SESSION 3: Module 3 - How Chronic Conditions Start & Develop | Ashok Gupta |

Let's explain how the brain may have become hypersensitive at the start of the condition and we'll use this diagram. There are three unique factors that might trigger one of these conditions. Firstly, we may have inherited some genes from our parents which might be a risk factor. Yes, I know. Yet another thing we can thank our parents for. Other risk factors may include our childhood experiences and this can affect how we respond to illness and to stress. Secondly, at the beginning of the condition, most people report experiencing some acute or chronic stress. In the build up to the condition, some people were working really long hours or perhaps there was a bereavement or.

Some other source of stress.

And when we're stressed, our immune system isn't functioning at its full potential. Thirdly, most patients experience some kind of physical illness in the build up to the condition, but not always. In the case of ME and chronic fatigue syndrome, it tends to be a viral or bacterial infection that triggers it. This may cause overactivity of the immune response. In fibromyalgia it tends to be some kind of injury, perhaps an accident or a localized pain condition that then generalizes to the whole body. In the case of mcs, that physical trigger tends to be exposure to a strong chemical or mould with IBS and food intolerances. That trigger tends to be getting food poisoning or eating a food that creates a sudden allergic reaction. In electrical hypersensitivity there may have been exposure to intense electrical fields. So we can see that there can be different kinds of physical illnesses or physical threats which can trigger the condition. And there are many more triggers than just the ones we've described here.

At step four. The combination of these three factors then probably leads to a trauma in the brain. And this is likely to be in the amygdala, the insula, in combination with the hippocampus. Now when I say trauma, I don't necessarily mean physical damage to the brain. I simply mean that these parts of the brain learn to become hyper defensive. They easily trigger the immune system, the nervous system and they become traumatized as a result of those three factors that we spoke about. They retrigger these responses to err on the side of caution just to ensure survival. Now from an evolutionary perspective, it makes sense for our brain to make sure that we survive and to over protect if necessary. This is called neurological learning or conditioning. Basically, our brain has learnt to over defend. Now why does the brain get traumatised? Remember we said that the brain's number one responsibility is to ensure survival. Now in the case of me, cfs paper. Lets say someone has flu at the beginning of the condition. Now every year many people die from flu, especially the elderly, the infirm, because their immune system is not strong enough.

To fight it off. In the same way, if someone is feeling really stressed and weak, then their immune system will be less effective. So the brain thinks, oh no, we're not going to be able to fight off the infection. This is dangerous. Let's over trigger our defence responses so we can make sure that we survive.

And what do you think causes the symptoms of flu? It's not the virus itself, it's not the invader. The symptoms of flu are caused by the immune system and aspects of the nervous system being triggered. So when we over trigger these systems continually, it makes us have lots of symptoms and uses up our energy, uses up our resources really quickly. From an evolutionary perspective, this is exactly the right thing to do. The issue is when it becomes chronic, and when it becomes chronic, the brain gets stuck in that mode and it has to be retrained to get back to balance. Just like that army that we talked about that gets traumatized, overstimulated and needs to learn that we're back at peace.

On this diagram we can see the words external stress. Let me ask you, do you find it more difficult than normal to handle stressful people or stressful situations? This is happening because the stress system is over reactive and at the same time our stress system is exhausted, so it can't handle too much more. At step five, we can see which systems have been overstimulated. Our fight or flight response is hyperstimulated, which in science is called the sympathetic nervous system. Aspects of the immune system are over triggered and this sympathetic over arousal means we have too many stress hormones in the system, such as cortisol, adrenaline and many others.

If we have too many stress chemicals in the body, the front of the brain can actually shrink, especially the areas around the prefrontal cortex. And we also get reduced blood flow to the brain as well. Now the prefrontal cortex acts as our rational thinking mind. So we might get brain fog, difficulty thinking, difficulty remembering things.

