Your Brain on Anxiety
Tara Parker-Pope writes today that waiting for biopsy results affects stress hormone levels just as much as finding out you’ve got cancer. A new study shows that women waiting on breast biopsy results had abnormal cortisol profiles equivalent to women who had been told they had cancer.
I never fail to be amazed by the power of stress hormones. In this case, cortisol. Cortisol is some powerful stuff, and it shows up whether or not it is really needed. When it surges through your system, it raises your blood pressure, lowers your immunity to illness and makes it tough to think, among other things. It also helps you in a few ways (or it would help you if you were getting attacked by a predator…instead of waiting for a doctor to call you back). You don’t feel pain as acutely and you get a shot of energy should you need to run screaming from the room.
It’s a good reminder that the brain loathes uncertainty more than nearly everything else… more (almost) than cancer. Maybe that’s why people who feel like they have control over their lives (whether they do or not—remember, it’s the perception that matters) tend to perform better in disasters and recover more fully afterwards. They also tend to live longer. They are probably nicer, too. And they probably have great teeth. Damn those people!
Autumn said on February 27, 2009 at 2:40 am
Soo true. For years I had a false sense of control over my life until I graduated college in the middle of a recession. Now that I no longer have the sense of control, life is much harder. Uncertainty = no fun
Elizabeth said on March 05, 2009 at 2:08 pm
As a cancer survivor who works in emergency preparedness, I’m really fascinated by the parallels between the psychological effects of disaster and the psychological effects of a cancer diagnosis. I once heard a fellow survivor say that having breast cancer was like being in a car accident that went on for months. I thought it was an apt description. I even think that the denial…deliberation…decisive moment phases apply, in many cases.
cancer blog said on October 31, 2009 at 5:12 am
Anxiety disorders can be triggered by a number of factors, including life experiences and psychological traits. In particular, increased stress and inadequate coping mechanisms may contribute to anxiety. Family history and genetics have also been implicated in the aetiology of anxiety disorders.