⏱ 6-minute read

Have you ever been cooking pasta and turned the heat up too high?

At first, everything seems fine. The water is boiling, dinner is on its way, and you move on to the next task in the kitchen. Then, almost without warning, the pot boils over, spilling water across the stove and creating a mess you didn't plan for.

There was nothing wrong with the pot or the water. The problem was that the heat had been turned up too high for too long, and eventually the system could no longer handle it.

In many ways, this is what happens with cortisol in the body.

Cortisol itself is not the problem. In fact, it's an essential hormone that helps us wake up in the morning, respond to challenges, regulate blood sugar, and keep us functioning throughout the day. The issue arises when cortisol stays elevated for too long.

In today's world, busy has become the baseline. Constant demands, endless to-do lists, poor sleep, and chronic stress keep the body's stress response switched on far more than it was designed to be. Over time, the effects begin to spill over into our health.

In this newsletter, you'll learn why cortisol is necessary, what happens when it remains elevated for too long, and seven simple, practical ways to help keep it in balance.

Cortisol is one of the most essential hormones your body produces — and without it you cannot survive. What’s important is for cortisol to be in balance.

Cortisol is what gets you out of bed in the morning with energy and alertness. It is what allows you to respond quickly to a genuine emergency — to swerve the car, to react to a falling object, to mobilize the strength a real crisis requires. It regulates blood sugar, blood pressure, and inflammation. It follows an intelligent daily rhythm — rising in the morning to wake you up and gradually declining through the day so that by evening your body can shift into rest mode.

The problem is what happens when the demand never lets up long enough for the recovery to happen.

This is where the boiling water comes back in.

Your nervous system was designed for cortisol to rise — in response to a real demand — and then fall, once the demand has passed. Rise and fall. Boil and simmer. Activation and recovery. That rhythm is the entire design.

What was never designed into the system is what most of us are actually living: heat turned up and left there. The morning rush, school drop-off, the inbox already full before you have had coffee, the meeting that ran long, the kids needing something, the house needing something, the body needing something it is not getting, the mental list that keeps growing even as you check things off it. One demand stacked on another — with no real simmer in between.

The water keeps climbing, and most of us do not notice until it is already spilling over the sides — until the exhaustion has become so great, the sleep has stopped restoring us, and the body has started speaking louder through symptoms because we were not listening.

Chronically elevated cortisol rarely announces itself directly. It shows up disguised as other things — which is exactly why so many people live with it for years without recognizing what is actually happening.

It looks like waking up tired no matter how many hours you slept, or feeling wired and tired at night — the mind racing right when you finally have a quiet moment. It can look like reaching for sugar or caffeine just to function through the afternoon. Or a stubborn layer of belly fat that does not respond to the usual efforts of getting rid of it. Irritability that surprises you — snapping at something small that usually would not bother you. It can mean getting sick more often or staying sick longer than you used to. Digestive issues that seem to have no clear cause. A memory that feels foggier than it used to, and a sense of being one demand away from completely unraveling.

These ‘symptoms’ are usually chalked up to ‘just getting older’. When what’s actually happening is cortisol has been running on high for too long and things are about to boil over.

Busy, left unchecked, is simply high heat with no simmer — and a body running on that pattern long enough will eventually show you the cost. It will leave you feeling drained and exhausted. It will weaken the immune system, increase inflammation, cause weight gain, and increase the risk for chronic disease.

The goal is not a flame turned all the way off. The goal is a flame that rises when it needs to and falls when the moment has passed — a rhythm of genuine engagement followed by genuine recovery, instead of a single sustained boil that never gets turned down. It is not possible or healthy to remove all stress.

What the body needs is balance.

1. Build in real recovery — not just less activity, but actual stillness.
Real recovery is needed to activate the parasympathetic nervous system — slow breathing, prayer, time in nature, a walk without your phone, genuine quiet. Five to ten minutes of real stillness supports reducing cortisol.

2. Notice when you are saying yes out of fear rather than genuine capacity.
So much of the busy, busy, busy pattern comes from saying yes to things out of guilt, fear of disappointing someone, or the belief that everything depends on you. Before adding one more thing to the pot, pause and ask honestly: do I actually have room for this, or am I about to turn the heat up past where it needs to be?

