Hormones are interconnected. Not only are they messenger molecules, but they all affect each other. One example of this is your stress hormone, cortisol, and thyroid hormone. Cortisol is made in the adrenal glands, which sit on the top of your kidneys. The adrenal glands produce and release steroid and catecholamine hormones.
What’s it have to do with your thyroid?
- These two hormones partner to optimize cellular metabolism, ie. control the body’s metabolism. Optimal cortisol drives the transport of thyroid hormone into cells and increases the action of T3 (the more active form) within the cells.
- High cortisol and low T3 thyroid hormone are triggered by many things, most of which are ubiquitous in modern life: nutrient-poor food, toxicity, stress, infections, etc. Plus, hypothyroidism promotes high cortisol, which promotes hypothyroidism in a vicious cycle.
- High cortisol can reduce the action of thyroid hormone by converting a lot of T4 (the storage form of thyroid hormone)into the inactive form of T3, reverse T3, which is metabolically inactive.
When you have chronic stress, your body thinks you are fighting, flighting, and hiding, and it will start losing intracellular thyroid function. This leads to having a whole ton of hypothyroid symptoms like:
- hard to lose weight
- often feel cold
- Increased LDL Cholesterol
- Fatigue
- Dry Skin
- Rough PMS
- Thinning eyebrows (esp. outer third)
- Hair loss
Yet, we live in a world where we are almost expected to always be on the go. Who can have the busiest lifestyle? It’s almost like a badge of honor. But it’s not doing our health any good! You can’t always see it or feel it, but stress is there in many different ways.
Emotional Stress:
Work performance
Family dynamics
Financial issues
Peer approval
Grudges
Resentment
Living in the past
Preoccupation with what is missing
Loneliness
Social isolation
Lack of support
Negative self-talk/thoughts
Physical Stress(in various forms):
Infections (viral, bacterial, fungal, parasitic)
Inflammation (arthritis)
Obesity
Insufficient sleep (shift work, sleep apnea, jet lag)
Overuse of stimulants (caffeine, sugar, chocolate)
Toxins
Too much exercise
Allergen exposure including food sensitivities
Poor detoxification
Insulin resistance
Insufficient caloric intake
When you experience stress, your adrenal glands produce stress hormones, including cortisol. This causes other body functions to be slowed down, including thyroid function, until the stress has passed.
Sustained high cortisol can promote a hypo-cortisol transition which further impairs cellular access to thyroid hormone and increases the likelihood of chronic autoimmune activation. Chronic stress suppresses the immune system and affects gut health, both of which can increase the risk of Hashimoto’s disease.
We live in a high-stress world, and stress is not something we can avoid all the time. The key is to listen to your body, recognize stress, work on incorporating healing lifestyle choices while getting to the roots of the stress, and fully work them out.
I love hearing from readers and hope you found this blog helpful. Please let me know in the comments.
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