Stress Signals: When the Warning Light Stays On Too Long

Previously, I talked about how stress can be helpful — how it sends visible signals that invite connection, and how the love hormone oxytocin helps us deal with it when we reach out to others.

But there’s a flip side. And we need to talk about it.

Because while short bursts of stress can sharpen your focus and even deepen your relationships, chronic stress is deadly.

When your body is under pressure for too long, it floods your system with cortisol, the so-called stress hormone. In small doses, it’s useful. But when cortisol stays high for weeks or months, it becomes toxic. It shuts down your immune system, inflames your gut, and puts your heart under constant strain. It’s linked to ulcers, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, and even heart attacks. The WHO has listed chronic stress as one of the greatest health threats of our time.

Here’s the hard truth: if you don’t manage your stress, it will manage you. And not kindly.

So what do we do?

We learn to see the signs — the stress signals. We stop pretending everything can be solved with harder work and another to-do list. We recognise that some things — no matter how well you try — cannot be done. Not by you. Not by Supergirl. Not by Superman. Not by anyone.

There are some jobs that are impossible.

Some people who cannot be pleased.

Some situations you can only break yourself against.

This is where emotional awareness meets strength of character. This is when we walk away — not because we’re giving up, but because we know what survival costs, and we choose wisely.

Stress is not weakness. Chronic stress is a warning. And that warning doesn’t mean try harder. It means choose better.

Rest. Step back. Say no. Let go of what’s breaking you.

Let the signals guide you — not into burnout, but into wisdom.