Comrade cortisol: That’s right – it’s not the enemy!
On a good day, you and cortisol are out to take on the world Mr and Mrs. Smith style (espionage optional). When you wake, cortisol is naturally high. Time to get shitty jobs and tricky conversations thrashed. Then you’ve got clear space in your diary as cortisol subsides, ready to roll into evening and bed, roll over and sleep. Or whatever …
We need cortisol. Without it, we’re not healthy. But, too much isn’t healthy, either. When it doesn’t naturally subside, it can become a toxic companion. That’s when you need to pull your big girl pants on and take action. Stress will never disappear completely. Life sees to that. But we need capacity for a tad more crap to be thrown at us, so mitigating stress where we can is good sense. What we’re aiming for is to not get caught in cortisol’s permanent grip.
Where are you on the tribe’s cortisol and stress spectrum?
We’re all different. Davinia enjoys the drive of a buzzy bit of cortisol in her day. For others, anything over our comfort amount and it’s acid in the veins.
It takes all of us to be the tribe. But, take the wrong role over an extended time, being the hunter gatherer, when you’re really a homesteader, or vice versa, and cortisol induced by stress rears its head in the shape of:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Insulin resistance
- Weaker bones
- Depleted muscle mass
- Weight gain
Cortisol always wins the battle: it’s the master hormone. Cue: puffy face; cortisol belly and that list of invisible depletions going on in mind and body.