3. Anchor your morning before the demands of the day get there first.
Cortisol's natural morning rise is meant to be gentle and gradual — not immediately by notifications, urgency, and other people's demands the second your eyes open. Even five minutes of quiet, prayer, or stepping outside before checking your phone protects the morning cortisol rhythm and sets a steadier tone for the hours that follow.

4. Move your body — but not in a way that adds more demand.
Movement is one of the most effective cortisol regulators available, but intense exercise layered on top of an already maxed-out nervous system can act as one more demand rather than a release. Walking, stretching, and moderate movement lower cortisol reliably. Save the higher-intensity training for the days your nervous system has room for it.

5. Protect your evening wind-down like it is non-negotiable — because it is.
Cortisol should be declining by evening, making way for melatonin and genuine rest. Bright lights, screens, late eating, and unresolved tension from the day all keep the burner turned up right when it should be turning down. Dim the lights, set the phone aside, and give your nervous system the signal that the day is actually over.

6. Feed your gut — because your gut is talking to your cortisol all day long.
The gut and the HPA axis are in constant two-way communication. A dysregulated gut keeps cortisol elevated, and elevated cortisol further disrupts the gut — a loop that feeds itself in both directions. Fermented foods, fiber, and a quality probiotic are not separate from stress management. My favorite probiotic that does this is Zenith. Each ingredient is supported by science, and it is third-party tested.

7. Bring your list to God before you bring it to your day.
Most of what keeps the pot boiling is not the actual demand in front of you — it is the mental weight of carrying it alone, trying to manage every outcome, every contingency, every what-if, without ever setting any of it down. Naming what you are carrying out loud, in prayer, before the day takes over, is one of the most underused cortisol interventions available.

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her."
— Luke 10:41-42

Martha was busy in the kitchen, doing what needed to be done, the way many of us live most days. And Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, present, unhurried, and undistracted by everything still left to do.

Jesus did not condemn Martha for working. But He gently named what was happening underneath the busyness: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details." He saw the pot boiling over before she did, and He offered her something better than greater capacity to manage it — He offered her permission to sit down.

I do not think the answer to a chronically elevated nervous system is simply trying harder to manage everything on the stove. I think it is learning to set some of it down — to trust that the world will not end if you sit for ten minutes instead of doing one more thing, and that there is a place at the feet of Jesus available to you in the middle of the busiest season you are in right now.

Your Faith Action Step:
Today, somewhere in the middle of your busy day, choose one moment to simply sit. Just sit, breathe, and pray: "Lord, I bring You everything today. I cannot manage it all and I know I was never meant to. I receive Your invitation to sit, now, in peace." The pot will still be there. It will simmer better for the rest of the day because of it.

Cortisol was never the problem. It is a faithful hormone doing exactly what it was designed to do — rising to meet a demand and falling once the demand has passed.

The problem is a culture, and often a life, that keeps the heat turned up long after it should have come back down. Busy has quietly become the baseline, and the body eventually tells you the truth that your calendar will not: something has to come off the stove.

You do not need to extinguish the flame. You just need to learn its rhythm again — rise and fall, activation and rest, simmer and boil — the way it was always meant to work.

Your body was designed to thrive. Sometimes it just needs the right building blocks to remember how.

With faith, science, and wellness,
Liz, The Wellness Nurse

Registered Nurse | Certified Mental Wellness Coach

P.S. Where do you feel your pot boiling over right now? Hit reply and tell me — I read every response and these conversations matter more to me than you know.

P.P.S. If you've been reading these newsletters and finding yourself thinking, "This sounds like me, but I'm not sure where to begin," you're not alone.

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If you're tired of piecing together health advice from dozens of different sources and are ready for a clear, practical path forward, I'd be honored to walk alongside you.

Your body was designed with an incredible capacity to heal and adapt. Sometimes it simply needs the right support, the right tools, and enough time for those changes to take root.

⚕️ Medical Disclaimer The content in The Wellness Nurse is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, supplement routine, or health practices.

A note on transparency: some links in this newsletter are affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase through them — at no added cost to you. I share what I personally use, believe in, and would recommend to someone I care about. My goal is always your health and wellbeing.