Why do I feel more stressed than other people?

Early developmental trauma can have profound effects on the brain, influencing how individuals respond to stress throughout their lives. The amygdala and hippocampus, two critical brain structures involved in processing emotions and memory, play key roles in these altered stress responses. 

Amygdala

The amygdala is involved in the detection and response to emotional stimuli, especially those signaling threat. It plays a crucial role in initiating the body's stress response, including the activation of the "fight or flight" response through the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In individuals with early developmental trauma:

Heightened Reactivity: The amygdala can become hyper-responsive to stress or perceived threats. This heightened reactivity means that relatively minor stressors can trigger a disproportionate stress response.

Emotional Regulation: There may be difficulties in regulating emotions due to the amygdala's increased sensitivity, leading to anxiety, heightened fear responses, and difficulty calming down after stress.

Hippocampus

The hippocampus is involved in forming, organizing, and storing memories. It also plays a role in distinguishing between past and present experiences and is involved in regulating the stress response by providing feedback to the HPA axis to decrease stress hormone production. In the context of early developmental trauma:

Memory and Context: Trauma can affect the hippocampus's ability to accurately process and recall memories, making it harder to differentiate between past trauma and current, non-threatening situations. This can lead to an exaggerated stress response to situations that are reminiscent of past trauma but are not inherently dangerous.

HPA Axis Regulation: Chronic stress and trauma can lead to alterations in the hippocampus that impair its ability to regulate the stress response effectively. This dysregulation can result in prolonged and elevated levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, which further affects brain function and stress sensitivity.

Neuroscientific Perspective

From a neuroscience perspective, early developmental trauma can lead to structural and functional changes in the brain, including:

Structural Changes: Research has shown that significant stress and trauma can lead to changes in the volume of the amygdala and hippocampus, which can affect their functioning.

Neural Plasticity: The brain's neural circuits, particularly those involving the amygdala and hippocampus, can be reshaped by early experiences of trauma, leading to long-term changes in stress reactivity and emotional processing.
Stress Hormone Effects: Elevated and prolonged exposure to stress hormones during critical periods of brain development can alter the way the brain responds to stress in the future, making it more sensitive to potential threats and more likely to react strongly to stress.