It is striking how similarly nurses, doctors and health care professionals have summarized their physical and mental state since the start of the second wave in the phrase “the adrenaline is gone”. During the first influx of corona patients in the spring, the primal force just gushed out of their own hormone glands. Today, eight months later in the pandemic, health care personnel must mainly seek the energy outside their own body. In a bag for the team. In a letter of thanks from a healed patient. In the pats of the colleagues on the back.
Is adrenaline a ‘super power’?
Prof. Dr. Guy T’Sjoen, professor of endocrinology (UZ Gent) has just now got his overview book Hormones under control from: “In fact, yes. Stress hormones put you on edge. In professional literature there is sometimes talk of ‘hysterical power’ under the influence of stress hormones. There are stories of mothers who, albeit in part, can lift a car because their child is trapped under it. Under extreme stress and with the right motivation, our body can always do a little more than under normal circumstances. It is also no coincidence that Olympic records are mainly broken during the Olympic Games themselves. ”
Can the stock also run out?
“Stress hormones can never really run out, no matter how many of them you’ve had. Our adrenal glands keep making them again, except in severe, exceptional hormone disorders. It is plausible that the adrenaline levels in our care people were many times higher in the first corona wave than they are now in the second wave. ”
How did that happen?
“Adrenaline is a hormonal alarm or a short-term survival strategy. Adrenaline gives you the power to decide at a glance whether to fight or flee, if your house is on fire, a bear is chasing you, or a major unknown threat when Covid-19 comes rolling over. But you can’t go on for months. ”
The second ‘corona bear’ will likely be bigger than the first. Why doesn’t that give the healthcare staff a new shot of adrenaline now?
“Because the new thing is somewhat off at Covid-19. Anything new feels more threatening and stimulates a greater adrenaline response. The first, acute fear in our caregivers started in March when they saw the dramatic hospital images from Italy. How contagious is this virus? Will our protective equipment protect us sufficiently? Everything was unknown then. Today we know the bear. Not quite yet, but still better than in the spring. ”
In the meantime, our care providers are under the influence of a different, more risky stress hormone, you say.
“Adrenaline is just the ‘sidekick’, the little brother of cortisol, our main stress hormone. Cortisol can linger much longer than adrenaline, without you even noticing it. Anyone who works in such a Covid ward for a long time with all the heavy care tasks, mental pressure and the care for the worried family members, is in any case exposed to high cortisol levels. In the long run this creates a risk of exhaustion, anxiety, concentration problems and feelings of depression. ”
Where in our body do adrenaline and cortisol come from?
“From our adrenal glands, two small glands located just above the kidney. The inside of the adrenal gland – ‘the marrow’ – produces the adrenaline, the outside – ‘the cortex’ – makes the cortisol. In case of danger, the adrenal glands inject both substances into our bloodstream. Adrenaline mainly boosts the heart rhythm so that our muscles get more oxygen and we can react faster. Cortisol raises blood pressure and causes a lot of sugar to be dumped into our blood for fuel think and move quickly. ”
Why are our healthcare providers not getting that cortisol down enough?
“The professional pressure is and will remain high, of course. Many things still have to be done at home. In private time, the cortisol in their blood should basically drop a bit. Only that is more difficult if you keep following all corona news closely, on radio, news sites, TV news, Facebook and all possible interpretation programs. Of course our people want to know the latest figures and the situation in other hospitals. It has a direct impact on their own work. But that way the stress level never goes down. By the way, following corona news too intensely boosts cortisol levels in the entire population. I hear it everywhere. ”
By informing ourselves too often, do we chase the bear ourselves through the living room again?
“That’s right. As an endocrinologist, my advice is to our healthcare providers and to anyone who is more sensitive to stress: if you read or listen to the corona news for 10 minutes each morning and evening, then you know enough. Dose. I think it is a missed opportunity that the light talk shows are often about the virus again. Care providers in particular are now better spending their free time on something else. For example, putting the music loud and dancing in my kitchen works for me, because there is no other way now. The stress hormones drop immediately. ”
Now that the adrenaline tap is only dripping, the head nurse of the ZNA Stuivenberg in Antwerp has the coarse resources available. Smoutebollen.
“(Laughs) Smoutebollen do not come out of the blue endocrinologically. Cortisol causes food. It makes your body look for both fat and sweet rewards. In those who also sleep badly under the influence of stress, the ‘hunger hormone’ ghrelin is added on top. ”
“In the first wave, hospitals were inundated with Easter eggs from praline shops and chocolatiers. Maybe Sinterklaas of chocolate will arrive in the second wave? Presents are always nice, it creates a good atmosphere, but to keep our healthcare staff really fit and alert, it is better to treat them to healthier snacks. ”
Finally, the dropout rate due to illness and exhaustion is on the rise among healthcare workers. Is that correct that stress hormones reduce immunity?
“Stress hormones do indeed put your body in one first things firstmode. All bodily functions that are not essential for survival in the here and now are put on the back burner. No one feels the urge to make children when their house is on fire. Sex hormones are suppressed. Immunity is also shifting to the second plan. ”
“Hormones under control”. Guy T’Sjoen. Pelckmans publishers. € 19.50
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