Stress Isn’t Just in Your Head, It’s Doing the Cha-Cha in Your Body, Too

Nat Creasy
Sep 8
3 min read

Nat joyfully holds angel wings on a sunny beach with gentle waves. Distant figures and rocky hills in the background. Calm and fun mood.

Inside Nat's Notebook - Real Reflections for Real Change

Ever feel like life’s turned into a dance you never signed up for?

You’re spinning, tripping, trying to keep the rhythm, but underneath the polished pirouettes and power moves… you’re tired.

And the worst part?

You still blame yourself for not being able to “handle it better.”

What if stress isn’t just coming at you… But, living inside you, too?

I remember pre-burnout, I was always chasing life. Sitting at a traffic light, replaying the meeting I hadn’t even had yet. While thinking about the remaining meetings, the mounting to-do list and emails, while simultaneously thinking:

“Why does everything feel like too much all the time?”

The traffic wasn’t new, M25, yep!

The to-do list wasn’t shocking anymore; it had become my norm.

My whole system? Maxed out.

It wasn’t just that my life was a constant state of being busy. It was my nervous system; it was flashing red lights behind the scenes. It had been for a while, I just didn’t see it, or notice it, more to the point.

Stress wasn’t just the external chaos I was aware of. It was the internal pressure cooker I hadn’t learned how to turn off.

Here’s what is really happening:

Stress isn’t just “out there.”

It’s a full-body experience.

And when you’re already holding tension inside, from that conversation you avoided, the decision you’re still doubting, the high-functioning front you’re trying to maintain, external stress hits harder.

That deadline?

Feels like impending doom.

That traffic jam? Feels like the failure you’ve just decided your life is.

That missed call?

Feels like you’re letting everyone down again.

But here is the thing, you’re not overreacting.

Your system is overloaded! It is not your fault; no one ever taught you how to regulate, only how to push through.

The Geeky Science Bit:

Your nervous system is beautifully designed for survival. But it wasn’t designed for inboxes, Slack pings, and a 24/7 mental performance review.

When you’re under chronic pressure, your system starts looping in high-alert mode, a mix of sympathetic activation (fight/flight) and dorsal shutdown (collapse/withdrawal).

It’s like trying to lead a dance while someone keeps changing the music. You’re exhausted trying to keep up, but can’t stop moving.

Here’s the truth:

You can’t think your way out of stress. You have to feel your way back to safety.

And that’s where regulation, not strength, comes in.

#RebelMoment:

Let’s be clear: You’re not dramatic. Your nervous system is dancing to survival’s beat.

It’s time you chose a new rhythm. #RebelMoment asks, isn’t it time to choose you, to choose the new dance that YOU CHOOSE to lead!

You don’t need more discipline.

You need permission to pause, to soften, to check in.

Stress isn’t just a productivity problem. It’s a body rhythm problem. And when you start listening to the rhythm of your nervous system, you begin to find your flow again.

Even if life still plays the occasional offbeat tune, you’ll move with it differently. More grounded. More spacious. More you.

If this dance feels familiar, come closer. Not to fix it, but to feel less alone in it.

Inside Little Soul Shack, I don’t promise balance.

I teach the rhythm of regulation.

Instead of bracing against every beat, you’ll sway with it, grounded in your rhythm.

And your rhythm, love? It’s waiting to be remembered.

Join me live in the Reset Room, Tuesday + Wednesday evenings. Come as you are, and let your nervous system find its rhythm again. Book your spot here: https://little-soul-shack.heymarvelous.com/calendar

I look forward to seeing you there!

Stay Blessed!

LoveLove

Nat x

Exhausted but still brilliant? You bet you are.

Want some no-fluff, all-heart nervous system goodness popping into your inbox?

➔ Subscribe to Inside Nat’s Notebook, tea and giggles included. [Subscribe]

Are you ready to call time on tired?

➔ Book a FREE Reset Chat. Tea, biscuits, you, me and a little nervous system magic. [Chat with Nat]

It’s lighter on the other side, I promise.

