02/09/2026
Stress Is Not Just Mental—It’s Physiological
Stress has far-reaching effects on the body: elevated blood pressure, migraines, stomach pain, poor or restless sleep, muscle aches, and even unhealthy food cravings. How we experience stress directly shapes how our bodies function.
The human body is brilliantly designed to handle situational stress—but not constant stress.
Our nervous system is always scanning the environment for cues about safety. The most influential part of that environment is our thoughts. Are we relaxed, secure, and content? Is it safe for the body to rest, repair, and thrive in a Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) state?
When stress dominates, the body assumes danger and shifts into Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) mode—protective, reactive, and survival-focused. No matter how convincingly we rationalize or minimize our stress, the body registers what we actually feel and responds accordingly.
Both SNS and PNS states trigger purposeful, biologically intelligent changes in the body. This means that many frustrating or even debilitating “symptoms” are not signs that something is broken—but evidence that the body is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
For example, SNS activation increases blood sugar and blood pressure to fuel fighting or fleeing. At the same time, digestion, sleep, immune regulation, and detoxification are intentionally downregulated—because they’re not essential for immediate survival. This response is lifesaving in moments of danger.
But when stress becomes chronic, prolonged SNS activation can contribute to conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, atherosclerosis, IBS, obesity, and autoimmune disease.
In contrast, PNS activation supports healing and vitality. Clear skin, steady energy, healthy weight, sharp memory, balanced blood pressure, smooth digestion, and deep restorative sleep are all gifts of a parasympathetic-dominant state.
We are designed to live primarily in PNS mode, with only brief, episodic SNS activation—followed by a return to rest, repair, and renewal.
So the questions become:
What are your daily choices, thoughts, and experiences communicating to your nervous system?
Where is there room to choose differently?
When circumstances can’t be controlled, can perspective shift?
Can expectations soften?
Is there guilt, resentment, or old grievance that can be released?
What adjustments today support the future you want to live into?
Your nervous system is always listening.
