How to break free from the vicious cycle of stress?

Mood swings, insomnia, fatigue, muscle pains, and tension... We all know these phenomena caused by stress. An endemic condition that affects more than 20% of French people daily.

While stress is sometimes normal, it poses a real public health problem when it becomes chronic, plunging those who suffer from it into a spiral that is difficult to escape without understanding its mechanisms.

What is stress?

A normal response of our body to aggression and constraints, stress is a complex adaptation mechanism that allows us to implement physical, psychological, and behavioral means in situations that potentially endanger us or pose a threat.

This phenomenon is essential to our survival: think of our ancestors for whom stress allowed them to quickly flee from the attack of a wild animal. Thus, we can speak of "good stress" when it serves as a driving force.

Stress should be understood as a mechanism in three dimensions:

The stressor. This is the element to which the body must adapt. It can be weak or substantial, positive or negative, exceptional or continuous, expected or unexpected. It can also be physiological, for example, a medication, an illness, or even extreme temperatures, since our body will then have to modify its chemistry to adapt.

The stress reaction. This is when our brain alerts us. This triggers physiological phenomena in response: our heart rate increases, our muscles contract... If these reflex phenomena last longer than they should, they disrupt the functioning of our body and create real physical and psychological discomfort.

Attitude. The intensity of the stress reaction depends on the message our brain sends to the endocrine glands. This message itself depends on our perception of the stressor. Parameters such as the circumstances in which the stressor occurs, our health status, our personality, our vulnerability zones, or our education will strongly influence the attitude we unconsciously adopt in the face of external stimuli and thus the intensity of the resulting physical and psychological manifestations.

What are the consequences of stress?

While stress is not a disease in itself, it is considered a exacerbating or triggering factor for a large number of disorders and diseases, whether or not they are psychosomatic in origin. In other words, stress is not (only) in the head, and the disruptions it causes to the chemistry of our body are far from being without effect.

In cases of prolonged stress, many symptoms can appear. The first of these is often fatigue, that of a body strained from overreacting.

But these symptoms can be of various kinds:

Physical symptoms

• Neuro-muscular disorders: muscle tensions and spasms, headaches, teeth grinding, tingling, pains and neuralgias,
• Digestive disorders: loss of appetite, nausea, gastroesophageal reflux, gastritis, bloating, constipation, diarrhea,
• Cardiovascular disorders: palpitations, tachycardia, hypertension,
• Gynecological disorders: disruptions of the menstrual cycle, amenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome, water retention,
• Respiratory disorders: "lump" in the throat, feeling of oppression,
• Dermatological reactions: eczema, herpes.
• Emotional and mental symptoms
• Anxiety,
• Insomnia and nocturnal awakenings,
• Panic attacks,
• Agitation,
• Irritability,
• Difficulty concentrating, confusion,
• Decreased libido,
• Low self-esteem.
• Behavioral symptoms
• Tendency to isolate oneself,
• Relational difficulties,
• Addictions or accentuation of addictions (tobacco, alcohol, drugs...),
• Negative perception of reality.

Under the effect of stress, these initially minor disorders can worsen. Lower back tension will turn into lumbago, a digestive disorder into an ulcer or irritable bowel syndrome, an attraction to alcohol into alcoholism, or a decrease in self-esteem into depression.

These multiple disorders weaken the body, making it both more sensitive to stress and more exposed to the onset of certain diseases. The management of stress is a real challenge for health prevention, but also an important avenue for managing chronic pathologies.

The vicious circle of stress

The mechanism of stress and its effects resemble a true vicious circle.

This can be explained by several factors.

• Magnesium loss and deficiencies

In response to a stressful event, the adrenal glands secrete norepinephrine to give us the means to react. This results in an increase in blood sugar, an increase in heart rate, or even dilation of blood vessels to allow muscles to contract. Since norepinephrine cannot cross the lipid membranes of cells, it mainly relies on a messenger: calcium. However, when it enters the cells, it causes a leakage of magnesium.

