In my personal story, my digestive system has been less than optimal, with my immune system, learning in the womb, to default to PTSD. I was constantly on alert, which impacted my adrenal glands, and pushed high levels of cortisol into my body, making it impossible for my body to process food in the way that it is meant to.
The stress hormone cortisol is public enemy number one. Scientists have known for years that elevated cortisol levels: impact our learning, lower immune function, bone density, increase weight gain, blood pressure, heart disease, the list just goes on and on. Chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels cause depression, mental illness, and lower life expectancy.
Cortisol is released in response to fear or stress by our adrenal glands, as part of the fight-or-flight response. I invite you to lean in and ask yourself, “How often are you in fight or flight?” Fight or flight in our body was designed to keep us alive. Sadly in today’s world, we go into fight or flight over losing a job, losing a relationship, our nervous system is on overload.