Let's be clear about something: the goal isn't to eliminate stress. You can't. Stress is part of life—work deadlines, family responsibilities, health challenges, financial pressures, traffic, the news, relationships. Telling someone to "just relax" isn't helpful and often makes things much worse. The goal is resilience: the ability to recover from stress, adapt to challenges, and maintain function even when things are hard. What Chronic Stress Does to Your Body Stress isn't j

Your heart races when there's no danger. Your shoulders live somewhere near your ears. You startle at small sounds, can't seem to relax, or feel exhausted even when you've done nothing physical. Before you decide something is wrong with you, consider this: your nervous system is doing exactly what it's designed to do. It's trying to keep you safe. Understanding Your Stress Response Your autonomic nervous system operates largely below conscious awareness, managing everything f