The Juggle is Real: Recognising the Signs of Stress
- Tammy Miller
- Oct 14
- 5 min read
Understanding how stress shows up in your life and the impact cortisol has on your body.
The Juggling Act of Motherhood and Work
I know all too well the juggling act of raising a family and being a working mum. School drop-offs, kids’ sports, appointments and maintaining a household.
Every morning it begins:
“Mum! Where’s my sports shirt?”
“Mum! I can’t find my water bottle!”
“Mum! I forgot to put my laptop on charge!”
Meanwhile, I’m trying to make lunchboxes and remember if I’ve even brushed my own teeth. Hang on a second… have I eaten yet? No, just the end of the carrot stick that I just cut up for the kids’ lunchbox. Did I pack anything for myself? Also no. The cup of tea I poured for myself half an hour ago, is now cold. I have no time to make another one. Classic mum move: Everyone’s fed, dressed and ready…except me.
Rushing around, dropping them off at school, trying to get to work on time. Expectations and competing priorities at work. Then school pick up, food shop, cooking dinner and just when you think you have conquered the day, the school app pings again!
Endless worry about our kid’s wellbeing.
Have they done their homework?
Have they showered?
Are they spending too much time on their devices?
The thoughts are endless…and they can take over.
It’s exhausting! Wash, rinse, sleep, repeat. I get it. One minute you’re calmly chopping fruit, the next your heart’s racing, your voice is rising and you are deep in the stress spiral. Motherhood and work life can stretch us thin… but it doesn’t have to break us.
Life looks different for me these days, because now I prioritise my nervous system and I put myself first. Because when I’m CALM, the whole house breathes easier.
What’s changed is…my mindset…I make a conscious decision to catch myself. I have the awareness to recognise what stress and anxiety looks like for me. I’ve learned to pause when the overwhelm starts to creeps in.
Balancing work and family can feel like a never-ending dance. According to recent Australian data:
Over 74% of women felt stressed balancing work and family commitments according to the 2024 National Working Families survey, commissioned by Parents at Work and UNICEF Australia, an increase from 51% in 2019.
Women in midlife report high levels of stress and fatigue, often linked to caregiving roles and hormonal transitions based off 57,000 women. (Source: Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health Annual Report 2022)
This constant pressure can lead to burnout, emotional exhaustion and hormonal imbalance, especially when self-care is pushed to the bottom of the list.
Understanding this connection is the first step towards reclaiming calm and hormonal harmony.
Cortisol’s Role in the HPA Axis
When your brain perceives stress, your body activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, releasing cortisol from the adrenal glands - the primary stress hormone. Cortisol helps you respond to challenges, but when it stays elevated for too long, it begins to interfere with several key hormones.
Comfort or Cortisol? What Are You Reaching For?
Ever found yourself searching through the pantry like a mad woman, hunting for anything that resembles chocolate? Or counting down the minutes until you can pour that glass of wine, the one you’ve been fantasising about all afternoon?
And let’s not forget the morning ritual: double shot almond latte (or however you take it), because you can’t function without it.
These little fixes feel like a sense of relief when the day’s been a whirlwind of email pings, texts and washing. But here’s the thing, while they feel like comfort, they are actually sneaky little stimulants.
They provide some relief for an hour or so. And then? Boom! Your cortisol levels spike, your nervous system goes into overdrive and suddenly you’re back in the stress spiral - wired, frazzled and wondering why you are yelling about mismatched container lids and cushions on the floor.
Instead of soothing your system, you’ve just added fuel to the fire. And your body? Well, she is just looking for CALM, not another buzz. These substances may offer short-term relief or stimulation but they often intensify the stress response over time.
Caffeine and Cortisol
Caffeine stimulates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, triggering the adrenal glands to release cortisol.
A comparative review of 15 studies found that coffee can increase cortisol levels by up to 50%, especially when consumed on an empty stomach or during stressful moments. (Sabt et al., 2025)
Alcohol and Cortisol
Alcohol initially lowers cortisol, creating a sense of relaxation. However, as blood alcohol levels drop, cortisol rebounds, sometimes higher than baseline.
Chronic alcohol use can dysregulate the HPA axis, leading to persistently elevated cortisol and increased anxiety, sleep disruption and immune suppression. (Rachdaoui & Sarkar, n.d., 2021)
Sugar and Cortisol
High sugar intake can spike blood glucose, triggering insulin and cortisol to help regulate the imbalance. (Liu, n.d., 2024)
Over time, frequent sugar consumption may lead to insulin resistance, which keeps cortisol elevated and contributes to inflammation, fatigue and hormonal imbalances.
Emotional eating during stress often involves sugary foods, which temporarily soothes but biologically reinforces the stress loop.
Summary: Fuel to the Fire
While caffeine, alcohol and sugar may feel like comfort or coping tools, they often act as stress amplifiers, especially when your nervous system is already on edge. They can:
Keep you in a “wired but tired” state
Disrupt sleep and recovery
Increase anxiety and emotional reactivity
Contribute to hormonal imbalances and burnout
How is Stress Showing Up for You? Signs that you are stressed
Mental & Emotional Signs
Racing thoughts or mental fog
Feeling overwhelmed or out of control
Irritability and/or mood swings
Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
Persistent worry
Sudden bursts of anger or tears
Physical Signs
Chest tightness or heart palpitations
Shallow breathing or shortness of breath
Muscle tension (especially neck, shoulders, jaw)
Hand tremors and/or sweating
Headaches or migraines
Digestive issues
Fatigue or low energy despite rest
Restless sleep
Increased sensitivity to noise or light
Hormonal imbalances - menstrual cycle issues
We’ll explore the deeper biochemical pathways behind this in Blog 2, including how cortisol can redirect your body’s hormones.
Holistic Support at Natural Inner Health
I offer compassionate, personalised care to help bring CALM back into your life and support your nervous and endocrine system:
Naturopathic Consultations including:
Salivary Hormone Testing – find out what’s really going on in your body.
Herbal Medicine to support your nervous system and balance the hormones.
Nutrition and vitamins to restore depletion.
Sacred Flow Massage – combining reiki and therapeutic touch.
Sound Healing – using vibrational frequencies to calm your nervous system.
Final Thoughts
Stress may be part of modern motherhood, but it doesn’t have to take over. By understanding what stress looks like and embracing holistic support, you can call back your power and feel more energised and centred naturally.
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