Cortisol

Understanding how stress can influence your hormonal state is always valuable. But in the midst of a global pandemic that is introducing new and unpredictable stressors, it takes on even greater importance.

People who experience prolonged, unmanaged stress at work may be experiencing burnout syndrome (BOS), a popular phrase that has recently become officially recognized as an occupational phenomenon with serious health consequences. There is now there is an overwhelming amount of scientific data demonstrating that not only is burnout syndrome real, it is common—and it needs to be treated.

Your body has a mechanism we know as “the fight or flight” instinct. You’ve felt it. When a situation becomes alarming, your body readies for action and your focus turns solely to coping with the threat, shutting out everything else. You react quickly; run or fight, take action or get to safety. Time seems to slow down, your brain quiets, and instinct takes over.

Cortisol is essential to health. Our bodies normally produce cortisol throughout the day in a cycle—more in the morning as we wake, less in the evening to prepare us for sleep—to support our daily physical and emotional well-being. But when cortisol levels become higher or lower than normal for prolonged periods, that wellbeing can be severely compromised.

If you’re like many people, you lead a high-stress life. Between family obligations and long hours at work, it can seem like you never catch a break. You’re tired. And even if you try your best to take care of yourself, you may find that you simply can’t get back to the way that you felt before life became so overwhelming.