ANXIETY AND THE AUTONOMIC

NERVOUS SYSTEM

By Jurriaan Plesman BA(Psych), Post Grad Dip Clin Nutr

When studying anxiety attacks and phobias we should make a distinction between real fear and irrational fear.

I would like to elaborate on this using knowledge of biology as to what happens when we experience fear.

When we are faced with a tiger, or we encounter any kind of trauma, grief, rejection of a loved one and so forth, the body floods the system with adrenaline, the hormone of strenuous action and fear or fight. This hormone helps us to deal with the 'danger'.

Adrenaline activates the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) which is a sub-branch of the Autonomic Nervous System.

It controls specific bodily organs to prepare us for fight or flight. These reactions are beyond the control of our consciousness and can be responsible for weird physiological symptoms.
The SNS dilates pupils of our eyes, shuts down the digestive organs, increases heart palpitations, relaxes the smooth muscles of bronchi and bronchioles, leading to “breathing problems”. The smooth muscles of the digestive tract is inhibited, so peristalsis stops, sphincter of the bladder also contracts and the bladder wall relaxes. This may lead to involuntary defecation, also known as encopresis. Blood vessels supply to the skeletal muscles are dilated. An overactive SNS is likely to open up blood vessels and flood your face, neck and ears in blushing. Other possible symptoms are: dizziness, shaking, trembling, (as when giving a talk in front of people), digestive disorders, swallowing problems, nausea, fear of vomiting or diarrhea, arrhythmia (irregular heart beats), ticks and restless legs, excessive sweating, depersonalization, incontinence, impotence, repetitive thoughts, ruminations, Anhedonia. It is obvious that these mental and bodily reactions helps to prepare the body for strenuous and quick actions in the face of environmental danger. The SNS diverts energy away from the vegetative to the muscular system.

Please note that in anxieties we see many symptoms - such as heart palpitations, stomach upsets and digestive disorders and so forth - that are the works of the SNS. Actions on the digestive system is often referred to as the Enteric Nervous System.

The Parasympathetic Nervous System (PSNS) - the other branch of the Autonomic Nervous System - on the other hand reverses the SNS and counteracts the SNS. This system is triggered by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which may be a important piece of information to people suffering from Bipolar Disorder. See: Bipolar patients. See notes below.

Thus this fear reaction is an important survival mechanism in the face of real danger.

The question is how is this related to anxiety attacks or the irrational fears that can wreck people's lives.

The clue is adrenaline. The question is why should the body produce excess adrenaline out of the blue, without any trigger in the environment, causing us to have unexplainable anxiety attacks, phobias and heart palpitation? Hypoglycemia can cause to dump magnesium into urine, upsetting the delicate magnesium-calcium balance. This can trigger excess adrenaline secretion and contribute to hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart palpitations, anxiety and mood swings. (Hemat RAS 2003, page 38 and here). When magnesium is deficient, calcium can leak in soft tissue and cause damage - that is calcification. Mark Mayer p15

The function of adrenaline is to convert sugar stores in our body in the form of glycogen into glucose.(See image)

The reason for this is that brain is very sensitive to glucose levels. Although the brain represents only 2 per cent of the body by weight it requires about 60-70 per cent of available glucose in the body to energize the biochemical machinery of brain cells. (Stryer 634).

Glucose is the forerunner of Biological Energy called (ATP), which is essential in the manufacture of the relaxing and feel good neurotransmitters, such as serotonin.

Thus when the brain (in fact the HPA axis) senses a low blood sugar level it will send an hormonal message to the adrenal glands to pour adrenaline into the system. This raises blood sugar level and will feed the brain again, but it also causes us to feel fearful without an external object of fear. The fear is irrational.

Adrenaline not only activates the SNS, but is also a focusing hormone, forcing us to focus on any possible "danger" at the expense of anything else. It causes us to "ruminate". Thus excess adrenaline production also lies at the root of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Thus now the question is why is the brain starved of energy causing it to trigger stress hormones??

There are many reasons for this, because there are many medical conditions that interfere with the proper absorption of glucose, such as the various digestive disorders, heavy metal intoxication replacing zinc substrates, coeliac disease, Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The list is unending.

However the majority cases of of energy starvation in the brain is due to Insulin Resistance, which blocks the transfer of glucose (and other nutrients) across cell membranes. This can lead to the hypoglycemic syndrome, with its multitude of psychological and physical symptoms.

This condition can be tested with the four hour Medical Test for Hypoglycemia. It can also be tested with the Nutrition Behavior Inventory Test (NBI) and the Hypo Quizz. If you score high you are likely to be hypoglycemic.

The non-drug treatment of this condition is going on a Hypoglycemic Diet.

This goes to show that the various forms of mental illnesses (really brain diseases) are due to a Nutritional Disorder.

Footnotes:
Stryer,Lubert (1988), BIOCHEMISTRY, WH Freeman and Co, NY

Treatment of Bipolar Disorder

Acetylcholine is the major hormone that activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System. It is formed from phosphatidylcholine with the help of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid). Lecithin contains about 10-12% of phosphatidylcholine. People suffering from Bipolar Disorder may benefit from taking lecithin in the manic phase of the illness to counteract manic behaviour. BUT this remedy should not be taken in the depressive stage of the illness. It has been suggested that the cycle of mania and depression in Bipolar Disorder can be moderated by controlling the manic phase, which over time may cause adrenal exhaustion leading to the inevitable depressive phase. By going on a hypoglycemic diet with megadoses of omega-3 fatty acids (fishoil) and supplementing the diet with choline (or lecithin) during the manic phase it is hypothesized that the depressive phase can be avoided. For Inositol depletion hypothesis, especially important in Bipolar Disorder and administration of lithium see EJ Nestler et als., 360. See 6 studies in support of omega-3 fatty acids for Depression and Bipolar Disorder.

Blushing - One source suggests: "The simplest method for enabling your para-sympathetic nervous system to lower anxiety is to use 7-11 breathing. This means you breathe in for a count of 7, hold briefly, and breathe out gently for a count of 11. No matter if you stick with the 7-11 count or some other combination, make sure the out-breath is longer than the in-breath. Practice the breathing technique in a quiet place, and then use it to calm a racing heart and cool a reddening face when you need it."

Source.

Also try out taking LECITHIN to activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System as described above.

Arrhythmia or irregular heart beats should always be checked out with a doctor and can often be treated with supplementation with magnesium.

Also read:

What is Hypoglycemia?
The Serotonin Connection.
Beating Anxiety and Phobias
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Hypoglycemia.
Depression: a Nutritional Disorder.
Depression: a Disease of Energy Production.

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Updated: 9 January 2008