Cortisol is a key hormone involved in the body’s response to demand. In the short term, it is adaptive. When elevation becomes persistent, it can interfere with the nervous system’s ability to regulate and return to coherence.

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The autonomic nervous system governs this balance. The sympathetic branch supports alertness and protection, while the parasympathetic branch supports restoration, digestion, repair, and sleep. Health depends on the system’s capacity to shift fluidly between these states.

 

When cortisol remains elevated, the nervous system may become biased toward protection rather than recovery. This can present in many ways, including:

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• Difficulty sleeping or feeling “tired but wired.”

• Heightened vigilance, anxiety, or internal restlessness

• Digestive changes or food sensitivity

• Decreased immune efficiency

• Reduced resilience to stress

• Emotional reactivity or numbness

• Inconsistent response to hormonal or medical therapies

• A sense that the body is no longer resetting on its own

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These patterns are not signs of failure or damage. They reflect a system that has adapted to prolonged demand and has not yet re-established internal safety and regulation.

 

The Coherence Session focuses on restoring nervous system flexibility and physiological coherence, creating the conditions for cortisol rhythms to normalize and for systems to communicate effectively again.

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