Isolation Is Like A Copperhead?!?

Research has shown isolation and loneliness are associated with increased sympathetic nervous system activity.  According to MedicineNet, sympathetic nervous system is “a part of the nervous system that serves to accelerate the heart rate, constrict blood vessels, and raise blood pressure. The sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system constitute the autonomic nervous system”.  M’ok.  What we are really talking about is loneliness and isolation causes our bodies to go into the fight or flight response as if we are being chased by a lion on the Serengeti or when you see that copperhead snake that keeps slithering into your yard and scares the snot out of you when all you are trying to do is get to your car… I digress.  That feeling, of either running away or ready to kill the copperhead, is our fight or flight response, or our sympathetic nervous system, at work.  What happens?  We see that copperhead and our heart races, we get a quick boost of energy, we start breathing faster, among other biological responses, from the quick release of hormones.  All of that is normal and absolutely necessary.  After the copperhead goes back to his own house and all is right with the world, our parasympathetic nervous system calms our bodies back down.  Those hormones we released when we saw the copperhead, if elevated for too long, as with isolation and loneliness, will damage blood vessels, increase blood pressure, and cause a build up of fat.  Unfortunately, our brains also get stressed out from the consistent release of these hormones and this can create anxiety and depression.  This is one of the reasons staying active and social is vital to our health.  Silver Station is a great way to stop our bodies and brains from reacting as if a copperhead is constantly visiting us.