When we think about cancer, we think of the disease and how it affects someone. The focus is generally on the numerous types of cancers and a variety of genetic and environmental factors that have been identified as potential causes.
Did you know that cancer also has emotional roots? There is one major contributor to the disease that is almost always overlooked: repressed emotions and unexpressed anger.
The stress hormone (Cortisol) can be caused by emotional triggers. Suppression of this hormone can decrease a person’s level of immune response. Elevated levels of cortisol have been found to directly suppress the immune system. When the immune system is not functioning properly, normal cells can mutate into cancer cells. The more you suppress your negative emotions, the more susceptible you are to cancer manifesting in your body.
A number of studies have been done on the subject and Alternative Cancer Care notes the link between repressed anger and cancer. Another study from the King’s College Hospital in London found “a significant association between the diagnosis of breast cancer and a behavior pattern, persisting throughout adult life, of an abnormal release of emotions.”
Other researchers from the University of Rochester and Harvard School of Public Health found that people who suppress anger have a 70 percent higher risk of dying from cancer. A University of Michigan study found that suppression of anger predicted earlier mortality in men and women.
The University of Tennessee showed that suppressed anger was a precursor to developing cancer, while the California Department of Health Services and NHI showed an increase in death from cancer for those who suppressed their anger.
Research at California Breast Cancer Research Program at Stanford University showed that powerful emotions cause a flood of cortisol that predicted early death in women with breast cancer.
How Emotional Stress Causes Cancer At The Cellular Level
Phase 1: Inescapable shock
In this phase, a person experiences a severe emotional trauma or shock 18-24 months prior to the cancer diagnosis. The trauma affects deep sleep and the production of melatonin in the body. Melatonin inhibits cancer cell growth. When this part of the emotional reflex center of the brain is damaged as a result of the emotional trauma, the organs begin to break down, which can lead to cancer.
Phase 2: Adrenalin depletion
Elevated stress hormones deplete adrenaline levels in the adrenal glands. The body already has limited reserves of adrenaline, and emotional stress depletes those reserves rapidly. This can start phase three, the spreading of cancer-fungus, causing cell mutation.
Phase 3: The Cancer Fungus
During this phase, tiny microorganisms necessary for life (called somatics) that live in our body change into a yeast-like fungus to ferment excess glucose and lactic acid in cells. The fungus then migrates to the cell nucleus to reproduce, releasing acidic waste products called “mycotoxins,” which inhibit cell DNA repair and the production of all-important tumor suppressor genes. Without the tumor suppressor genes to regulate cell death, the cells then mutate into cancer cells.
Phase 4: Niacin Deficiency
The depleted adrenaline levels cause a depletion of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine creates adrenaline and, as more dopamine is used during prolonged stress, amino acids create serotonin to offset a person’s mood. The problem is that this results in a depletion of tryptophan which is needed to synthesize niacin for cell respiration. Normally tryptophan converts niacin into enzymes that are used for cell respiration, glucose conversion, and the creation of ATP energy. Without niacin, the cell will ferment glucose instead, resulting in cell mutation and the formation of cancer.
Phase 5: Vitamin C depletion
During chronic stress, the adrenal glands also release Vitamin C into the body to diminish the stressful impact on the heart and blood pressure systems. Vitamin C is essential for preventing cell DNA converting oxygen waste products into oxygen and water within the cell. The continual loss of Vitamin C during stress increases cell mitochondrial DNA damage and mutation, causing normal cells to mutate into cancer cells.
Phase 6: Immune Suppression
The immune system is suppressed by elevated cortisol levels. An individual experiencing severe prolonged emotional stress is exhausted, and therefore their adrenals and thyroid are fatigued. Mineral levels are depleted as stress decreases the amount of minerals in the body. Minerals are needed for the immune system to function. The immune system begins to weaken and stop production of interleukin-2-producing T cells, B cells, natural killer cells, macrophages, and neutrophils. Without immune system cells, viral-bacterial-yeast-like fungus that are pleomorphic within cells continue to grow and newly created cancer cells continue to multiply.
There is no question as to the role of negative emotions on health, especially when they are repressed. The research leads us to come to what could be a life-saving conclusion. If you are angry, find a healthy way to express it. Holding onto it really could be deadly.
Some healthy ways to express anger include:
- A good workout
- Practice controlled breathing
- Practice progressive muscle relaxation
- Use a stress-relief toy
- Find something funny or silly
- Listen to calming music
- Repeat self-calming statements
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