When you think of depression and the inner workings of your body, the little neurotransmitter most likely comes to mind serotonin.
That’s the main where big pharma has focused for the last few decades on creating treatments for depression and has had much more than just fifteen minutes of fame.
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the hormone cortisol is her less famous cousin. If he’s heard of cortisol, it’s more likely that it’s associated with long-term stress and he’s certainly gotten his own bad rap in the media in that department.
The thing is, cortisol is essential for life and we all have high cortisol levels at some point. We get a cortisol spike in the mornings to help us wake up and start the day with a little zest.
Think of it as your body’s natural morning cup of coffee. Typically, your cortisol levels will drop throughout the day, leaving you tired and rested by bedtime. This is also why, when you are depressed, you usually it is worse in the morning and improves as the day progresses.
Now, the reason for cortisol infamy is due to the effects of continued high levels of this hormone in your body.
When you’re depressed and your cortisol levels spike when they should have landed. Here are some of the scary things that happen to your body and why depression physically hurts.
Here are the 5 scariest things depression does to your body:
1. It lowers your body’s immunity.
Cortisol affects your ability to make white blood cells, making you more likely to get infections.
2. Causes an increase in abdominal fat.
Cortisol can make it almost impossible to lose those extra pounds, especially around the waist.
3. It makes you age faster.
Cortisol breaks down muscle and connective tissue making you look older faster.
4. It gives you insomnia
It’s your cup of coffee, remember, so high cortisol levels outside of your morning routine can leave you feeling restless and unable to settle down at night.
5. Decreases Thyroid Activation
Cortisol Affects Thyroid Levelswhich can cause constipation, dry skin, fatigue and even changes in the menstrual cycle.
Now, this list can make you feel even more depressed than you already were and that is definitely not my intention.
You see, there is a simple little trick to lowering your cortisol levels fast, which will not only ease your depression a bit, but also protect you against these negative effects of cortisol on your body.
The researchers discovered that if you hold a power pose (stand with your hands on your hips and puff out your chest, or put your arms in a victory position as if you just won a race, for example) for just two minutes, your cortisol levels drop by about 25 percent.
That’s a quarter of those negative effects banished by spending just two minutes of your time taking care of your body.
Try it now. Do it every hour. Make it a daily habit.
Depression can have the ability to do scary things to your body, but it’s still your body and you decide how far it goes. Nature never gives us a negative without also giving us the means to counter it.