Stress/cortisal damaging the brain
 

I have been noticing a lot lately that I have had more and more difficulty in with comprehension, memory, following info being given to me. All leaving me to feel kind of stupid, or like what is wrong with me?
So I was sharing this with my partner. So when she came home from a conference about the affects "bullying can have on kids" and one of the trainers spoke about the affect of stress can cause on the brain. So I wanted to share what she learned and came home to share with me.
I hope others will find it of help. Though wish it was more up beat. I just wish Doctors would address it with us.



Cortisol can damage the brain therefore causing:

Shrinkage of the frontal lobes and the hippocampi

existing cells tend to shrink so number of cells decrease

So for those of us who expereince difficulty with any of these

attention, being persistent, being organized, judgment, problem solving, critical thinking, memory loss, difficulty learning, cognitive issues, and focus of concentration etc.

These are just a few of the things we know but may wonder why we are going through. So I wanted to share this with you.

Now we must learn how to reduce STRESS!

A website to look at is www.fi.edu/brain/stress.htm

thanks for sharing Cedar! This is interesting information. I've always known that I don't react well to stress, but sheesh... It's good info to have.

stef

Hi Cedar,
Thanks for sharing the website I find it very interesting. I know that from yrs. of sz. my right hippocampus shrunk and when I had brain surgery it was removed because it wasn't doing me any good. I did find that doing math, word search puzzles, and crossword puzzles were the best form of therapy to better the memory.
Wishing you well and May God Bless You!

Sue

I have to admit, that I've used this information so much since I first read it. My better half works constantly, 12 hours a day at least and sometimes during what they call 'crunch time' it's 7 days a week, 12-15 hours per day. He will frequently stress out over not having enough time to finish everything (work perfectionist). Last night I told him he could get brain damage from stressing so much and he should take time off.....and take me on vacation! :D

There's a saying somewhere, about information in the wrong hands can be dangerous or something like that. *snickers*

I did share it with my mother, she's an occupational therapist and specializes in geriatric psych. She just changed jobs and has been stressing much more, so I made sure to tell her to keep calm when able. :)

This is just so fascinating! I could kick my own hiney for not going to med school. Now I'm too old. Well that and my memory would probably not work in my favor.