stress and anxiety : PICK-ME-UP REBOUND

We mentioned that you can never accurately rebalance your brain chemistry with Pick-Me-Up's. We now know that at least one in ten of us, those who inherit Low Stress Tolerance, spend much of their life trying to do just that.There are three reasons you cannot restore brain chemistry to normal using Pick-Me-Up's.

INACCURACY
One, as we have mentioned, is that the tiny changes in chemical levels, are beyond your ability to adjust "by hand". It is like trying to level the earth in a small flower pot, when the only tool you have is a four ton bulldozer. You are going to end up with a cracked pot.

REBOUND
The second is the fact that all Pick-Me-Up's cause rebound. That is, they quickly make you feel well. But when the Pick-Me-Up wears off, you will feel sick just as quickly. For example, if you eat three donuts and drink coffee with cream and sugar, you are giving yourself a big slug of sugar and caffeine. This causes a quick boost in Happy Messenger levels, resulting in a rapid upswing toward normal levels of energy, a normal pain threshold, and an improved sense of well-being. But, as fast as this boost is, that is how fast the subsequent fall will be -- toward lack of energy, fatigue, aches and pains and feeling ill. The quicker and more effective the boost, the quicker and steeper the fall. This phenomenon is called Pick Me-Up Rebound.

People who have inherited a Low Stress Tolerance, who rely on Pick Me-Up's to try and feel normal, end up suffering from wild mood swings. Some days they are pleasant, happy and energetic. Other days they are moody, depressed and anxious.

What they should be doing, of course, is trying to LOWER THEIR STRESS LEVELS!! If one can lower one's stress level enough to be out of OVERSTRESS, the body will rebalance itself.

But, most people in OVERSTRESS never think of reducing their stress levels. They don't even realize they are suffering from too much stress. They have been in OVERSTRESS for so many years that they think this is what everyone feels like. So they do the best they can, medicating themselves with Pick-Me-Up's, and wondering why they "feel lousy" most of the time. They go to doctors who tell them that there is "nothing wrong," or that they are "depressed," or having "anxiety attacks", or that they are "alcoholic".

It is a very frustrating experience for these people. So, they continue to use coffee, sugar, alcohol and other Pick-Me-Up's to try and feel normal again. But in doing so, they just make the roller coaster ride steeper, faster, and wilder.

ADAPTATION
The third problem with Pick-Me-Up's is that the body quickly adapts to many of them. This means that a person has to take ever increasing amounts of Pick-Me-Up to achieve the desired effect. A person may begin by using one cup of coffee a day, and end up drinking a potful; or smoking five cigarettes a day, and end up smoking two packs; or drinking two drinks a day, and end up with a pint.

People use these Pick-Me-Up's as medicines, trying to boost brain Happy Messenger function. But like any medicine, Pick-Me-Up's have side effects. When the body adapts, and the person has to use large quantities of his/her "medicine", the side effects of the caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs become very serious.

A person using large amounts of alcohol is at high risk of hurting others, or of dying from a traffic accident, liver failure, or bleeding complications. Heavy tobacco use damages the lungs and arteries and causes cancer. Lots of caffeine can cause abnormal heart rhythms. Heavy doses of the illegal drugs can easily lead to convulsions, overdose, or death. All of these side effects add more stress to the body, which just worsens the OVERSTRESS.

For all these reasons; the inability to balance your brainchemistry "by hand"; the rebound crash caused by the Pick-Me-Up's; and the severe side effects of heavy doses; using Pick-Me-Up's as medicine prevents stability. Using Pick-Me-Up's as medicine leads to the roller coaster of ill health.

by BRAD BURNS