy meals before bed can trigger heartburn.
  • Calcium:Researchers found that calcium eases anxiety and mood swings. Dietitians recommend a cup of skim or low-fat milk. Almond milk has double the calcium and is low in calories.
  • Aerobic exercise: Aim for 30 minutes of exercise three to four times a week. This increases oxygen circulation and produces endorphins—chemicals that make you feel happy.
  • Yoga or meditation: It releases other hormones that are the anti-flight-or-flight hormones.
  • Stop ruminating: “You keep reliving the situation and get in a vicious cycle that breaks the brain down more,” says Sandi Bond Chapman, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth. “Halt that pattern and change the way you see things.”
  • Support system: Talk to someone, not necessarily to offer solutions but who just listens.
  • Sleep:Eight hours helps restore mental processes so we can handle stress better.

For additional ways to deal with stress visit 30 days, 30 ways to less stress. NOW, which one (s) will you do or are doing? How’s it working for you? 

Now that you’re fully armed, go out and slay some zombie hormones. Your health depends on it.
artist unknown


Sources: Neuroscientist and author David Eagleman, Laboratory for Perception and Action at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Yale University researchers report in a study published online January 2012 in the journal Biological Psychiatry and WebMd.com.
California Department of Corrections, Female Offenders, Juvenile Justice

What I Learned in Prison: Women in Front and Behind Bars #6

Mona Alvarado Frazier
GA Daily News

For the past few weeks, I’ve written about my past career with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice. It’s a state agency that oversees more than 162,821 prisoners within institutions with an additional 91, 700 more offenders on parole.

 
My intent is to give a very small view of the world that is foreign to most and share some lessons learned from my experiences from life inside youth correctional facilities from 1980-2008. 
 
In past posts, I talked about female offenders as the fastest growing prison demographic in the U.S and gave some of my career backstories.
My training  involved several stages with the main value gained by on-the-job training. Listening to staff and  female offenders was helpful too. My college degree was the least helpful except when it was time to write case reports.

There are three photos here. All look like the typical teenagers that I worked with in prison. Can you tell which one committed murder, assault with a deadly weapon, drug trafficking? 

AP Photo
CA Dept. Corrections





Sorry, no points given for correct answers as you may recognize two of these young women from recent newspaper articles. The point is that many female offenders looked like these girls but were in for some heinous crimes. As a staff member, a woman, and not too distant from their ages at the time, it could be easy to forget that the offenders were some very troubled people. 


                                                            You can’t judge a book (person) by its’ cover

After I returned from the Academy I was assigned another young woman to my caseload. She had to be reassigned from her Youth Correctional Counselor who transferred. The caseworker pointed to a girl in the dayroom. She looked older than the rest and with her long dark hair, pretty face, and eager smile she looked like a college sorority girl. The caseworker said the girl was enrolled in the community college program within the facility. “Sure, no problem,” I said.  


“Glad it wasn’t me,” one of the older staff women said when I told her I had the girl assigned to me. “I had her four years ago.” 


I didn’t have time to read the girl’s case file. It was time for weekly small group and I assembled my caseload of gangbangers, drug offenders, and thieves. One girl moved her chair away from the college looking ingenue when she sat down. Throughout the group time, I caught the drift that the college girl wasn’t disliked but feared in some way. She seemed intelligent, minded her own business, and paid attention although she didn’t interact with anyone. 


After group, I walked my girls to their rooms, unlocked their doors, and locked them back in. The ingenue had the room closest to the top of the hallway and I locked her in first. When I locked in the last girl, she turned to me and said she didn’t want to be on my caseload anymore if the ‘satan-worshipping murdering’ so and so remained on the caseload. 


“As long as she doesn’t do that in group, she’s staying,” I said. “But you don’t have to sit next to her next time.” The girl looked relieved. 


I made a beeline to the staff desk and asked the other staff about the comment. “Yeah, didn’t you read her file? She’s famous, you know the girl from up north who….” Not only was she famous, her crime was infamous and the subject of books. A television movie came out after her release to parole. 


The lesson about not judging a book by its cover never had so much meaning. 


Have you ever come across a difficult situation where you learn a lesson?