Prolonged Stress Communicates With Our Bodies

Prolonged Stress Communicates With Our Bodies

When I immigrated from Iran to the U.S. at 13, everything changed at once – language, school culture, and expectations. Classes moved fast, participation, presentations, and leadership activities were emphasized, and everyone already seemed to know how things worked. I wanted to keep up, but most days my mood dipped, my energy felt low, and focusing in class took everything I had. At night, I was tired but couldn’t fall or stay asleep, and mornings felt heavy. I constantly felt tense– thinking in two languages, second-guessing every sentence, and trying to stay on track. This isn’t unique to immigration; most of us have times when stress stacks up and our well-being takes a hit.

That lived experience is a good reminder of what the research shows: We don’t just “feel” stress, we physiologically experience it. When our brain detects a “threat” (conflict, deadlines, constant worry, etc.), it activates a cascade of signals in the form of hormones (often happening in the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal axis or HPA axis), which helps us cope temporarily. That can be helpful in short bursts. However, when stress becomes a daily habit, those signals can accumulate and create an “Allostatic load” – the wear and tear that nudges our bodily systems to function out of balance (Doan, 2021).

What are some ways stress can affect our bodies?

Cardiovascular system: Chronic stress can constantly activate the sympathetic nervous system associated with “fight-or-flight response,” raising blood pressure, constricting blood vessels, and making blood clots more likely, causing damage by building up plaque and increasing the risk of heart attack (Henein, 2022).
Metabolism: stress hormones (especially cortisol) raise blood sugar and promote abdominal fat storage, and over time, this pattern drives insulin resistance and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes (Sharma, 2022).
Immune response and inflammation: long-term stress weakens parts of cellular immunity (ex, lower natural-killer cell activity, weaker T-cell responses), shifts signaling toward pro-inflammatory cytokines, ultimately increasing the chance of getting sick and healing more slowly (Morey, 2016).
Gut-Brain axis: Stress signaling can increase intestinal permeability (“leaky gut”), alter gut microbiota patterns, and change motility and sensitivity, contributing to bloating, pain, and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)-type flares (Torre, 2023).

Some daily practices that can help with stress:

Paced breathing (e.g., one full deep inhale, followed by another quick inhale, then slow exhale, 1–2 minutes). Helps nudge parasympathetic activity and improve heart-rate variability, a marker of better stress regulation (Laborde, 2022).
20-30 minutes in nature can reduce stress measurably (Hunter, 2019).
Mindfulness (e.g., meditation, yoga), even brief sessions (5–10 minutes), reduces perceived stress and anxiety and can lower blood pressure (Chen, 2024).
Brief movement (walk/steps): More daily steps are linked with fewer depressive symptoms; benefits show up with 5,000 steps or more per day (Peroni, 2024).
Sleep regularity: Keeping a consistent sleep/wake time and adding a 30–60-minute low-stimulation routine before sleep (dim lights, screens off, light stretching/reading); this stabilizes the circadian rhythm, lowers arousal, and makes falling/staying asleep easier (Gilmore, 2024).

Founded in 2012 by Dr. Ehsan Gharadjedaghi, Norooz Clinic Foundation is a non-profit mental health clinic located in Santa Ana, CA. Here, we assist those who walk through our doors with their journey of discovery to find their new day or new beginning, through mental health and wellness.

We provide affordable and accessible mental health services, including individual, couples, and family therapy, psychological assessments, and community advocacy. To ensure accessibility, we offer sessions both in person and online, with services available in English, Farsi, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. We do cash pay and sliding scale, and also accept insurance: Cigna, Magellan, Aetna, Blue Shield of California, and Optum United Health.

At Norooz Clinic, we are committed to reducing barriers to care so that everyone in our community has the opportunity to access quality mental health support.