Hit The Gas! … Slowly
Welcome To 2025! In this wintering time, it’s important to look at our relationship to the “GO! ” energy that often comes with the start of a new year.
Cortisol and adrenaline are often labelled as “stress hormones.” Our collective relationship with stress tends to swing between two extremes:
1. Stress as a badge of honour—a measure of how much we can handle or proof of our worth through busyness.
2. Stress as the villain—something to escape and rid ourselves of because it’s “bad,” because I need a holiday with no stress lol.
This black-and-white thinking is unhelpful, especially when we think about moving through life in smoother coherence with our body—the vessel you’re in lifelong partnership with.
Instead, let's use the helpful analogy of a car (your body) and the driver (you).
⛽️ The gas is the sympathetic side of your involuntary nervous system (activation and mobilisation—beyond just fight/flight).
👟 The brake is the parasympathetic side (deactivation and rest) – more details here.
Adrenaline is like putting your foot on the gas pedal *fully * to the floor. Great for a quick getaway from an immediate threat, but rough on the car and difficult to manoeuvre around life’s twists and turns. You’ll also run out of gas very quickly; high levels of adrenaline tend not to sustain over longer periods.
Cortisol, however, is like gently pressing the gas pedal within the car’s natural range. One of my favourite ways to think about cortisol is: What goes up must come down.
You do need cortisol. It naturally rises in the morning to help you wake up and get moving. It’s part of a healthy circadian rhythm and helps you navigate challenges. But it’s designed to rise and fall. Imagine never, or rarely taking your foot off the gas. In fact, during “down time” or going to sleep just slamming on the brake while keeping the gas down. I’m sure you can hear the screeching sound… eeek. 🚘 😵💫
Now here’s the thing - we do want to actually go and get somewhere. We want to move our bodies through life. The car is meant to take us on journeys, and there’s a time for gas.
The body knows how to move you through something, and forward in life, then naturally slow down – it knows how to hit the gas. For example, processing intense emotions like grief or shame can feel stressful, but it’s a necessary and positive process. When you allow those emotions to fully move through your body, you’ll often feel a sense of slowing and calm afterward.
This wisdom of the body is like a car with self-driving capabilities (better than Tesla!) 😉
The key is developing a relationship with stress that lets you navigate life’s twists and turns smoothly. Use the gas when needed, the brake when appropriate—and when you’ve arrived—stop completely. Take your feet off the pedals entirely for a while. Let your body rejuvenate as you pause, rest, and take in the present moment.
So, where can you bring more nuance to your relationship with cortisol? Because remember: what goes up must come down.