This is why repeated stress will cause a magnesium deficiency. We then enter a true vicious circle because magnesium inhibits calcium(4) and modulates its release under the effect of norepinephrine...

Therefore, the more stressed we are, the more magnesium is lost, and the less regulated calcium will be, which will further increase the magnesium deficiency.

This magnesium deficiency itself seems to be responsible for many symptoms attributed to stress:

• Fatigue and irritability,
• Muscle pains and tensions,
• Headaches, numbness,
• Digestive disorders.

And the double effect of stress and magnesium deficiency contributes to aggravating pathologies which, from benign, could become much heavier.

Taking symptomatic medications

To counteract stress and the symptoms it causes, many medications are regularly prescribed: anti-asthenics, muscle relaxants, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, anxiolytics, hypnotics, antidepressants, beta-blockers, proton pump inhibitors, anti-choleretics, laxatives, etc. More harmful than they appear, they produce side effects and create dependence.

Moreover, some contribute to reducing our resistance to sources of stress and increasing magnesium loss.

Thus, paracetamol, which is the most prescribed painkiller, tends to lower hepatic glutathione, leading to vulnerability to all toxic and infectious stressors. This reduces our resistance(5).

Stimulants, caffeine foremost(6), have the effect of increasing urinary magnesium losses, increasing the risk of arrhythmia, and accentuating digestive disorders... On the other hand, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), used to relieve stomach pains, or laxatives prescribed to combat constipation, inhibit magnesium absorption(7).

These medications cannot therefore be an effective response to stress as they contribute to feeding its vicious circle.

Weakening of the immune system

In response to aggression, the adrenal glands release a hormone, cortisol, which has a powerful anti-inflammatory role. This explains why stressed people have high cortisol levels(8). But faced with repeated and continuous stress, their immune system eventually adapts and resists the action of cortisol. Therefore, the inflammation level remains high, the immune system weakens. The body becomes even more sensitive to different sources of stress and has more difficulty providing an appropriate response(9).

Moreover, a too high cortisol level can cause:

• Fatigue,
• Involuntary weight gain,
• Abnormal blood sugar, prediabetes and diabetes,
• Gynecological disorders,
• Sleep problems,
• Mood disorders.
• Thus stress feeds on stress, and it is essential to find appropriate and sufficient solutions to break the vicious circle.
• Breaking the vicious circle of stress

As soon as one is subject to stress, it becomes necessary, first and foremost, to correct the magnesium deficiency so that the body can respond appropriately to triggering factors. In addition, this correction will help reduce stress symptoms, especially fatigue and pain(10). To do this, nutrition must play a crucial role, aided by well-chosen dietary supplements.

Anti-stress diet

From

 a dietary point of view, it is recommended to increase magnesium intake and, in order to fully utilize its resources, to also favor foods that improve its assimilation (containing B vitamins, omega-3s, and taurine(11) and to avoid those that inhibit it.

You will favor:

• Mineral waters rich in magnesium,
• Whole or semi-whole grains, preferably gluten-free,
• Calcium-enriched soy milk, soy yogurts preferably with bifidus, tofu,
• Legumes,
• Sweet potatoes,
• Bananas,
• Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, cashews...,
• Fruits and vegetables that also contain antioxidants and polyphenols that help fight inflammation,
• Dark chocolate,
• Fatty fish and seafood, rich in omega-3s and taurine.

And you will avoid:

• Coffee, which will be replaced by tea (green preferably),
• Sodas, which will be replaced by fruit juices and smoothies,
• Excessive alcohol consumption,
• Dairy products and especially cow's milk,
• High glycemic index foods.

You will benefit from balancing your meals by ensuring that you have at least one meal intake per day to avoid hypoglycemia. Indeed, cortisol is also released when blood sugar levels are too low or when they are subject to too great variations.

Dietary supplements

Although an adapted diet can fill part of the magnesium deficiency, it remains unlikely to reach the recommended daily intakes - which are, let's repeat, themselves increased in periods of stress.

