Posted by Pfinstegg on October 20, 2002, at 0:41:06
In reply to Pfinstegg going on about cortisol again g » Pfinstegg, posted by Seamus2 on October 19, 2002, at 21:56:52
I have read three reports which unfortunately suggest that the longer you live, the more likely it is that you'll get a dysregulated HPA axis, depending, of course, on your own genetic susceptibility, the amount of stress you have encountered, and the resources you call upon to deal with it. Also, people get dysregulated in varying degrees, some to a minor extent, and it is always potentially reversible, because the hippocampus is designed to repair itself throughout life. In its extreme form, it's still not a common or usual event, and more people than not in their 80's and 90's have still got it all together, cortisol-wise.
Just speculating- I think that in the future preventive treatments after highly traumatic events, including childhood trauma, will probably be so much better that long-term breakdown in the HPA axis will become much less common. This could make incredible changes for the better in treating all the mood disorders.
But for those of us coping with it now- at least it's human rather than rat years!
Madame C
poster:Pfinstegg
thread:124268
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021019/msgs/124321.html