To get a handle on stress, we must understand what it is and then what strategies are adequate to deal with it. The approaches to control stress differ based on the cause of the stress. The stresses I have observed in the lives of my patients in four decades of medical practice fall in one of five categories.
To get a handle on stress, we must understand what it is and then what strategies are adequate to deal with it. Practical approaches to control stress differ based on the cause of the stress. In this book, I explore what I have observed in the lives of thousands of patients to be the five primary sources of stress and some valuable stress management strategies.
All these chemicals produce a form of immediate pleasure. This pleasure sensation is a fleeting chemical reaction. With repeated use, there is diminishing immediate pleasure, and now the chemical is needed to maintain a new equilibrium.
Amphetamines cause their overwhelming effect through their action on dopamine. Amphetamines cause a dopamine flood, and that is what makes them so highly addictive. Methamphetamine can increase the level and activity of dopamine by every known mechanism.
Kratom comes from the tropical evergreen tree Mitragyna speciose. Mitragyna speciose is from the coffee family and is native to Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.
Ecstasy (MDMA) is the synthetic drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine that acts as both a stimulant and a hallucinogen similar to both amphetamines and LSD.
Cocaine works by blocking the channels that typically remove the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, with the result being an amplified effect of all of these neurotransmitters.
Narcotics mimic the action of the body's naturally occurring opiate-like substances called endorphins, enkephalins, and dynorphin. There are three types of opioid receptors present throughout the brain: mu receptors, delta receptors, and kappa receptors. Narcotics have most of their effect on the mu receptors, of which there are seven subtypes. The body's natural opioids attach to one or more of these receptor types to regulate hunger, thirst, mood, immune response, and awareness of painful stim...
The active ingredient in marijuana is delta-0-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC mimics the action of the natural neurotransmitter N-arachidonoyl ethanolamide (anandamide). Anandamide binds to CB1 cannabinoid receptors throughout the brain and CB2 receptors in the body. CB2 receptors have a role in regulating immune function. CB1 receptors impacts mood, memory, appetite, pain, and cognition.
Alcohol absorbs very rapidly and enters the bloodstream quickly, reaching all parts of the body. In the brain, alcohol binds to receptors for acetylcholine, serotonin, GABA, and the NMDA glutamate receptors. This binding to multiple receptors has a profound effect on mood, memory, personality, alertness, and physical coordination. The most significant impact of alcohol in the brain is on the GABA receptors and the NMDA glutamate receptors. Glutamate is the most prevalent excitatory neurotransmit...
Nicotine imitates the naturally occurring neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. It binds to acetylcholine receptors throughout the body. The three significant activation areas are in the adrenal gland, where it causes an increased release of adrenaline, the cerebral cortex where it mimics acetylcholine, and in the ventral tegmental area where it causes a release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens shell.
Caffeine acts as a stimulant in the nervous system, and it does this by the way it works on adenosine receptors. Adenosine's action on the surface of the nerve causes the nerve activity to slow down; this causes drowsiness, dilates the blood vessels, and aids in falling asleep
Once our taste buds have experienced the taste of sugar, we are trapped. From that time on, all it takes is thinking about the taste and dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens rise. The brain uses 50% of the body's available sugar energy. This sugar energy is taken directly from the blood because the brain has no effective way to store sugar. The proper balance of sugar is necessary for the manufacture of neurotransmitters and brain functions like attention, cognition, and mood stability. If t...
An addictive substance is a non-essential element, meaning it is not necessary to maintain or sustain life. These chemicals can impact the nervous system by producing a sensation of satisfaction as it creates the desire (craving) and need (physiological dependency) for more of the element. Using the element repeatedly will result in a changed nervous system that now defines the element as being necessary for life, as essential as oxygen, food, water, shelter, and relationships. Eventually, the v...
Addiction is enslaving and killing our young people, devastating families, overstressing first responders and emergency room staff, and financially draining limited healthcare dollars. Addiction is a monster that needs to be understood and contained.
Ponder about what matters to you. What matters to you? Are the things that occupy your time and thoughts important, or are they trivial and meaningless? About what are you passionate? Do you wake up each day with excitement because you have a passion?
Being thankful is a superpower. Ponder about the many things in your life for which you are grateful. Thankfulness and gratitude will see you through a lot of life's significant difficulties. Difficulties will occur, and many of them are not preventable. Still, your attitude and the degree of impact of those times will be significantly affected by your ability to remain deliberately thankful. Are you thankful? List five things for which you are grateful. Make time to ponder about the many things...
Ponder about human weakness and frailty. How we love to hide and deny our weaknesses. To admit to weakness we falsely assume is a statement of incompetence or powerlessness. What are your weaknesses? How can you turn your weaknesses into a strength? You can turn your weaknesses into strengths, but it will take some thought.
What occupies your thoughts? Do you spend endless hours being consumed by worry? Where is the best place for you to separate yourself and spend time pondering in solitude? When did you pause to ponder last? Will you stop and ponder today?
Ponder about things that affect all of us. Does your stuff own you? What does your stuff say about you? Do you have issues getting rid of stuff? Are you generous with your things, or are you hanging on with all your might? What do you value?
Ponder about things that affect all of us. Does your stuff own you? What does your stuff say about you? Do you have issues getting rid of stuff? Are you generous with your things, or are you hanging on with all your might? What do you value?
We are all separate individuals, but we share many things in common. Ponder about issues we all share in common. What are the typical things you share with others? Do you consider what is going on with those around you? What is essential to your neighbor? What is vital to your children or your spouse? This poem is about the importance of thinking about your role in your family.
Ponder about cultural and social issues and concerns. How is your community changing? What are your cultural values? Where are your culture and society headed? What do you believe? How are you contributing to your community? You exist to make your world a better place. Think about that.
Ponder about critical human qualities and characteristics. What kind of person do you want to be? What would you like others to say about you at your funeral? What do you want your children and grandchildren to remember about you? What are you doing to become that person you want to be?
As human beings, we are much more than just mortal mammals. We are spiritual beings. Do you think of spiritual things? What does it mean to you that you are a spiritual being? Ponder about spiritual concepts. Think about things that are bigger than you!
What has power in your life? What scares you? Ponder about major life issues and characteristics, like bitterness. I spent several weeks meditating on Psalms 37 and the power of bitterness. Bitterness has such destructive power, more power than cancer, or heart disease, but it does not seem to cause much fear. We should be more afraid of becoming bitter than we are of getting terminal cancer.
We live in a world full of wonder, most of which we will never discover. Ponder about things you may have always wondered about, even if it seems silly. Give yourself a gift and look up and embrace the wonder around you. You will be surprised by what you might discover.
Put aside all pretense and make it your goal to be authentic. Taking time to ponder will foster authenticity. A manufactured, false image will only foster incorrect, meaningless, pressure-filled connections with others. If you want meaningful, genuine relationships, you need to be authentic. So, what does the path to authenticity look like in this crazy, fast-paced, noisy world? Only in silence and solitude will you find authenticity. It is in solitude where isolation will make you stronger. Wit...
This podcast is an excerpt from the book "Fodder for Ponder" available on Amazon as an ebook and paperback. This series encourages the listener to pause in solitude and take time to enrich themselves by pondering.
If you follow Jesus and begin to use your voice, you will face adversity, lots of hardship. John 16:33 (NKJV), “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” How you react to these tribulations will determine how close you can get to fulfilling God’s plan for your life. You will need the mindset of a warrior. 1 Timothy 1:18-19 (NKJV), “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according ...
