So why are we more stressed than ever before?

14 Apr

In my holistic therapy practice—and even just overhearing conversations between friends at a café or chatting with people close to me—it’s everywhere. Almost all of us feel overwhelmed, drained, or stressed out.

Why do we feel more stressed out now, even in moments when we know there is nothing really going on?

A modern life with ancient senses

Our modern world is full of constant stimulation and social pressure. Yet, while our lifestyle has dramatically changed, our nervous system hasn’t evolved much since the days of hunters and gatherers.

The stress response—also known as fight, flight, or freeze—is part of our autonomic nervous system. It developed around 200,000 years ago with early Homo sapiens.

This means that we live a very modern fast-paced life with an ancient nervous system, which is totally not build for it.

Back then, stress came in short bursts—like escaping danger or finding food. Once the threat passed, the body could return to calm.

Today, the threats are different. They're not lions or famines—they're emails, deadlines, financial pressure, and the constant sense that we have to be available all the time. These aren’t life-or-death situations, but our body doesn’t know that. It keeps us in a state of alert anyway.

a homo sapient running after a sabertooth tiger in the wild

The physiology of chronic stress

Let’s break this down so it’s easier to understand what’s actually happening in the body—and why it makes complete sense that you may feel overwhelmed. My hope is that this gives you not just insight, but more compassion for your experience, and a deeper understanding of why working with the body is so essential when dealing with stress.

Step 1: The stress response

Imagine you’re rushing because the traffic light just turned orange. Your sympathetic nervous system (SNS) kicks in and triggers the “fight, flight, or freeze” response. This includes:

Increased heart rate
Elevated blood pressure
Rapid, shallow breathing
Redirected blood flow to muscles (away from digestion, reproduction, etc.)

This helps you speed up and cross the street safely. Once the danger passes, your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) should take over—bringing your body back to calm. This is called the stress recovery phase.

Step 2: When the stress response doesn’t shut off

Now imagine this system never fully shuts down. That’s what happens during chronic stress. When you’re dealing with ongoing stress—constant work pressure, or even just overstimulation from screens and noise—the sympathetic system remains activated. The body never fully exits survival mode, and your system stays on high alert.

a man running in front of a calender with flyers flying away everywhere

Our two stressed-out hormonal friends

Two main hormones are behind the stress response: cortisol and adrenaline (epinephrine). While essential for handling acute stress, they wreak havoc when elevated long-term.

1. Cortisol: The control-freak friend

Think of cortisol as your overly-organized, control-freak friend. They mean well and keep everything on track—but they burn you out with their endless to-do lists and high standards. Cortisol is trying to keep you safe, but chronic overdrive can leave you exhausted and depleted.

Cortisol helps your body stay alert by raising blood sugar and boosting energy. In short bursts, it’s helpful. But when cortisol stays high for too long, it disrupts your body’s balance. This can result in:

Increased inflammation
Weakened immune function
Poor-quality sleep or insomnia
Weight gain (especially around the belly)
Memory problems and brain fog

2. Adrenaline: The Over-caffeinated sibling

Imagine adrenaline as your over-caffeinated sister. She bursts into the room full of energy, ready to get things done at lightning speed—but leaves chaos in her wake. When she’s around too often, you’re left feeling wired, restless, and anxious.

hyper_over-caffeined_sister running and making chaos everywhere

The consequences of chronic stress

When your body can’t return to homeostasis—a state of internal balance—it results in nervous system dysregulation. The stress response stays switched on, while the recovery system struggles to kick in. Over time, this can lead to:

Burnout: Total mental and physical exhaustion
Anxiety and depression: Dysregulated mood due to hormonal imbalance
Digestive issues: From IBS to chronic bloating
Sleep disturbances: Poor sleep from elevated cortisol disrupting melatonin
A weaker immune system: Making you more prone to illness

It’s like dipping into a barrel of reserves again and again without refilling it. Eventually, you’re not just running on empty—you’re breaking down the barrel itself.

Restoring balance: why body-first practices are essential

The key to breaking the cycle of chronic stress is finding ways to reset the nervous system.

While mental tools like journaling or therapy can help, body-first practices are essential. That’s because they directly interact with the nervous system, helping your body reset.

At With Ease we see the body as a powerful starting point. It holds the keys to clarity, focus, and grounded action. The way we breathe, how we move (or stay still), and even what we eat can gently support a calmer, clearer mental state.

Body-first practices help us create a strong, steady foundation—so we’re not trying to “think” our way out of stress or chaos, but instead calming the storm from within.

Here’s why body-first practices are essential:

Immediate activation of the PNS: Practices like slow and deep breathing and gentle movement help engage the PNS, telling the body that even though the mind is racing, it is actually safe. This can help reduce cortisol levels quickly and restore normal bodily functions, such as digestion and sleep.
Physical release of tension: Emotional stress is often stored as physical tension in the body. Movement and touch allow the body to release this trapped energy, promoting relaxation and muscle recovery.
Grounding and mindfulness: Body-first practices help us reconnect with our physical sensations, which help us to better tune into what our body actually needs from us and to become better attuned to responding to it.

By learning to incorporate body-first practices into your daily routine, you can help your nervous system reset more effectively, avoid chronic stress, and bring your body and mind back to a state of balance, resilience, and wellbeing.

Curious about body-first practices to ease overwhelm?
Start here:

🔗 3 Steps to Shift Out of Stress & Overwhelm?