It knits the ethereal power of the mind with the material power of the physical organism. It enables people to experience and control the oneness and wonder of the fully integrated human condition. If your endocrine system is functioning optimally, you will be far more likely to be master of your own destiny, because your mind and body will be working in harmony. But a suboptimal endocrine system will subvert this harmony, and leave you more likely to be driven by forces beyond your control. In modern life, the force that most often overpowers people, and usurps their control, is stress.
Stress is a factor in most degenerative illnesses, and most chronic mental conditions.
A healthy endocrine system, however, allows us to rise above stress, and control the conditions that cause it. Specifically, it is the endocrine system's adrenal glands that are most intricately tied to the human stress response. In fact, healthy adrenals can transform destructive stress into stimulating, healthy eustress, as described by Hans Selye. Thus, for most people, the adrenals are the site and soul of personal power in modern life. A similar plight of adrenal exhaustion has been reported by Dr. Robert Sapolsky, dean of America's neuroscientists.