Don't Underestimate Stress
Stress can do a lot more than people realise 😬💛 Stress isn’t just “in your head” — it shows up in the body in very real, physical ways. Think of stress like a smoke alarm that never stops ringing. It’s useful in an emergency… but exhausting and damaging when it’s constant. When you’re stressed, your body releases cortisol and adrenaline. In the short term, that’s helpful. Over time, though, it starts to wear things down. Here’s what chronic stress can do to the body: It weakens the immune system. Your body shifts into survival mode and diverts energy away from immune defence. That’s why people under long-term stress get sick more often, take longer to recover, or feel like they’re “always coming down with something.” Illustration: imagine your immune system as a security team. Stress pulls half the guards away to deal with a fake emergency, leaving the building easier to break into. It creates ongoing inflammation. Stress keeps the body in a low-grade inflammatory state. This is linked to joint pain, headaches, gut issues, autoimmune flare-ups, skin problems, and general aches that seem to have “no clear cause.” It disrupts digestion and gut health. Stress can slow digestion or speed it up too much. That’s why it’s connected to bloating, nausea, reflux, IBS-type symptoms, and poor nutrient absorption. Since most of your immune system lives in your gut, this matters a lot. It affects hormones and sleep. High cortisol messes with melatonin and other hormones, making it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep. Poor sleep then further weakens immunity — a vicious loop 🔁 It tightens muscles and raises pain levels. Stress keeps muscles semi-contracted, especially in the neck, shoulders, jaw, hips, and lower back. Over time this leads to tension headaches, TMJ issues, and chronic pain. It impacts the heart and blood pressure. Ongoing stress raises heart rate and blood pressure, increasing the risk of cardiovascular problems if it goes unaddressed. It drains energy and mood.