01/31/2026
For over 40 years, I have worked closely with individuals experiencing chronic pain and illness. Throughout this time, my clinical practice and ongoing study have led me to a deeper understanding of the role stress plays in health and disease—insights I would like to share with you.
One of the most fascinating aspects of human health is perception: how each individual interprets their internal and external reality. For decades, I have supported patients in managing stress, while also observing my own responses to it. Through this process, I have come to recognize that stress itself is not inherently harmful. It is not an external enemy, a failure, or a malfunction of the body. Rather, stress is a biological driver—a physiological force designed to mobilize us toward resolving challenges and conflicts.
The critical factor is not stress itself, but how we interpret and respond to it.
From a neurobiological perspective, the brain’s primary function is survival. The autonomic nervous system operates through two main branches: the sympathetic nervous system, responsible for activation and alertness, and the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for rest, repair, and regeneration.
The key mechanism that disrupts this balance is resistance.
When we resist a situation—mentally or emotionally—the brain interprets this resistance as a threat. In response, the sympathetic nervous system is activated, stimulating the endocrine system. This leads to the release of stress hormones, primarily cortisol and adrenaline, from the adrenal glands.
Cortisol is an essential hormone. Under normal conditions, it follows a circadian rhythm: it rises during the night to prepare the body for alertness and energy in the morning and gradually declines by early afternoon. However, when stress becomes chronic—particularly due to unresolved conflict, persistent worry, anger, or negative thought patterns—cortisol production remains elevated into the evening and night.
As a result, the parasympathetic nervous system fails to activate adequately. This system is responsible for deep, restorative sleep and cellular repair, including regeneration of the brain, liver, and other vital tissues. When it is suppressed, sleep becomes light and fragmented. Many individuals wake repeatedly around 3:00–3:30 a.m., often to urinate multiple times during the night.
This disrupted sleep pattern further elevates cortisol levels, placing additional strain on the kidneys, altering blood pressure regulation, and impairing glucose metabolism. Over time, this dysregulation can contribute to insulin resistance and the development of type 2 diabetes.
The body responds to this ongoing imbalance with chronic inflammation, an immune response attempting to restore homeostasis. When combined with poor nutrition and increased toxic load, inflammation intensifies and may manifest as a wide range of conditions, including obesity, fatty liver disease, neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, neuropathy, depression, anxiety, joint pain, gout, persistent fatigue, and even cancer.
If you are experiencing symptoms you do not fully understand, or if pain has become a constant presence in your life—and you are dissatisfied with approaches that merely suppress symptoms without addressing their origin—I invite you to reach out.
Each individual case is unique. My work focuses on helping people reinterpret stress, resolve internal and external conflicts, improve nutrition, and apply self-healing techniques grounded in self-awareness and physiological understanding.
True natural medicine is not about fighting disease—because disease is not an enemy.
The natural approach is to understand illness as a signal and to use it as a catalyst for adaptation, balance, and personal evolution.
Holistic Health Services
Horacio Roa
CMT - HC - DT
530-790-5167
holisticeye.com
