Mind Twisting Stress Depression And Intelligence

Title:
Mind Twisting: Stress, Depression, And Intelligence

Word Count:
562

Summary:
The physical and mental consequences of stress and depression are rather well-documented, but recent studies show that the problem might also have effects on a person's intelligence. Research shows that stress and depression are capable of killing brain cells if left untreated, but can also prevent new cells from being generated to replace the old ones.


Keywords:
mental health, stress, depression, social anxiety, side effects


Article Body:
Stress and depression are two of the things in modern life that you have to deal with at one point or another. The former is an everyday thing, one that can stem from something as difficult as social anxiety to something as mundane as tripping over your own shoelaces. The latter, depression, is not quite as easy to develop in the clinical sense, but most people will end up experiencing a point in their lives that comes dangerously close to being depressed. For the most part, these two problems are considered to be threats to one's physical and mental health. However, recent studies show that these two conditions also have nasty side effects on one's intelligence.

According to recent findings, it is untrue that the human brain ceases production of neurons and other critical brain cells later on in life. In fact, there are some things that imply that the brain regenerates the aforementioned cells on an as-needed basis, generating more to suit the needs of the individual. This is in direct opposition to long-held medical doctrine that human brain cells do not regenerate after a certain point and instead begin to enter a state of slow decay. However, as recent studies have shown, the more primitive areas of the brain are capable of regenerating lost cells. This has subsequent effects on a wide range of mental functions, including memory, reaction time, and comprehension. Now, what does this have to do with stress and depression, you ask?

A whole lot, apparently. The two conditions states above put the more primitive parts of the brain into “survival mode.” Upon entering that state, the brain naturally attempts to minimize anything that could be seen as frivolous or unnecessary, instead focusing all energies on the basics. This not only accounts for the apparent reduction of brain activity during periods where an individual experiences the aforementioned problems, but it also starts to kill the currently existing cells. Basically, the brain cells are slowly dying when subjected to excessive stress and depression, burning out neurons at a faster rate than normal. This would explain why some normally intelligent people seem to be mentally slower and less adept when put under emotional and psychological pressure.

Another consequence would be the fact that the two aforementioned disorders can actually prevent the brain from regenerating new cells to replace the old ones. Trophic factors, chemicals that are known to stimulate the brain, are not produced properly when a person undergoes prolonged periods of the above conditions. Studies show that trophic factors are actually the chemicals responsible for telling the brain to regenerate new cells. If the chemicals are cut off or if the flow is disrupted, it can result in a rapid decline in the human brain's ability to repair itself over time.

While these findings are still controversial and questionable, it does provide an interesting look into just how the brain works on a physical level. The long-held belief that the brain is incapable of fixing itself once a person reaches adulthood may just be put into question. These findings are still subject to further research, but there are already several avenues being opened by the concept. For example, there are studies now being conducted devoted to finding out whether or not serotonin, a chemical used to combat a variety of mental disorders, has an effect on neuron regeneration.

BONUS : Title:
Modify The Stress In Your Life

Word Count:
553

Summary:
Stress follows us around each and every day. There is really nothing that we can do about it either, or is there? Stress is caused from bad things and from good things, basically common stressors are caused from finances, friends, spouses, family, work, the neighbors, the mail, and even driving home from work or waiting in line at the gas station. People always want to be stress free but that day will never come where you will be completely free of stress. Stress causes anxie...


Keywords:
stress management, hypnosis stress, hypnotherapy London, hypnosis Oxford


Article Body:
Stress follows us around each and every day. There is really nothing that we can do about it either, or is there? Stress is caused from bad things and from good things, basically common stressors are caused from finances, friends, spouses, family, work, the neighbors, the mail, and even driving home from work or waiting in line at the gas station. People always want to be stress free but that day will never come where you will be completely free of stress. Stress causes anxiety, depression, and many other disorders and medications dispersed from doctors for these conditions are raging out of control. It seems that no matter who you talk to they are Prozac. Zoloft, Celexa, Paxil, Xanex, and the list just continues to grow. Even while these medications are zapping through our brains and regulating neurons and neurotransmitters, we still have to deal with the stress as the medicine certainly will not make it disappear.

There are however, two types of stress. One is positive stress which is the one that makes sure that life does not get boring and then there is the negative stress which is the one that makes you wish that your life was boring. Unfortunately, stress just loves to follow change and thanks to technology, the environment, and society, we have certainly dealt with our share of change. Hence, manifested stress. Now, the questions is, exactly how much stress are we under and what can we do to cope with it?

Are your muscle tightened, is your blood pressure high, do you feel your heart pumping, is your digestion system out of whack, do you feel anxious, frustrated, angry, and are you physically rundown? If so, these are definite signs that stress is getting the best of you and you need to make some changes. Maybe you will be fortunate enough to find out exactly what it is that is causing your stress and if you do, sometimes that source can be eliminated and sometimes not. Others, you may be able to at least keep under control or maybe avoid.

The first thing that you should do is try to always remain optimistic rather than pessimistic. Thinking good things rather than always expecting the worse, relinquish some control and just hand it over to someone else and let them deal with it. Keeping the most positive attitude that you can keep will really benefit you in your war against stress. One thing that people who are under a lot of stress find almost impossible to do is to relax, and this is simply something that you are going to have to do. Read a book, buy a relaxation tape, get hypnotized, but do something as soon as possible. You have to completely retrain your thoughts and hypnosis can really make a difference.

A combination of hypnosis and relaxation audio tapes can make a world of difference. Your subconscious will allow you to relax through hypnosis and then when you follow up with the tapes, you will learn how to completely relax every part of your body. The tapes will encourage you to one by one, tense up each muscle in your body, hold it and then release it. This is called your relaxation response and will make your body so calm. It alone is almost hypnotic.