Ellie - thanks for clarifying the interaction between fear and anger. 
Your experience and understanding are an inspiration. 

Lucia


On Wed, 3 Feb 1999, Elnora Van Winkle wrote:

> Subjec    Emotions and Nutrition
> To:           [log in to unmask]
> 
> Re: anger and fear.
> 
> When anger is expressed, noradrenaline is released and excites
> postsynaptic neurons. During detoxification crises (releases of
> repressed anger), excess noradrenaline is released and overexcites the
> nervous system causing symptoms that range from anxiety to violent
> behavior. Excess adrenaline (which is also stored up as a result of
> suppressing anger) is also released. This overstimuates the heart and
> causes the pounding sensation experienced as fear.
> 
> So during detox crises, both anger and fear are experienced, and it is
> hard to separate them or talk about them in psychological terms. I had
> to be willing to experience fear, recognize it as anger trying to
> emerge, get my anger out, and redirect it at the first sign of a
> symptom, a detox crisis. An example might be the pounding sensation I
> experienced when I had to call someone on the phone and confront them. I
> would first bang on the bed and get mad at all past abusers, people who
> caused me to suppress anger. Tnis helped reduce the toxicosis and over a
> period of time I could confront people without fear. Since this list is
> about food, I might mention that stuffing myself with some bread was a
> good way to avoid the feeling of fear!! and interfere with the healing
> process.
> 
> Janis:
> Another question for Ellie -- in response to the posting yesterday about
> anti-corisol drugs, cortisol having been identified as a stress hormone
> with
> harmful consequences, could you explain the relationship between
> cortisol
> secretion and metabolism and the buildup of toxic neurochemicals?
> Thanks.
> Janis
> 
> 
> Increased levels of cortisol correlate with depression, which often
> follows a detox crisis--until the end of the detoxification process when
> there are no more detox crisis and no more depression. Cortisol is not
> really the bad guy. Detox crises are caused by the breaking of lysosomal
> membranes and the release of enzymes that break down and repair the
> toxic cytoplasm. Cortisol stablizes the lysosomal membranes and helps to
> end the detox crisis, which could be dangerous. Cortisol helps make
> these crises periodic and less harmful.
> 
> Cortisol also moblizes amino acids out of cells and make them available
> to needy cells for the building of substances necessary for life. It
> also stimulates certain enzymes that help to reduce toxicosis.
> 
> The real stress hormones are noradrenaline and adrenaline, which when
> released in excessive amount during detox crises can overstimulate the
> heart, for example.
> 
> Ellie
> 
> . Detoxification crises are remedial and self-limiting. Physiologists
> have discovered that cortisol and other glucocorticoids, whose secretion
> from the adrenal cortex is mediated by the hypothalamus, appear to
> stabilize the membranes of lysosomes
> 
> Cortisol mobilizes amino acids out of cells, so there is no need to
> reduce TH activity to avoid a build-up of DOPA. The possibility that
> this gene directs the synthesis of DDC is
> 
> Where dopamine levo
> suppress DDC activity. Cortisol stimulates PNMT activity (12), and
> excess norepinephrine may be converted to epinephrine. This variable
> enzyme activity appears to account for the notion that neurons are
> specific for dopamine or epinephrine.
>