How to Get Out of Stress Mode Effectively

Most stress advice sounds great… until it starts affecting your health.

At first, stress sends subtle signals — feeling tense, distracted, restless.

And for a lot of people, the response is automatic:
“I just need to push through.”
“I don’t have time to slow down.”
“This is just how life is right now.”

After all, we’ve learned to handle a lot. That’s what life demands.

And for a while, it works.

Until it doesn’t.

Over time, your system has been trying to keep up with a pace it was never meant to sustain.

The body simply isn’t built to live in “on” mode. Your nervous system has two primary settings: one for action, and one for recovery. However, chronic stress keeps you locked in the action setting without ever fully switching off.

As a result, if stress isn’t regulated, your body shifts into survival mode and stays there — affecting your sleep, your mood, your energy, and your clarity.

When that happens, cortisol remains slightly elevated.

Here’s the part we often miss:

Your body does have adaptive systems designed to help you respond to pressure and challenge. They’re meant to turn on when needed — and then turn off once the moment passes.

But when activation lasts too long, the stress response doesn’t fully switch off.

Instead, your adaptive systems stop turning off efficiently.

This is what’s known as allostatic load: the cumulative strain that builds when the stress response remains activated beyond what it was designed for.

In other words, your system was built to surge and recover. To activate and release.

And yet, when work demands, caregiving, constant decision-making, financial pressure, health concerns, and emotional labor become ongoing, your nervous system adapts to that constant load.

Eventually, in that adaptation, your system becomes overstimulated and loses its ability to reset easily.

The result?

You feel on high alert.
Your mind races.
It takes more energy to think clearly.
And most days, your metabolic capacity simply can’t keep up with the load your system is carrying.

So how do you resolve this?

Not by pushing harder.
Not by trying to think your way out of it.
And not by waiting for life to slow down.

Instead, you resolve it by helping your body come out of the state it’s been stuck in.

And that begins with one simple truth:

Your physiology — your breath, your heart rate, your internal state — has to shift before your nervous system can reset.

In other words, you have to give your system a cue that it’s safe to turn off the stress circuits it’s been running on autopilot.

Here’s where you begin:

1. First, notice your early cues — without judgment.

Racing thoughts.
Tension in your shoulders.
Shallow breathing.

These aren’t problems; they’re indicators. When you catch them early, you can shift the moment before your body slides deeper into survival mode.

2. Next, focus on your breath.

Take a slower inhale through your nose.
Then allow your exhale to be just slightly longer than your inhale.

This simple ratio helps lower your heart rate and signals to your nervous system that the moment has changed. Gradually, it shifts your entire internal state.

3. Then, take a brief moment to release tension.

You don’t need long breaks — just small interruptions between tasks.

Stretch your face for a moment, then let it soften.
Roll your shoulders down your back.
Shake out your arms or legs for a few seconds.

These small shifts begin to interrupt the activation loop.

4. Finally, give your system one clear “off” signal every day.

Nasal breathing.
Humming.
Breath-led movement.

Consistently practicing micro-recovery helps your nervous system complete the stress cycle so it doesn’t continue running quietly in the background.

You’re not trying to eliminate stress.

You’re teaching your body how to recover from it.

And when your body recovers, your thinking becomes clearer.

Your energy steadies.

Your internal pace slows just enough for you to respond — rather than react — and move with intention again.

If you’d like to try a gentle breathing exercise, I created a 7 minute breathwork session to ease your mind and release tension in your body.

It’s calming, practical, and it helps your body relearn what “coming back down” actually feels like.