When you are under stress, your body triggers your brain to release a hormone called Cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that helps your body deal with a stressor by activating the sympathetic nervous system, also known as, “Fight or Flight.” This can be very helpful in a high intensity situation where we need to focus quickly. For example, driving down a busy highway and traffic slams on the breaks in front of you at 60 mph and you need to make a quick decision. I also use the scenario often, “You are being chased by a bear and need to make a quick escape.”
In both situations, once we reach safety, we can return to a normal stress level. When the traffic resumes back to a safe speed and there was no accident, we can continue our drive or when we have safely escaped from the bear, in both situations, the threat has passed. The cortisol decreases because our parasympathetic system said, “its ok, you can calm down now.” This is a normal and important stress response.
The trouble arises when cortisol is being released when there is a compilation of numerous stressors, such as, “I am a busy mom multitasking, the baby is crying, the toddler is refusing to get dressed and into the car, we are running late, I am sleep deprived, I have no time for myself.” I am sure you can think of many instances where numerous “daily” stressors have compiled leaving you overwhelmed and exhausted.
The problem with Cortisol is your body does not know the difference between a life-threatening stressor and the constant day to day stressors. It will be released in both of the above scenarios. The difference is, in the second scenario of multi tasking, the cortisol levels (fight or flight) remain elevated. The Parasympathetic system never tells your body to calm down. So you stay in this elevated level of stress for a prolonged period.
So what does Cortisol do to the body when elevated for prolonged periods?
- Weight gain-especially in midsection-fat deposits
- Skin rashes/acne
- Flushing
- Difficulty concentrating
- Decreased immunity
- Fatigue
- Impaired glucose regulation
- Impaired metabolism
- Inflammation
- Migraines
- Irritability, anxiety, depression
And the list goes on!
I have met so many women who have attributed the above symptoms to thyroid disorders, hormone imbalances, metabolic disorders, or chronic illnesses. Test after test come back almost normal, and they remain frustrated feeling there’s no relief for their symptoms. This is not true.
TIme and time again I hear:
“I can’t enjoy time with my family”
“I feel like a crazy person”
“I am always yelling at my Husband or my kids”
The trouble is, we don’t realize how stressed we really are in our day to day lives. We think we are eating healthy, exercising, balancing everyone’s schedules, maintaining careers, caring for our families, maintaining a home, playing taxi driver, being a good spouse. I’m exhausted already reading this list, aren’t you!?
So how can we reduce the level of stress in our daily lives to lower your cortisol levels and feel more energized? Take better care of YOURSELF! Be a little selfish! Sign up for the 7 secrets to decrease cortisol levels to read more. You can also find some helpful tips on daily, achievable self care activities HERE. Self care is so important but we so easily forget to take the time for ourselves. Make the time. Even if it’s only a few minutes.
