High Cortisol Symptoms: Why You're Exhausted, Wired, and Can't Think Straight

You’re exhausted, but somehow still wired.
Snapping at the people you love.
Struggling to sleep, yet permanently tired.
Forgetting things, losing focus, and finding even simple tasks strangely heavy.

It’s easy to think you’re falling behind or not coping.
But the truth is far kinder: your nervous system is overwhelmed.

And one tiny hormone is working overtime behind the scenes: cortisol.

What Is Cortisol? (And Why It Feels Like It Won’t Switch Off)

Cortisol isn’t the villain. We actually need it. In short bursts, it helps you wake up, stay alert, respond to challenges, and keep yourself safe.

But it was never designed to run constantly in the background.

When stress becomes ongoing, even that quiet, everyday pressure you barely notice, cortisol stops helping and starts causing chaos.
Your mood, memory, sleep, weight, immune system, and even the way your brain processes the world can all be affected.

Why Your Cortisol Keeps Firing

Your brain is wired for survival, not happiness.
So when something feels even slightly threatening, a tricky email, conflict, a heavy to-do list, or comparing yourself to others online, it sends a signal to your adrenal glands to release cortisol.

It happens before you can think.
Your primitive brain simply whispers, “Not safe. Act now.”

The issue is that most of our modern “threats” aren’t actually dangerous. But your brain reacts to a stressful WhatsApp message in the same way it would have reacted to a predator thousands of years ago.

Why High Cortisol Makes You “Tired But Wired”

When cortisol stays high for too long, you might notice:

• Trouble falling asleep or waking up exhausted

• Brain fog, forgetfulness, or feeling scattered

• Irritability, tearfulness, or sudden mood swings

• Feeling overwhelmed by things you would normally handle

• Weight gain around the tummy

• Getting ill more often

• Hormonal ups and downs

• Low motivation or burnout

Or sometimes you feel nothing at all, just flat, numb, or disconnected.
That isn’t failure. It is another survival strategy: your brain hitting the brakes after running too fast for too long.

The Cortisol-Brain Connection: Why You Can’t “Think Your Way Out”

High cortisol dampens the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain that handles clear thinking, decision-making, memory, and emotional balance.

So when you’re stressed and suddenly:

• Snap at someone

• Lose your train of thought

• Can’t make a simple choice

• Feel like you’re not coping

…it’s not a personal flaw.
It is simply biology. Cortisol doing exactly what it was designed to do.

How to Lower Cortisol Naturally (5 Science-Backed Ways)

You don’t need a full lifestyle overhaul.
Your brain calms down in response to safety, connection, and predictability.

Here are gentle, effective ways to support your nervous system:

1. Deep, slow breathing

Think of it as a signal to your body that the danger has passed. Try a simple four-in, six-out rhythm.

2. Restorative sleep

REM sleep is where your brain files memories, settles emotions, and resets stress levels. A calm wind-down routine really does make a difference.

3. Gentle movement

Walking, yoga, or swimming all help clear leftover cortisol without putting more stress on your system.

4. Positive social connection

Feeling understood or sharing a laugh with someone you trust can reduce cortisol faster than food or rest.

5. Hypnotherapy

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy helps your brain access calm, restorative states similar to REM sleep. This supports emotional processing and rewiring old stress responses. It teaches the brain a new message: “We’re safe now.”

When High Cortisol Becomes Chronic

If you feel like you’ve lost your spark or you’re constantly trying to catch up with yourself, please hear this:

You’re not lazy.
You’re not failing.
You’re not broken.

You are simply carrying more than your nervous system was designed to hold.

And with the right support, you can come back to yourself.

At Trancespire Hypnotherapy, I help people understand their stress response and gently guide their brain out of survival mode. Whether it’s anxiety, burnout, overwhelm, or that constant feeling of being on edge, there is a way through, and you don’t have to navigate it alone.

Your Cortisol Questions Answered

• What are the symptoms of high cortisol?

  Description text goesHigh cortisol symptoms include feeling exhausted but unable to sleep (tired but wired), brain fog, irritability, weight gain around the midsection, frequent illness, and feeling constantly on edge or overwhelmed. here

• How do I know if my cortisol is too high?

  Common signs include waking up tired despite sleeping, difficulty calming down at night, snapping at small things, memory problems, and feeling like you can't cope with normal stress. If you have 3+ of these symptoms consistently, your cortisol may be chronically elevated.

• Can you lower cortisol naturally?

  Yes. Cortisol lowers in response to safety signals: deep breathing, quality sleep (especially REM), gentle movement, positive social connection, and practices like hypnotherapy that help your nervous system shift out of survival mode.

• Why am I tired but wired?

  This "tired but wired" feeling happens when cortisol stays elevated for too long. Your body is exhausted, but your stress hormones keep your nervous system in a state of high alert, making it impossible to truly rest or sleep deeply.

• How long does high cortisol last?

  Acute cortisol spikes last minutes to hours. But chronic stress can keep cortisol elevated for weeks, months, or even years, leading to burnout, health issues, and that constant feeling of being "stuck" in survival mode.

• Can hypnotherapy help lower cortisol?

  Yes. Research shows hypnotherapy activates the parasympathetic nervous system and creates brain states similar to REM sleep, helping process stress and signal safety to the primitive brain, which naturally lowers cortisol.

Book a free consultation today and take the first step toward a calmer mind and more balanced body.
👉 Book now

Hi, I’m Lorraine Sheppard

I help overwhelmed people feel lighter and back in control - often in just a few sessions using gentle hypnotherapy and solution-focused techniques. Having overcome my own anxiety and depression, I bring both professional expertise and genuine understanding to guide you toward lasting change.