Stress, cortisol, and muscle breakdown...

[lifted]

Does anybody have any numbers or anything in relation to cortisol and mental stress and its effects on muscle breakdown?

For example, how much can it contribute to muscle breakdown even in the short term as in say 2 or 3 weeks or so? Reason is, I've been fvcking losing it lately with college, working 50 hours/week, and the holiday joys.
I'm not cutting, still actually bulking, and have been getting enough sleep, and diet has also been good. But, it seems as though I'm losing strength and size little by little since the past two or so weeks.

Can this demon actually have that much of an effect on me this quickly? I'm getting discouraged; damnit, somebody get me some phenibut quick!!

Any ideas, suggestions, reasonings?

 

[BigVrunga]

Hell yes it can!

Hey Jergo -
Let me tell you about stress and its negative effects on the body bro...A few months ago, I went to my first checkup in like 10 years, and the doc told me that I had a heart murmur. He told me not to worry about it, but being the way I am I went home and immediately started researching. Of course, up comes up every life-threatening heart condition there is, and I go into an immediate panic. Anxiety runs in my family, but Ive always been pretty chilled out about things. But let me tell you, I freaked out something terrible. I had an echocardiogram scheduled, but it was a month away. I just started stressing out about every thing. It was like a month long anxiety attack. I manifested nearly every symptom of angina there was, I was dizzy to the point of distraction at work, etc. My subconscious was really kicking my ass. (this sounds really silly, but at the time it was mortifying).
So anyways, long story short, on top of all this Im working 50+ hours a week at a job Im not happy with, and Im trying to keep lifting and dieting. My strength started to slip, I had a tendon injury in my chest and it got worse, my rotator cuffs started to pop and click, and my knee started hurting out of the blue. I felt like I was falling apart at the seams. It wasnt until I actually got the test results back and I found out there was nothing wrong with me that I actually felt any better. But I still felt like crap, almost like a completely drained, exhausted feeling 24/7 from a month of senseless freaking out.
So yea, I think stress can definately have a negative impact on the body. I think mine was an extreme case of self-induced anxiety though. It sounds like you're spreading yourself too thin with everything you have to do. I would suggest to not worry about things bro. Easier said than done, I know. But so what if you lose a couple lbs on your bench. You'll get it back in no time once school is out and you have time to make lifting a primary focus.
And remember, a lot of it is mental - are your life's worries sneaking into your mind at the gym? That will throw you off a bit for sure.
If you try to over-stress your body when your mind is already pushed to its limit, you'll start to experience symptoms of over-training for sure.
Sometimes its good to take a little time off from lifting and sort the things out that are nagging at you. The rest will do you good, and you'll probably hit a new growth spurt from a little extended time off.

Hang in there brother!

BigV

 

[lifted]

BigV, thanks bro, I needed some closure there, piece of mind, whatever. I seem to get this way when I'm under stress, and don't understand wtf I'm doing wrong. That then even contributes to the stress. I hear ya though, I'll just give myself sometime and try and chill-out to the best of my abilities. Thank god, I have a full day off tomorrow. I'm gonna pamper myself all day long.

Tomorrow:
Yes roomie, do get my tea and crumpets and I'll think about letting you not get your a$$ beat.

 

[BigVrunga]

BigV, thanks bro, I needed some closure there, piece of mind, whatever. I seem to get this way when I'm under stress, and don't understand wtf I'm doing wrong. That then even contributes to the stress. I hear ya though, I'll just give myself sometime and try and chill-out to the best of my abilities. Thank god, I have a full day off tomorrow. I'm gonna pamper myself all day long.

That's the way to do it man! Working out is an obcession with you as it is with probably everyone here. That's good, because it motivates you. But it also makes you freak out and keep asking yourself "Am I shrinking??", when you can't possibly find the time to dedicate to training. Just sit back, relax, enjoy the gains you've made. Sort out all the bullshit and then resume kicking ass with a clear head and newfound determination.

BigV