The thoughts we choose to think give rise to the feelings we experience both emotionally and physically. For example, the feeling of butterflies in the stomach experienced before delivering a speech is the result of extra adrenalin triggered by anxious thoughts. Extra adrenalin changes the chemistry of the blood by causing the levels of glucose and free fatty acids to rise.
Prolonged stress also causes cortisone and testosterone to be released by the adrenal glands. Cortisone breaks down muscle cells into amino acids releasing cholesterol into the blood. Testosterone affects the metabolism by negating the effect of oestrogen. This can give rise to the growth of body and facial hair in women. Many women experience a thickening of their body hair or growth of a light moustache when under prolonged stress.
It has been demonstrated that tears of happiness are chemically different to tears of sadness. The bile secreted by the liver to help digest fats is normally green in colour yet when we’re depressed it turns black. The word melancholy means literally ‘black bile’.
Feelings of anger, rage and hostility can cause the release of the chemical neurokinin from the end of the sensory nerves into the skin, blood vessels and sub-skin tissues, so disrupting the metabolism in the area of release as to cause significant inflammation. The ruddiness of face seen in those who’re angry and the blush of those who are embarrassed are examples of neurokinin’s ability to change the metabolism of the skin.
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