An area of the brain called the hippocampus also shrinks. The hippocampus is responsible for memories and it can also act as a brake on the fight or flight system. But now the hippocampus can't fulfill those two roles, causing even more stress and we may find it difficult to recall. Memories and thinking in general can become a bit more fuzzy when these systems become over triggered.

Eventually the system gets exhausted and depleted so the body can no longer respond effectively to stress or to situations. So we actually may have very low levels of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline when we're trying to do a task or exercise because the system hasn't got any resources left, we're running on empty. Our adrenal glands, which release adrenaline, also become exhausted, depleted, which is why many people get diagnosed with adrenal exhaustion or adrenal fatigue. Now that contributes to this deep feeling of tiredness, fatigue, exhaustion, where we feel we just can't exercise or we don't have the resources to be able to do things. And we feel much worse after exercise because there's no resources to cope with it.

This hyperstimulation leads to symptoms at step six. For example, in ME and cfs, we experience muscle aches and pain, exhaustion, difficulty thinking, we may have sleep issues, brain fog, post exertional malaise, which means we feel really exhausted after any exercise. Irritable bowel syndrome, our glands may swell up and many other symptoms. Generally there is also excessive inflammation in both the body and the brain. In the appendix you can find a list of symptoms and how they are created by this overstimulation. We also notice that our digestion and detoxification systems actually shut down. So when we're in fight or flight mode, these non essential systems aren't relevant anymore and this may temporarily increase toxicity in the body. In fibromyalgia, a person generally has some of the symptoms we've already mentioned, with more emphasis on pain in the body, those tender points in the body as well. In mcs, the brain learns to overstimulate the immune system and the nervous system in response to chemicals, mould and other stimulants. In electrical sensitivity, the brain learns to over respond to electrical fields. In irritable bowel syndrome, the brain learns to overstimulate the defensive systems in the stomach, such as tightening the muscles of the gut, which can lead to constipation, diarrhea and pain. This also changes the delicate balance of good and bad bacteria in the stomach.

In other conditions that we treat, there can be a unique pattern of symptoms depending on the original trigger that we faced.

Because of the overstimulation, which then leads to a lack of resources in the body. Secondary issues can occur at step seven. The adrenal glands may stop responding because they're depleted and this leads to adrenal exhaustion. The mitochondria, which are these little energy creating machines in our cells, they may not be functioning correctly and we may experience more opportunistic viruses and bacteria in our blood. This can also contribute further to symptoms. People may also experience further allergies and sensitivities. And finally, one of the biggest contributors to excess inflammation is a lack of deep sleep. We may miss out on deep sleep, which contributes to healing and repair in the body. That's why we may wake up in the morning but not feel refreshed.

Now, I know that some of these emotional symptoms can be really challenging because we've got this overstimulation going on in the brain. We have less feel good chemicals in the brain. So normally we feel happy or good because of serotonin and dopamine. They're our feel good chemicals. But we've got less of those now. Therefore, we might find it harder to feel happy, relaxed, and positive.

The vagus nerve is a long nerve.

That runs the entire length of the body. And it's a nerve that carries signals from the brain directly to the cells and the organs to trigger the fight or flight response. Now, some researchers believe that perhaps this nerve gets stuck in this sympathetic mode, triggering the stress system, and that might be one of the causes of the condition. The opposite of this is the parasympathetic system. It's the opposite of the stress system, and that's when the body goes into relaxation mode and the body heals and repairs itself.

I believe that one key to recovery is to allow the brain and the body to get out of this sympathetic mode, get into the parasympathetic mode. It's known that regular breathing and meditation techniques can help calm the vagus nerve, and that's why we incorporate that as part of our treatment, because every single.

Organ and cell in the body is affected. Many people are often diagnosed with hypothyroidism, where their thyroid gland is not responding. Now, it's too early to say what the link is, but in my hypothesis, it could be that hypothyroidism is yet another symptom of this overstimulation by the brain.