5 Signs Your Cortisol Is Out of Control (That Nobody Talks About)
5/29/202610 min
Cortisol always gets a bad reputation online, but here's the thing: it's not the villain. It's actually essential for your stress response, blood sugar, sleep-wake cycle, and even keeping inflammation in check.
The problem isn't cortisol itself. It's what happens when it stays chronically elevated, and your body starts sending signals you've probably been brushing off as "just stress" or "just getting older."
In this solo episode, I'll walk you through the five warning signs of chronic high cortisol that most women don't connect to stress at all, including one that directly links to your blood sugar and why that matters more than you think.
If you're a woman in midlife and have a gut feel that your cortisol levels are elevated, this episode is exactly where to start.
What's Discussed:
(0:49) The five warning signs of chronic high cortisol
(2:34) Why your weight and face shape might be changing
(3:35) The cortisol-insomnia connection most women miss
(4:40) Hair loss and the stress delay nobody warns you about
(7:23) How cortisol is quietly affecting your blood sugar
✍️ FREE GUIDES:
Top 7 Perimenopause Myths You Need to Stop Believing ASAP: drcarriejones.com/myths
Hormones 101 Cheat Sheet: https://www.drcarriejones.com/hormones101
The Perimenopause & Menopause Labs Test Checklist: https://www.drcarriejones.com/labs
The 101 on Stress, Cortisol And Your Nervous System Ebook: https://www.drcarriejones.com/stressfreebie
Which Stage of Perimenopause Am I In? Ebook: https://www.drcarriejones.com/stages
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsCarrie Jones· Host0:00
Welcome to Hello Hormones with me, Dr. Carrie Jones, a podcast where we explore how to make friends with your hormones so that you can thrive in your 30s, 40s, and beyond. Whether you're premenopausal, perimenopausal, fully postmenopausal, or honestly just a woman dealing with the chaos of hormone imbalances, you are in the right place because handling your hormones doesn't have to feel like herding cats. So let's decode what's really going on, ditch that confusion, and help you feel like yourself again. You bring the symptoms, I'll bring the science with a bit of sass and get you solutions together. [upbeat music] Here are five warning signs that chronic high cortisol, chronic stress may be causing a lot of problems in your body. Now, don't get me wrong, cortisol, which is the hormone of stress, is often made out to be the villain. We need cortisol, though, in proper amounts. Cortisol does help you with your stress response, with your blood sugar, with your blood pressure, with your sleep-wake cycle. It helps reduce inflammation, but when it's allowed to run wild like a wildfire, well, then we have problems in the body and we're gonna talk about it. Hi, my name is Dr. Carrie Jones. I am a women's health and hormone expert. You're gonna wanna hit that subscribe button because I know hormones like cortisol can feel like herding cats, [cat screeches] so you're gonna wanna follow along.