In today’s world, stress is something we all have to live with, whether it’s switching on the TV only to see another distressing piece of news, or feeling overwhelmed by a mountain of pressing deadlines at work. Stress comes in all shapes and sizes, and whilst we’re all familiar with the physical signs of stress (palpitations, sweaty palms and racing thoughts, anyone?), educating ourselves on what’s going on inside our body can empower us to stay above water when those debilitating symptoms hit.
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis — more commonly referred to as the HPA axis is a major neuroendocrine system that is the originating source of the body’s innate stress response. “In a stressful situation the HPA axis may be triggered, and activated, switching on the sympathetic nervous system otherwise known as 'fight or flight' response,” says holistic pharmacist Jaspreet Randhawa (wholebodypharmacist.com).
