“Hope is one of our central emotions, but we are often at a loss when asked to define it,” writes Jerome Groopman in his recent book, The Anatomy of Hope.
Often, traumatic or stressful experiences from childhood are a hidden source of stress in adults. Because the memory is so painful, or because the experience happened at such a young age, it is often repressed from conscious memory. The biology of PTSD is different from chronic stress. The hormone of severe stress is adrenaline. It works quickly to mobilize our bodies for extreme reactions to serious threat. Adrenaline reactions are uncomfortable and require action to resolve the situation. The hormone of chronic stress is cortisol, also made by the adrenal gland. It mobilizes the body’s resources for the long haul of stress. Some of the most common stress- related illnesses, such as depression and metabolic syndrome, are associated with high cortisol levels.
Recent studies suggest that males and females of various species react differently to stress. Instead of fight or flight, the response of females has been described as “tend and befriend.” This is seen as an evolutionary response by females to protect themselves, using their strengths of working together and caring for others.
