How to spot the fine line between stress and cortisol dependence

That constant hum that goes on inside your head, the one that makes you feel like you are never fully rested, your brain is never fully off, but somehow you are still moving through your daily to-dos like on autopilot mode? That’s the reality for most of us. At first, it all feels normal, just “life being busy,” until you start noticing those tiny little cracks (guilty, as charged): skipping meals because you forgot, relying on caffeine, or feeling jittery and restless even after a full night of beauty sleep. Eventually, you start to normalise it, thinking maybe this is just how life is supposed to be, how the world expects you to function, and somewhere along the way, your body stops giving you clear signals, adapting to a level of alertness it was never meant to sustain. 

Chronic stress just doesn’t live in your mind; it shows up in your body in ways that slowly sneak up on you. It starts with persistent muscle tension, headaches and moves to heart palpitations or digestive issues that aren’t merely just coincidences. And then, there is the subtle dependency: the need for that extra cup of coffee, the sugar hit, the tiny rush that just keeps you going. That’s your cortisol, the stress hormone that’s meant to help you survive, hijacking your days and slowly, without a warning, turning your life into a constant loop of stress, stimulation, and a brief relief. The tricky part? It all feels normal until it isn’t.

The Illusion of Productivity

The real challenge is that this cycle disguises itself as productivity, focus, or even resilience. Your body starts interpreting this stress as the baseline, like it's the state it is meant to operate in. Weirdly, calmness feels strange, quietness feels oddly unsettling, and you eventually end up measuring your energy not by how balanced or rested you feel, but how much you can push through. That’s when stress stops being just a reaction and becomes a dependency, a physiological nudge that just keeps you chasing stimulation even when you don’t consciously want it.

It’s honestly a paradox: cortisol, the very mechanism that has evolved to help you survive, can quietly take over your life. Eventually, your choices, your mind and body start orbiting around it, shaping your everyday routines, habits and even moods without you fully realising it. Just noticing one bad day or a hectic week really isn’t going to change things around, unless you understand the distinction between the two, the difference between occasional stress and cortisol dependency. This is the first step towards regaining control of your mind and body.

Stress vs. Stress Addiction

According to Madhavi Shilpi, a Metabolic Health Coach, we often think of stress as the enemy. The twist here is that some people aren’t just stressed, they are hooked on it. That constant rush of busyness, the thrill of deadlines, and always being “on” can feel like productivity. In reality, it’s your body running on cortisol, like a car revving in high gear without ever shifting down. Over time, that overdrive takes a serious toll. “So many of my clients come to me saying they’re fine because they’re high-performing at work, but when we check in, their bodies are running entirely on stress chemistry,” Madhavi explains. “It feels like drive, but it’s really depletion.”

Dr Prarthana Shah, a health coach, adds that the line between healthy motivation and stress dependency is subtler than most people realise. “Healthy motivation feels energising and sustainable. You can rest without guilt and still feel accomplished,” she explains. “By contrast, when someone is hooked on cortisol, they need urgency to feel alive or valuable. Stillness feels intolerable, and productivity gets tangled with self-worth. That’s not resilience, that’s dependency.”

How Cortisol Shows Up on Your Plate

Chronic stress doesn’t just live in the mind; it shows up in everyday behaviours, including on your plate. Elevated cortisol blunts or distorts hunger cues. Some people forget to eat and then binge later at night, while others lean heavily on sugar, caffeine, or refined carbs for a temporary high. “I see clients who proudly cut down sugar but still start the day with coffee on an empty stomach,” says Madhavi. “That’s essentially cortisol plus caffeine doubling up to hijack your morning.” Digestion also takes a hit, since blood flow is shunted away from the gut under stress, leading to bloating, constipation, or indigestion.

Dr Shah notes that this restlessness isn’t just about food. “Everyday patterns like constant multitasking, filling every gap in the day with to-dos, or even seeking out small dramas to stay engaged are signals the nervous system is craving stimulation. That’s not just stress, it’s addiction to the stress chemistry itself.” The reset, fortunately, begins with simple changes. Balanced protein at each meal steadies energy and reduces cortisol’s overdrive. Complex carbs, fibre, and healthy fats help regulate appetite and mood.

Magnesium, vitamin C, omega-3s, and calming herbal teas support nervous system recovery. “Once we fix meal rhythm, half the cravings that feel uncontrollable just melt away,” Madhavi notes. “It’s not discipline. It’s biology.”

The Mindset Shift

Practical productivity hacks matter too. Dr Shah recommends thinking in pulses of effort and recovery rather than endless output. “Time-blocking with built-in pauses or following the 90-minute ultradian rhythm, deep focus followed by 10 minutes of rest, keeps productivity high without taxing the nervous system.”

Perhaps the most important step is reframing identity. If your sense of worth is tied to “thriving under pressure,” burnout will always lurk nearby. Dr Shah suggests micro-shifts: replace “I’m only valuable when I’m busy” with “I’m valuable when I’m balanced,” and asks to see rest as performance fuel, not a flaw. 

Let's be honest here, stress in itself isn’t the villain here; it’s our reliance on it that becomes dangerous. When cortisol turns from a survival habit into the fuel you run on, you stop being in charge of your own energy. Awareness about this is the answer here. Once you start noticing the signs, your body gives you an entry point to step off the autopilot mode, through good rest, recovery, or simply relearning how to be at ease in stillness. 

Lead image: Pexels 


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