Simply You

On Monday this cute munchkin turned 11! He is sweet, loving, empathetic, wild, stubborn, & the most gentle soul. We are so proud of the person he is growing into 💕

🌱 The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a signaling system found throughout the body that helps regulate multiple physiologic processes & contributes to homeostasis—your body's ongoing effort to maintain internal balance.
🌿Your body produces its own signaling molecules called endocannabinoids, including anandamide (AEA) & 2-AG. These interact with cannabinoid receptors—including CB1 & CB2—& are then synthesized or broken down by enzymes as needed.
👉So why are we talking about this during our series on stress? Because the ECS interacts directly with the body's stress-response circuitry. Research suggests endocannabinoid signaling participates in both the activation & recovery phases of the HPA-axis response to stress. In other words, this isn't simply a “C*D system.” It's one of the body's own regulatory systems.
🌿And that's where our conversation about C*D actually begins. Not with cannabis. With human physiology. 🧠🌱
💚 Simply You Integrative Health | Restore • Nourish • Heal

1. Morena M, Patel S, Bains JS, Hill MN. Neurobiological Interactions Between Stress and the Endocannabinoid System. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2016 Jan;41(1):80-102. doi: 10.1038/npp.2015.166. Epub 2015 Jun 12. PMID: 26068727; PMCID: PMC4677118.
2. Hill MN, Patel S, Campolongo P, Tasker JG, Wotjak CT, Bains JS. Functional interactions between stress and the endocannabinoid system: from synaptic signaling to behavioral output. J Neurosci. 2010 Nov 10;30(45):14980-6. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4283-10.2010. PMID: 21068301; PMCID: PMC3073528.

😟Think stress is “just in your head”? Your adrenal glands would disagree😟
😵Stress is a normal survival response. When your brain perceives a threat—whether that's an actual emergency or today's nonstop deadlines, finances, traffic, family demands, notifications, & lack of downtime—it activates your sympathetic nervous system & HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis). Your adrenal glands release hormones including adrenaline & cortisol to increase available energy & keep you alert & ready to respond. In short bursts, that is exactly what your body is designed to do!

😩The problem is when the stressor ends…but your body rarely gets the message. Chronic stress can disrupt normal HPA-axis & cortisol regulation & increase allostatic load—the cumulative physiologic burden of repeatedly adapting to stress. And because your stress response interacts with your nervous, cardiovascular, immune, metabolic, gastrointestinal & musculoskeletal systems, stress can show up in ways that do not necessarily feel psychological.

😬Poor sleep. Digestive changes. Headaches. Tight shoulders or jaw. Fatigue. Difficulty concentrating. Changes in appetite. Skin flare-ups. Feeling simultaneously exhausted & unable to shut down. Your body does not divide these into separate little boxes—& neither do I.

🩺At Simply You Integrative Health, we take a whole-person approach to understanding what may be contributing to how you feel & what we can do about it. Comment "destress" below or send us a DM to chat further.

📖Studying my heart out for all these board exams! My hand hurts LOL.