Everybody experiences stress, it is quite normal. There is a type good stress deemed eustress; which is the butterflies in your stomach before a big game that helps you compete at your best, or talking to your crush. All are healthy forms of stress, however, not all stress is healthy and it can lead to very harmful effects on the body such as headaches or muscle tension, irritability or anxiety. These can manifest over time corresponding with chronic stress, or as a result of a single traumatic experience.
Check out some other statistics regarding anxiety below:
- When exposed to a traumatic event, most people are able to adapt and continue living their lives as they were before, however, 10-20% of people develop a stress-related disorder which has a significant long lasting effect on their lives.
- Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only about one-third of those suffering receive treatment.
- 18% of people in the United States are affected by anxiety disorders, making it the most common mental illness.
- PTSD affects 7.7 million adults, or 3.5% of the U.S. population.
These statistics may seem startling due to the sheer magnitude of the numbers, the prevalence of the problem is clear, but the first step to solving a problem, is understanding it.
More information can be found by following this link:
https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics
How do we even make memories from stressful events?
The body will react to an external stimulus (whatever thing is causing you stress) by releasing glucocorticoids which bind to a receptor. The receptor creates a signal cascade that passes the message in the cell like a game of telephone. An important step in the signal is the activation of ERK, a protein that phosphorylates and activates many other molecules, like a domino effect. Notably in this pathway, ERK activates ELK-1, which then recruits p300, a molecule that modifies histones. DNA is wrapped around histones; they are crucial to fit the entire genome in an area as small as the nucleus of a cell. Modification of histones can result in which areas of the genome being available to be expressed, when usually they are not. Two genes in particular code for proteins that are vital to the consolidation of memories: fos and egr1. They help solidify the recall of a memory, especially a traumatic one.
How can we dampen the effect of strong traumatic memories?
As just discussed, the pathway for memory consolidation can get kind of tricky. There are a lot of moving parts, which are a bad thing and a good thing. Bad, because it makes the story very complicated. Good, because there are lots of potential targets for therapeutic help, in whatever form that may take.
A common pharmaceutical used to counteract anxiety and PTSD is called Lorazepam. It does its job by blocking the marks on the histones, so there is never the synthesis of the vital memory consolidation factors fos and egr1.
However, if you struggle with anxiety, but not chronically enough to need a prescription, then there is another option that has many other benefits too….exercise!
Exercise has been proven to decrease anxiety by decreasing ERK (what starts the cascade) and thus decreasing the synthesis of fos and egr1. Exercise also increases the amount of GABA in the brain, which is an inhibitory molecule, so when someone gets anxious their brain fires many signals and GABA works to dampen those messages. The more GABA that is available, the better the brain will be at dampening the anxiety signal, essentially acting as a preemptive strike against anxiety through!
Anxiety impacts many many people, and understanding the pathway is a step in the right direction to determine the best way to help those who are suffering. As seen in the graphic above, only about 1/3 of those afflicted with anxiety seek help, leaving 2/3 untreated. If you are one of the 2/3 of people who battle with anxiety, perhaps working an exercise plan into your routine would prove beneficial for you.
Sources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00005/full
https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics
