Stuck in Fight-or-Flight: How Your Nervous System Is Driving Your Hormones (and Your Life)
Most of us throw around the word “stress” without really letting its significance “land”.
We overlook that our nervous system is constantly scanning our environment asking one simple question:
Am I safe… or am I under threat?
AND when the answer keeps coming back as “threat” — even when nothing dangerous is actually happening — our body can get stuck in fight-or-flight. This revved-up state quietly shapes everything: our hormones, digestion, sleep, mood, metabolism and even how we age.
Yet we still continue to ignore it? Why? What would have to change in our life, our relationships, our environment for this to be different? (food for thought here)…
Your Adrenals Love Predictability (Not Chaos) - THEY LIKE THE SAME THING EVERY DAY!
Your adrenal glands sit on top of your kidneys and play a central role in how you respond to stress. They’re involved in:
Cortisol production
Energy and focus
Blood sugar stability
Inflammation and immune balance
What they don’t do well with is constant unpredictability.
Things like:
Skipping meals all day and eating late at night
Staying up until 1–2 a.m. on the weekends!
Inconsistent wake and sleep times
Pushing through exhaustion with caffeine or other stimulants. Do you really need that half cup of coffee in the afternoon or could you take a 20 minute cat nap instead?
Your nervous system thrives on rhythm. When eating, sleeping, and movement are predictable, the adrenals don’t have to stay on high alert.
Listen to when your body feels tired, this is information!
The first yawn is often your body whispering, “Hey, it’s time.” Is the tip of your nose cold? If it is, you should already be in bed.
Cortisol: The “How Well Are You Aging?” Hormone
Cortisol often gets framed as the villain, but it’s essential. You need it to:
Wake up and feel alert in the morning
Stabilize blood sugar
Respond to inflammation and infection
Handle the demands of daily life
How well you age depends on your cortisol! It’s your cushion!
What Happens When You Skip Meals?
When you go too long without eating, your brain senses low fuel and sends a message to the adrenals: “We need backup.”Cortisol is released to raise blood sugar so your cells can keep functioning.
If this happens occasionally, that’s normal.
If it happens daily, especially in a stressed system, a cycle forms. It goes like this…
You skip meals
You feel shaky, anxious, wired, or edgy
Cortisol rises to rescue blood sugar
Your nervous system interprets this as danger
More cortisol is released, blood sugar spikes, insulin comes to its rescue, the cycle repeats.
Over time, this can look like anxiety, poor sleep, cravings, irritability, weight gain (especially in the tummy area) and feeling like your “gas tank” is never full.
Balanced cortisol is one of the strongest predictors of healthy aging — not just how long you live, but how well you live.
Muscle, DHEA, and Resilience Over Time
Cortisol doesn’t work alone. Your adrenals also produce DHEA, often thought of as a more “youthful” hormone. It helps support:
Muscle mass (especially in the legs, which is strongly linked to cognitive health as we age)
Bone density
Immune resilience
Hormonal balance
DHEA helps buffer the effects of cortisol so stress doesn’t hit the body as hard. When cortisol runs high and DHEA runs low over time, the body becomes more vulnerable to burnout, bone loss, and fatigue.
When the Brain Pulls the Emergency Brake!
Your HPA axis (and your thyroid) are constantly asking:
“Can we keep going at this pace… or do we need to slow this person down?”
If the system has been running in overdrive for too long, the brain may intervene. This might look like:
Persistent exhaustion, no matter how much you sleep
Brain fog or memory issues
Loss of motivation or drive
Feeling flat or emotionally muted
In some cases, the body even downshifts thyroid signaling on purpose — not as a malfunction, but as a protective response.
If we try to override these signals with more stimulants, more intensity — without addressing sleep, nourishment, blood sugar, and nervous system load — the body usually finds another way to force a pause. The thyroid usually comes next.
Breath, Heart, and the Stress Signal
Your body feels ALL of your stress. Since many of us prefer to experience life from “above our shoulders”, we ignore this to our own detriment. Check in with yourself. What is your body experiencing, is there a “caffeinated” feeling in your chest. Is your neck tense? How are you holding your jaw, your gaze, your forehead?
Remember your heart rate, breathing pattern, and diaphragm movement are constantly sending signals to your brain about safety.
Slow nasal breathing, longer exhales, gentle movement like walking, yoga, or Pilates — these practices directly influence cortisol output and nervous system tone. Drop your face (armor), drop your jaw (we don’t need to look pretty by always smiling), settle your eyes, feel the back of your neck start to relax… Start to settle into your belly. Yes, this is you! This is often the gaze we have when we look down upon our children or a loved one as they are asleep - allow yourself to experience this all day long.
Tiny First Steps Out of Survival Mode
Eat regular meals with protein, healthy fat, and real-food carbohydrates to stabilize blood sugar.
Aim for consistent sleep and wake times, even on weekends.
Practice one simple nervous system tool daily (five minutes is enough).
Notice when your body whispers “I’m tired” and experiment with listening instead of reaching out for that cup of coffee.
Practice relaxing your gaze, your jaw, sinking into the bottom of your belly and the back of your spine. How do you feel?
There is always a moment when the discomfort of staying the same becomes greater than the discomfort of change.
Accept the invitation to rebuild your life with your body as an ally, instead of the enemy.
Looking for gentle supports that can help stabilize stress physiology while foundations are being rebuilt? Here are some of my favorites below.
Stress Nutrients — Seeking Health
Provides key vitamins and minerals that are often depleted during stress. Designed to support overall nervous system health and resilience. Start slowly. 1 capsule in the AM.
IMagT — Saber Sciences
A magnesium supplement that supports relaxation, muscle tension, and sleep. Magnesium is essential for calming the nervous system and supporting stress recovery.
Seriphos — InterPlexus
Used to support healthy stress hormone patterns, especially for people who feel overstimulated or have trouble winding down at night. Think of it as nourishment for your HPA-axis.
For convenience and quality assurance, supplements are available through my Fullscript dispensary. I also offer a 10% discount on orders placed through this link.
Important! Educational only. This content is not medical advice. Always work with a qualified healthcare provider before changing medications, supplements, or treatment plans.