How does stress affect masculine dominance?
Targeted Readership: Men
Theme: Chemistry
Length: 550 words
Reading Time: 3 minutes
In July, 2023, Σ Frame had several posts that all pointed to the dismal state of men in Western society these days. Men today are anxious and stressed out.
How can a man reduce anxiety and stress?
In yesterday’s post, Testosterone Facilitates Social Interactions (2023/8/24), I described one source of stress, social anxiety, and summarized a study that said testosterone (T) reduces the fear of social interaction.
So stress and anxiety are directly related to T levels. There is a feedback loop.
More Stress → Less T
More T → Less Stress
There’s more.
Dr. Robert Josephs, professor of psychology at The University of Texas at Austin, and Dr. Pranjal Mehta, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, discovered that testosterone and cortisol jointly regulate dominance [1,2].*
The stress hormone, Cortisol, which is produced when an individual is under prolonged stress, has negative effects on T levels. When cortisol is released in the body in response to a threat, the body is mobilized to escape danger. The thing is, humans are more predisposed to escape danger than to assert status. IOW, the effects of cortisol dominate over any influence that testosterone may have on behavior.
The juxtaposition of cortisol and T on dominance looks like this [1].
Image from Josephs, et al. 2010 [1]. Not only does cortisol reduce T, but it also reverses the natural expression of dominance induced by T.
Cortisol can drive low T men to be more dominant, but it also makes high T men less dominant.
A low T man under stress exhibiting dominance tends to be domineering. We pity those under his authority.
A high T man under excessive stress is underperforming, to the detriment of those under his care.
Another study was conducted on Special Forces students going through the Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE) school. They found that by the end of the 19 day training, the students’ cortisol levels were higher than for Ranger school and testosterone levels were below the average level for sterility. An article detailing this study can be found in the summer 2000 issue of Special Warfare magazine.**
So how do you reduce anxiety and stress?
Utilize the Winner Effect.
Elevate T and reduce cortisol.
Fix the problems causing stress and boost T in the process.
How do you do that?
There’s a multitude of problems that contribute to stress. There’s an infinite number of things over which you have zero control. Focusing on those will drive a man insane. Instead, focus on the few things you can control. Choose to engage in activities that are challenging to you, but not too difficult to succeed in.
Find the sweet spot of your Flow.
Begin with your own behavior.
You control how fit you are within your physical limits. You control your finances. You control where you live. You control how much you work, how hard you work, what you eat, how much you eat, etc.
Eliminate stress.
If you’re a man preoccupied with a woman, obviously the chick or wife has a major influence on all these factors. Many readers have shared stories of how their wives have influenced them for better or for ill. Marital conflict is a sure source of stress.
Nevertheless, the same principle still applies. Figure out what you control, focus on that, and start working on it. As you make progress on the issues in your life, your stress will gradually be reduced.
Whatever the case may be, figure out what you control, choose a direction, and get to work. Reassess and repeat.
Anxiety and stress are intended by God to drive us to action.
Anxiety + Inaction = Crazy and Low-T.
Sources
- Mehta, Pranjal H., and Robert A. Josephs. “Testosterone and cortisol jointly regulate dominance: Evidence for a dual-hormone hypothesis.” Hormones and behavior 58(5): 898-906 (2010).
- UT News: Stress Hormone Blocks Testosterone’s Effects, Study Shows (2010/9/27)
