Читать книгу Anxiety Toolbox: The Complete Fear-Free Plan - Gloria Thomas - Страница 61

One of the prime objectives of the sympathetic system is to do whatever is necessary to mobilize the body to handle danger. It is the chief mediator of the body’s immediate alarm reaction. Sympathetic nerves originate from cells in the spinal chord and branch out to the rest of the body’s organs and tissue sites.

If the amygdala senses trouble, it sends a message to the hypothalamus, a vital part of the sympathetic nervous system. This small but powerful gland is the link between the autonomic nervous system and other endocrine glands (glands that secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream). The hypothalamus is the controller of the involuntary functions of the body, regulating your digestive system, respiratory system, endocrine system and reproductive system. It regulates the hormones involved in governing peristalsis (the natural movement of the intestinal tract), breathing and balance, as well as the heart rate, blood pressure and temperature.

In event of a threat, the hypothalamus relays alarm to the pituitary, another ‘master’ gland, and the pituitary then tells the other glands what to do – its job is therefore to help produce the hormones that are needed to respond to different situations.