When most women think about stress, they think about feeling frazzled, anxious, or overwhelmed. But stress is more than just an emotional state, it’s a physiological reality that can have long term negative effects on your body from the inside out.
In my work with women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond, I often hear the same words: “I feel wired and tired.” They’re running on empty, struggling with sleep, weight changes, hormone fluctuations, and fatigue. What many don’t realize is that chronic stress is quietly reshaping their terrain, the body’s inner environment that determines how you age, how resilient you are to illness, and how much energy you feel day to day.
This blog explores how stress alters the terrain in more ways than you may think, by impacting neurotransmitters, hormones, and even genetics, and I share with you how you can retrain your nervous system for resilience.
The Terrain and Stress
I often talk about “the terrain.” Your terrain is the foundation of your health, much like the soil of a garden. When nourished, plants thrive. When neglected, weeds and disease take over.
Stress is one of the biggest disruptors of our terrain. A little stress, in short bursts, is normal and even helpful. This is known as hormesis. But chronic, unrelenting stress, the kind most women in midlife live with, has very different effects. Fatigue, for example, is a typical symptom. Cortisol, your primary stress hormone, keeps your body in survival mode, draining energy reserves. Poor sleep, is another one. Stress hormones interfere with melatonin, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
What about hormone disruptions that occur in mid-life? We know cortisol competes with and disrupts estrogen and progesterone, worsening peri/menopausal symptoms. And then there is inflammation, a common characteristic of many modern day diseases. Stress keeps your body on high alert, driving systemic inflammation that damages long-term health.
You see, the takeaway here is that stress isn’t “just in your head,” it reshapes the landscape of your entire body.
The Science of Stress — Cortisol, Neurotransmitters, and Mental Health
Stress begins with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. When the brain perceives a threat, it signals the adrenal glands to release the hormone, cortisol. Cortisol prepares the body for “fight or flight” by raising blood sugar, suppressing digestion, and increasing alertness.
This is useful in short bursts, but when cortisol remains elevated day after day, it depletes the terrain. For women, chronic cortisol is strongly linked to weight gain, particularly around the midsection, increased insulin resistance (a driver of diabetes and metabolic syndrome), hot flashes, irregular cycles, and worsened menopause symptoms and lowered immunity.
Beyond hormones, stress also alters neurotransmitters, the brain chemicals that regulate our mood, focus, and energy. Serotonin supports mood, sleep, and gut-brain health. But, chronic stress lowers serotonin, increasing the risk of anxiety and depression (Juruena et al., 2020). Dopamine, another neurotransmitter, fuels motivation and reward. But stress depletes dopamine, leading to burnout, low drive, and cravings (Pani et al., 2000). And, gaba, an important calming neurotransmitter is lowered by stress, leaving you restless, anxious, and unable to “switch off” (Goddard et al., 2001).
When neurotransmitters are depleted, mental health suffers. Anxiety, depression, brain fog, and mood swings are all signs of a terrain shaped by stress. Ironically they are also typical signs of perimenopause. It is because of this that I guide my clients through resetting their cortisol levels in order to diminish and even prevent many of the symptoms associated with mid-life transitions.
Have you ever noticed that some people bounce back from stress quickly, while others feel completely drained? Part of the difference comes down to genetics.
We all carry small variations in our DNA called SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). Think of SNPs as spelling variations in your genetic code. They don’t change the whole story, but they influence how your body responds to stress.
Here are a few key SNPs that impact stress resilience:
In my practice, I encourage women to do a genetic test if they have tried everything and are still not seeing results. The information provided by these tests can offer more personalized insight into a woman’s symptoms and allow me to create a more bespoke plan to help with the healing process. As I often quote “genetics load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger.” Even if your SNPs make you more sensitive to stress, you can still retrain your terrain through lifestyle choices. And this is so empowering!
The most empowering truth about stress is this: your brain and nervous system are adaptable. This concept, called neuroplasticity, means that with practice, you can literally rewire your stress response.
Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work highlights how consistent mental practices, like meditation and visualization, create new neural pathways, allowing the body to move out of survival mode. While his approach is often described as “mind-body,” the science of neuroplasticity confirms that our thoughts and habits reshape our biology.
There are many evidence based practices that can help rewire your stress response. Here are some of my favorites that I share with my clients. Techniques like HeartMath have shown that controlled breathing improves HRV, a key marker of nervous system resilience (McCraty & Zayas, 2014). Breathwork and heart coherence are crucial to allowing our nervous system to fall back into balance. Mindfulness meditation reduces cortisol, improves serotonin activity, and lowers inflammation. Consistent, gentle movement such as walking, yoga, or tai chi reduce cortisol and improve mood. And finally, sleep, the one pillar of health that I start with in my practice for all clients. We know that consistent bed/wake times repair neurotransmitter balance and restore the HPA axis. Proper sleep is the foundation to our health, in more ways than most high-functioning professional women give credit to.
Ultimately, the goal for women is not to eliminate all stress, that is unrealistic. The goal is to teach your body how to recover from it. So stick with me and let me show you how.
For my clients — women balancing careers, families, and responsibilities, it’s not realistic to spend hours on stress management. What works is doable, repeatable tools.
Here are four you can try this week:
Ladies, stress isn’t “just mental.” It alters hormones, neurotransmitters, inflammation, and even the way your genes express themselves. Left unchecked, it depletes your terrain and accelerates aging. But the opposite is also true. With the right tools, you can rewire your nervous system, restore balance, and build resilience.
If you’ve been feeling wired, tired, or like stress is running the show, it’s time to take a closer look at your terrain. I am offering free 45-minute From Fear to Freedom Metabolic Assessment Calls for the next two weeks for women in my community. Together, with the help of a metabolic questionnaire, we’ll uncover where stress is depleting your health and map out your next steps for energy, balance, and resilience.
If you want to take advantage, just schedule your call here. I look forward to speaking with you!
Goddard, A. W., Mason, G. F., Almai, A., Rothman, D. L., Behar, K. L., Petroff, O. A., & Krystal, J. H. (2001). Reductions in occipital cortex GABA levels in panic disorder detected with 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 58(6), 556–561. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.58.6.556
Juruena, M. F., Bocharova, M., Agustini, B., & Young, A. H. (2020). Atypical depression and non-atypical depression: Is HPA axis function a biomarker? A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 266, 652–667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.01.067
Mannisto, P. T., & Kaakkola, S. (1999). Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT): Biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, and clinical efficacy of the new selective COMT inhibitors. Pharmacological Reviews, 51(4), 593–628.
McCraty, R., & Zayas, M. A. (2014). Cardiac coherence, self-regulation, autonomic stability, and psychosocial well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1090. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01090
Pani, L., Porcella, A., & Gessa, G. L. (2000). The role of stress in the pathophysiology of the dopaminergic system. Molecular Psychiatry, 5(1), 14–21. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4000589
Sjöberg, R. L., Nilsson, K. W., Nordquist, N., Ohrvik, J., Leppert, J., Lindström, L., ... & Oreland, L. (2007). Development of depression: Sex and the interaction between environment and a promoter polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 10(4), 535–543. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1461145706007133
van Rossum, E. F., & Lamberts, S. W. (2004). Polymorphisms in the glucocorticoid receptor gene and their associations with metabolic parameters and body composition. Recent Progress in Hormone Research, 59, 333–357. https://doi.org/10.1210/rp.59.1.333
