As I hear or think of things, I begin to dig.

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I have been hearing the word, cortisol, come up frequently lately. After hearing it one too many times, I decided to find out more. It seems cortisol has an odd function in the body. It does many things and in seemingly rather unrelated areas. The ones that are important to me are proper glucose metabolism, the regulation of blood pressure, and insulin release for blood sugar maintenance.

When there is a minor excess of cortisol the following occur; (X)a quick burst of energy for survival reasons, (X)heightened memory functions, a burst of increased immunity, (X)lower sensitivity to pain, and (X)it helps maintain homeostasis in the body (hemeostasis allows for an internal regulation of the body over various parameters when external factors are changing, heat regulation for example).

Excessive or prolonged heightened levels of cortisol, brought on by stress, can cause; (X)impaired cognitive performance, (?)suppress thyroid function, (X)blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia, decrease bone density, decrease in muscle tissue, (X)higher blood pressure, lower immunity and (X)inflammatory responses in the body, (X)slow wound healing, and (X)increase abdominal fat.

I have marked the common, if occasional, notions which match my situation. If I were to guess, I would say that I go through very short periods where I am at slightly higher cortisol levels, and then spend most of the rest of the time at excessive levels. I do not think I ever go to a resting or reset stage. I have known for decades that I cannot relax. Beyond not knowing the way, I have a huge fear reaction when attempting to relax. Attempts at hypnosis have caused rage. That there, I do believe, is probably the crux of my problem. I will see if there is a means of reducing those levels, alternative or not. That is what is killing me, or at least making me sick and problematic. Then again, no medicine may work if I cannot learn how to relax. This also explains why my blood pressure dipped into the 140/90 type range last summer. I was getting massages. Unfortunately I cannot afford them, they were a part of the treatment after the accident.