stress awareness month: how stress impacts health and autoimmune health
April is Stress Awareness Month, and while most of us are no strangers to stress, many don't realize how deeply it can affect the body — especially when it comes to hormones and autoimmune health.
We often think of stress as just a mental or emotional burden, but it’s also a physiological event. Chronic stress isn’t just “in your head” — it’s in your endocrine system, your immune response, your gut, and even your cellular health.
Let’s take a deeper look at how stress influences our internal balance — and why managing it is essential for long-term well-being.
🔄 The Hormonal Domino Effect
When you’re under stress, your body activates the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis), which sends out a cascade of stress hormones, primarily cortisol and adrenaline.
Short bursts? Fine. Helpful, even.
Chronic stress? That’s when things start to break down.
Long-term elevation of cortisol can:
Disrupt thyroid function (hello fatigue and weight gain)
Interfere with reproductive hormones (causing irregular cycles, low libido, or infertility)
Lead to blood sugar imbalances and insulin resistance
Impair sleep quality, making recovery even harder
This hormonal chaos can leave you feeling like a stranger in your own body — exhausted but wired, foggy, anxious, and out of sync.
🛡️ Autoimmune Activation: When the Body Turns on Itself
Stress doesn't just mess with hormones — it has a profound impact on the immune system, especially for those with autoimmune disorders like Hashimoto’s, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or multiple sclerosis.
Chronic stress can:
Trigger flare-ups of existing autoimmune conditions
Weaken the body’s ability to regulate inflammation
Alter gut permeability (the infamous “leaky gut”), which is a known contributor to autoimmune activation
Suppress regulatory T-cells, which normally help prevent autoimmune misfires
Put simply: stress confuses the immune system. And when that confusion lasts too long, it can start attacking the very tissues it's supposed to protect.
🧘♀️ So What Can You Do?
You can’t eliminate stress — but you can build resilience. Here are a few strategies that support both hormonal balance and immune calm:
Nervous system regulation: Try breathwork, vagus nerve toning, or grounding practices
Sleep hygiene: Consistent sleep and circadian rhythm support can reset hormone cycles
Anti-inflammatory diet: Whole foods, low sugar, gut-friendly nutrition
Therapeutic movement: Gentle exercise like walking, stretching, yoga
Boundaries & pace: Sometimes healing begins with just saying “no”
💬 Final Thoughts
Stress is real — and so are its consequences. If you’ve been feeling off, overwhelmed, or stuck in a health rut, it’s worth looking at the role that stress might be playing behind the scenes.
You deserve more than just surviving.
You deserve to feel like yourself again.
This Stress Awareness Month, take a moment not just to acknowledge your stress — but to actively care for the systems it's impacting. Your hormones, your immune system, your whole self will thank you.
If you would like a free Hormone Balancing Strategy Session to reduce stress, email me at lynnrester@healthyeatingandlifeplans.com with the word STRESS as the subject and I will contact you to set it up.