The stress experienced by humans manifests through hormonal regulation driven by the environment. The hormonal system, evolved to quickly counter threats in high-risk situations, successfully raised the probability of survival in the past; conversely, however, when faced with an unresolvable threat, it mutates into a source of agonizing torment.
When placed under a stressful situation, the human body secretes the hormone cortisol. Throughout our long history, humans had to move shrewdly for survival whenever they encountered menacing beasts. Cortisol is the very hormone designed to respond to such threatening scenarios.
Cortisol induces the following physiological changes:
- It accelerates gluconeogenesis in the liver, rapidly breaking down fat and muscle to convert them into immediate energy. This secures the stamina necessary to either flee or fight.
- It suppresses immune responses. While humans are engineered to activate a healing system in response to inflammation, elevated cortisol temporarily dampens acute immune reactions to prevent energy loss.
- It amplifies short-term memory. By temporarily enhancing cognitive function within the hippocampus, it aids the brain in recording and learning from every detail of the unfolding situation.
- It constricts blood vessels and elevates blood pressure, facilitating a more rapid supply of oxygen throughout the body.
However, while the aforementioned benefits are gathered when cortisol spikes temporarily, modern humans suffer profoundly due to chronic, long-term exposure to this hormone.
According to a 2013 study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, one can clearly observe a correlation between debt levels and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Long-term debt—recently, many in the younger generation live by taking on immense liabilities, including 20- to 30- year mortgages. Is it any different for those running a business? In my own case, because tens of millions of KRW flowed out every single month while managing my business, I was inevitably placed under a state of chronic stress. Failing to properly repay meant an immediate threat to my survival; thus, in a sense, it was fundamentally no different from living with a predatory beast right in front of my eyes.
For these reasons, a vast number of people in the modern era have no choice but to experience continuously high concentrations of cortisol. To make matters worse, they even engage in activities that intentionally drive those cortisol levels higher. A prime example is coffee. Caffeine and various other stimulants actively trigger the secretion of cortisol. As a consequence, this artificially elevated cortisol gnaws away at a person's psyche over months and years, rather than a mere day or two.
When cortisol is excessively and continuously secreted, an individual undergoes the following changes:
- Weakened immune function
- Sleep disorders
- Weight gain
- Decline in memory and cognitive capabilities
- Increased depression and anxiety
Are these not the exact, predictable phenomena that so many people suffer from today? Those chronically exposed to cortisol find their bodies weakened, their weight increased, their memory deteriorating, and their minds diseased. In the midst of this, they must strive to resolve problems whose ends are nowhere in sight. They must struggle to repay their loans, and they must fight to keep their businesses from collapsing.
The emotional shifts a person experiences are, for the most part, dictated heavily by hormones. When adrenaline surges, when cortisol saturates the system, when serotonin is released, or when oxytocin flows—a human's heart, facial expression, and behavior alter entirely. If your life is currently trapped in a situation flooded with cortisol, you must either resolve the underlying issues swiftly, or conversely, devise a shrewd method to alleviate the hormone. If you fail to do so, you stand a high probability of enduring the various ailments described above, spending a long chapter of your existence in deep misery until the problem is ultimately solved.