Nat laughing while sitting barefoot between two tree trunks, wearing a patterned skirt. Greenery and palm trees in the background.

Inside Nat's Notebook - Real Reflections for Real Change

Ever feel like life’s turned into a dance you never signed up for?

You’re spinning, tripping, trying to keep the rhythm, but underneath the polished pirouettes and power moves… you’re tired.

And the worst part?

You still blame yourself for not being able to “handle it better.”

What if stress isn’t just coming at you… But, living inside you, too?

I remember pre-burnout, I was always chasing life. Sitting at a traffic light, replaying the meeting I hadn’t even had yet. While thinking about the remaining meetings, the mounting to-do list and emails, while simultaneously thinking:

“Why does everything feel like too much all the time?”

The traffic wasn’t new, M25, yep!

The to-do list wasn’t shocking anymore; it had become my norm.

My whole system? Maxed out.

It wasn’t just that my life was a constant state of being busy. It was my nervous system; it was flashing red lights behind the scenes. It had been for a while, I just didn’t see it, or notice it, more to the point.

Stress wasn’t just the external chaos I was aware of. It was the internal pressure cooker I hadn’t learned how to turn off.

Here’s what is really happening:

Stress isn’t just “out there.”

It’s a full-body experience.

And when you’re already holding tension inside, from that conversation you avoided, the decision you’re still doubting, the high-functioning front you’re trying to maintain, external stress hits harder.

That deadline?

Feels like impending doom.

That traffic jam? Feels like the failure you’ve just decided your life is.

That missed call?

Feels like you’re letting everyone down again.

But here is the thing, you’re not overreacting.

Your system is overloaded! It is not your fault; no one ever taught you how to regulate, only how to push through.

The Geeky Science Bit:

Your nervous system is beautifully designed for survival. But it wasn’t designed for inboxes, Slack pings, and a 24/7 mental performance review.

When you’re under chronic pressure, your system starts looping in high-alert mode, a mix of sympathetic activation (fight/flight) and dorsal shutdown (collapse/withdrawal).

It’s like trying to lead a dance while someone keeps changing the music. You’re exhausted trying to keep up, but can’t stop moving.

Here’s the truth:

You can’t think your way out of stress. You have to feel your way back to safety.

And that’s where regulation, not strength, comes in.

#RebelMoment:

Let’s be clear: You’re not dramatic. Your nervous system is dancing to survival’s beat.

It’s time you chose a new rhythm. #RebelMoment asks, isn’t it time to choose you, to choose the new dance that YOU CHOOSE to lead!

You don’t need more discipline.

You need permission to pause, to soften, to check in.

Stress isn’t just a productivity problem. It’s a body rhythm problem. And when you start listening to the rhythm of your nervous system, you begin to find your flow again.

Even if life still plays the occasional offbeat tune, you’ll move with it differently. More grounded. More spacious. More you.

If this dance feels familiar, come closer. Not to fix it, but to feel less alone in it.

Inside Little Soul Shack, I don’t promise balance.

I teach the rhythm of regulation.

Instead of bracing against every beat, you’ll sway with it, grounded in your rhythm.

And your rhythm, love? It’s waiting to be remembered.

Join me live in the Reset Room, Tuesday + Wednesday evenings. Come as you are, and let your nervous system find its rhythm again. Book your spot here: https://little-soul-shack.heymarvelous.com/calendar

I look forward to seeing you there!

Stay Blessed!

LoveLove

Nat x

Exhausted but still brilliant? You bet you are.

Want some no-fluff, all-heart nervous system goodness popping into your inbox?

➔ Subscribe to Inside Nat’s Notebook, tea and giggles included. [Subscribe]

Are you ready to call time on tired?

➔ Book a FREE Reset Chat. Tea, biscuits, you, me and a little nervous system magic. [Chat with Nat]

It’s lighter on the other side, I promise.

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