Indeed, nutrition will allow to reach between 280 and 380 mg of magnesium per day, while the corrective dose of deficiency that allows to compensate for the accumulated deficit is 400 to 600 mg per day in addition to dietary intakes.

Initially, carry out a corrective or "attack" cure that will allow you to reach these 600mg. Preferably opt for a so-called "third generation" complex containing a non-laxative magnesium salt (magnesium citrate, magnesium glycerophosphate), a cellular retainer such as taurine, and nutrients with coordinated effects: vitamin B6 and arginine.

Spread the intakes three times during the day to allow better stability of magnesium levels.

In mild cases, a one-month attack cure is sufficient. In more severe cases, it can last up to six months. You will feel when your deficit is filled: less fatigue, less pain and tension, better sleep...

If you are under treatment, especially if you are taking anxiolytics, hypnotics, antidepressants, or beta-blockers, do not abruptly stop taking them and wait until the attack cure is completed to discuss with your doctor a decrease in doses leading to discontinuation.

Once this initial cure is completed, it will be necessary to find your cruising rhythm in terms of magnesium supplementation and to know how to listen to your body and your stress level to regulate it. To do this, gradually decrease the magnesium doses and see at what dosage the symptoms start to return.

Anti-stress lifestyle

As magnesium levels depend on stress, it is essential to reduce this stress. While it is often impossible to eliminate the stressor, and to avoid psychotropic drugs, you can use the following tools:

• Abdominal breathing,
• Sophrology,
• Cognitive-behavioral therapies,
• Sports, especially Yoga, swimming, Qi Gong, Tai Chi,
• Outings in nature,
• Music, singing, dancing, painting... or any other creative activity.

It is also essential to respect your sleep rhythms and to rest sufficiently. Indeed, sleeping 6 hours per night instead of the recommended 8 hours increases cortisol levels in the blood by 50%. Do not hesitate to take a short nap if needed.

The triad of nutrition, supplementation, and adapted lifestyle will help you break the vicious circle of stress while respecting your body and its needs.

Sources:

1. Thurin, J. M., & Baumann, N. (2003). Stress, pathologies et immunité. Flammarion médecine-sciences.
2. Stora, J. B. (1999). Quand le corps prend la relève: stress, traumatismes et maladies somatiques. Odile Jacob.
3. Un stress excessif rend les cellules immunitaires hyperactives in Futura Sciences 08/11/2013
4. Iseri, L. T., & French, J. H. (1984). Magnesium: nature's physiologic calcium blocker. American heart journal, 108(1), 188-193.
5. O’Hayon Naïm R et al, Antalgiques en automédication : quels sont les risques ? Rev Med Suisse 2010;6:1338-1341
6. Massey, L. K., & Wise, K. J. (1984). The effect of dietary caffeine on urinary excretion of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium in healthy young females. Nutrition Research, 4(1), 43-50.
7. Garrigues, P., Su, C., Navarro, M., Paillous, P., Janin, C., & Mathieu, A. (2017). Hypomagnésémie induite par les inhibiteurs de la pompe à protons: un trouble métabolique à ne pas méconnaître. La Revue de Médecine Interne, 38, A150-A151.
8. Almadi, T., Cathers, I., & Chow, C. M. (2013). Associations among work‐related stress, cortisol, inflammation, and metabolic syndrome. Psychophysiology, 50(9), 821-830.
9. Stress, GCR, inflammation, and disease risk Sheldon Cohen, Denise Janicki-Deverts, William J. Doyle, Gregory E. Miller, Ellen Frank, Bruce S. Rabin, Ronald B. Turner Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Apr 2012, 109 (16) 5995-5999; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1118355109
10. Dubray C et al, Magnesium deficiency induces an hyperalgesia reversed by the NMDA receptor antagonist MK801, Neuroreport, 1997;8(6):1383-6.
11. Yamori, Y., Taguchi, T., Hamada, A., Kunimasa, K., Mori, H., & Mori, M. (2010). Taurine in health and diseases: consistent evidence from experimental and epidemiological studies. Journal of biomedical science, 17(1), S6.