When we are stressed our body releases cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that helps us to recover from an adrenalin rush. Cortisol will interact with seratonin receptors in the brain. Prolonged stress can cause high levels of cortisol which can lead to an apathetic feeling and depression. It is very interesting to see how this comes about. Remember, when someone jumps out from behind the corner, you get the old adrenaline rush.



Cortisol increases to bring you back to normal by lowering the heart rate, and slowing breathing and pulse. You do not want to stay in the flight or fight mode for a prolonged period of time.

Everyone has heard of flight or fight. But there is another reaction that can manifest. Inhibiting our behavior is a choice when confronted with peril that can be likened to a mouse freezing in it's tracks as the hawk flies above it. A sort of playing dead to go unnoticed and avoid the confrontation. Sudden stress seems to bring about the flight or fight response, but chronic, continuing stress can usually trigger the "play dead" response.

This is the response that will throw a person into the pit of depression and while at the bottom of this pit, that frozen feeling, that hold still...don't escape the problem and don't fight it, apethetic attitude can keep you in the pit for a long, long time.

The cortisol levels will remain with no dopamine to counterbalance, not to mention these high levels of cortisol continue to keep seratonin levels out of whack. Suicide victims are found to have very high levels of cortisol. So, it is very evident that long periods of stress responded to by the "play dead" approach, can eventually lead to severe depression. Sometimes a good healthy fight can prevent this state by interrupting the continuous inhibition of natural behavior. Or like Dad used to say "don't keep it all bottled up inside" Sometimes refusing to let something bother you can do more long term damage to the soul.

All this imbalance can lead to a breakdown in the immune system, and can cause weight gain especially around the mid section. The cycle needs to be broken, and action needs to be taken. The constant avoidance of pain can lead to the fear of pursuing any form of pleasure. The status quo will remain as you sit in the pit of depression without even the energy to climb out.

A dose of dopamine can act as a catalyst for change. It can set the chemicals back in balance even if it is only long enough to get the right amount of sleep, and wake up refreshed and ready to shake off the fear, and pursue the things that make a person happy.

And if you need to break the cycle of apathy by "popping your cork" and confronting that threat, so be it. Just keep a cool head and don't let it get out of control. Sometimes winning the battle can resupply the endorphines in a natural way, and maintain the feeling of well being.