Page 547 - Total War on PTSD

wearing out our fight-or-flight mechanism which causes us to be unable to deal everyday stressors. This pathway is controlled by the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal axis or HPA-axis which links the mind to the body. If we want to help rebuild the pathway we need to give nutritional support to the HPA-axis.
“I think it’s a great program with an innovative approach to Veteran Care. For the first time, I am sleeping better, feeling less anxious and calmer. Through a combination of supplements and NET, I found that I could be myself again.” – Belinda
What does the HPA-axis control:
The HPA-axis is the link between the endocrine and nervous systems and the mind and body. Every physical and emotional event involves the HPA-axis so even a small imbalance can have a large effect on our health. HPA-axis systems help us protect ourselves from danger and stress. The problem is that this system was designed for short term use and today’s stressors are nearly constant and often excessive.
While, in the past, our ancestors may have had to run from a tiger, today we have a lot of constant low-grade stressors; phones, emails, TV, etc, that wear us down and leave us venerable to any major events. The simplest way to understand the system is that when the brain perceives a stressor it releases hormones through the HPA-axis, that at the end, releases adrenaline to fight the danger. Veterans with PTSD have been proven to have a compromised HPA-axis pathway which is no longer in balance. A compromised and imbalanced HPA-axis often will trigger an abnormal response to stress. Examples of an over response from the HPA-axis include; getting enraged or panicked over a minor
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