When you’re under stress, your body reacts by releasing hormones such as adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine (read more about these here) – this assists the body with the “fight-or-flight” response. Your heart rate and breathing rate go up and blood vessels narrow.
Whilst this can sound like an intense physiological response, occasional stress is a normal coping mechanism and can be good for us in the short term. However, chronic excess stress can begin to impact our bodies in a number of negative ways.