{"id":632661,"date":"2026-09-22T17:42:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T17:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/632661\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T17:42:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T17:42:14","slug":"im-a-stress-expert-heres-why-everything-you-think-you-know-about-cortisol-is-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/632661\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m a stress expert: Here\u2019s why everything you think you know about cortisol is wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every good story has a villain and, in the tale of modern-day anxiety<\/a> and chronic stress<\/a>, cortisol has been firmly cast as the bad guy. Thanks to the extensive reach of the social media<\/a> \u201cwellness<\/a>\u201d world, people who\u2019d never even heard of this steroid hormone a few years ago suddenly think they know all about it. Feeling wired and jittery, with fluttery heart palpitations and a gut that\u2019s doing backflips? That\u2019s down to a sudden cortisol spike<\/a>! You\u2019ve got too much! Quick, do some box breathing!<\/p>\n

In reality, though, we might have got cortisol all wrong. In fact, it may just be the most misunderstood hormone in the body, slapped with a bad reputation it doesn\u2019t deserve. That\u2019s according to Dr Erin Kinney, author of a new book, The Cortisol Cure: The secret to resetting your stress<\/a> response, boosting energy and feeling better than ever, which turns everything we thought we knew on its head.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s more than aware of people thinking cortisol is bad. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of talk in the media and on social media: lower your cortisol, suppress it, we have to get rid of it. But it\u2019s a really important hormone. We actually want to make sure we have enough of it to handle all our stressors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DrDr Erin Kinney: \u2018We actually want to make sure we have enough cortisol to handle all our stressors\u2019 (Dr Erin Kinney)<\/p>\n

The common association with stress is warranted; cortisol is a hormone that your body produces in response to stress. But \u2013 and this is crucial \u2013 your body creates cortisol to give you the energy that you need to handle that stress. \u201cIt\u2019s also what wakes you up in the morning and makes you feel good,\u201d explains Kinney. \u201cIt makes you turn your brain on. And the other thing that\u2019s really important to know about cortisol: it\u2019s a major, potent, anti-inflammatory molecule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even stress, in and of itself, is not inherently bad. High-intensity exercise, for example, is a stressor \u2013 it is putting our body into the same physical \u201cfight or flight\u201d state, and harnessing the same energy, as our ancestors evolved to be able to run away from predators. \u201cStress is simply, to our bodies, a spend of energy \u2013 and when we relax, that\u2019s when we earn it back,\u201d says Kinney. <\/p>\n

Where the biggest misunderstanding lies is in our tendency to blame stress symptoms on having too much cortisol. Kinney explains that the opposite is true: our health is often impaired by having too little, and then undergoing what she calls a \u201ccortisol crash\u201d.<\/p>\n

Kinney, a naturopathic doctor, speaker and podcast host who runs a private practice in Maryland, USA, first became interested in cortisol after experiencing a range of unexplained symptoms in her mid-twenties.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went from running marathons and being the picture of health to gaining 30 pounds and struggling to get out of bed,\u201d she writes in The Cortisol Cure. \u201cMy joints ached. I had migraines, IBS-like symptoms, acne, and constant fatigue<\/a>. Worst of all, I was crying all the time and I didn\u2019t know why.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kinney went to her doctor and got as far as the words \u201cI think I might be depressed\u201d before being handed a prescription for antidepressants and sent her on her way. <\/p>\n

\"CortisolCortisol is one of the primary targets of modern wellness \u2013 but we may be approaching it the wrong way (Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cI walked out of that appointment in tears,\u201d she continues. \u201cI hadn\u2019t even been given the chance to explain what was happening in my body.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was only after a therapist<\/a> referred her to a naturopathic doctor that she discovered the real reason for her collective health problems: her cortisol was practically non-existent. <\/p>\n

Kinney was \u201cshocked\u201d. Like most people, she had only heard about high cortisol being a problem. That insight sparked a lifetime of study and started her own journey to become a doctor. She\u2019s now known as the \u201cStress Reset Expert\u201d, having treated thousands of patients to balance their hormones<\/a>, improve their mood and restore their energy.<\/p>\n

Stress is simply, to our bodies, a spend of energy \u2013 and when we relax, that\u2019s when we earn it back<\/p>\n

Kinney uses the wonderfully easy-to-digest analogy of a bank account to describe how cortisol actually works and how a crash plays out. \u201cWhen you rest and you sleep, that\u2019s when you\u2019re \u2018earning\u2019 cortisol that you can spend on things,\u201d she says. \u201cBut if you go through a prolonged period of stress where you\u2019re not sleeping very well, you\u2019re not relaxing, your body is \u2018on\u2019 all the time, it\u2019s like you\u2019re in a cortisol spending frenzy and you have no earning capacity.\u201d <\/p>\n

And what happens if you spend and you don\u2019t earn? \u201cYou\u2019re going to go overdrawn in your account.\u201d<\/p>\n

When this happens, the body responds in several ways to keep functioning. Firstly, it will overproduce adrenaline, another energy hormone \u2013 \u201cbut it\u2019s like a cheap energy hormone,\u201d says Kinney. \u201cIt\u2019s that feeling you get when you\u2019ve stayed up all night and drunk 10 Red Bulls.\u201d <\/p>\n

Just like necking energy drinks to pull an all-nighter, this isn\u2019t very sustainable, and your body knows it. After a period, it will move on to the next viable strategy in its arsenal: converting the sex hormones<\/a> estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, which are very similar molecularly to cortisol, to use as an alternative energy source. <\/p>\n

Kinney explains the process: \u201cIt\u2019s like those are your savings account, and the body will essentially rob Peter to pay Paul and go, \u2018Oh, we\u2019ve got testosterone over there. I\u2019m going to just convert that into cortisol so she still has energy.\u2019\u201d As a consequence, you\u2019ll then get symptoms of drops in those hormones.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Cortisol Cure is out now (Piatkus)<\/p>\n

The symptoms of a cortisol crash are wide-ranging. First off, there\u2019s fatigue. Brain fog<\/a> is also common, both because cortisol is what locks your brain into focus, and because dips in estrogen, progesterone and testosterone \u2013 converted into cortisol when you\u2019re running low \u2013 can exacerbate matters further, particularly for women. And then there\u2019s pain: joint pain, migraines and back pain<\/a>. Cortisol is a natural anti-inflammatory; deplete your stores and inflammation<\/a> is more likely. It\u2019s the same reason younger people can see acne flare-ups when their cortisol is low, as inflammation is a key part of the skin condition\u2019s development. <\/p>\n

Kinney flags that another cortisol crash symptom is weight gain<\/a>. She sees many midlife<\/a> women who are completely unable to shift the number on the scales, despite cutting calories and working out more. <\/p>\n

Here, she uses another easy-to-understand analogy: \u201cIf you pretend your body is like a house and inside you have your laundry room, your bathroom, your kitchen \u2013 which is like your major organs, your liver, kidneys, bowels \u2013 the weight you want to lose is akin to a basement closet filled with junk.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re running a household, sorting out the basement closet is not high on the priority list; the basement closet is, in fact, going to come right at the bottom. \u201cYou\u2019re only going to clean that out if you have the energy and the time to do so,\u201d posits Kinney. \u201cIf your household checking account \u2013 your cortisol account \u2013 is running low, you\u2019re not going to spend the money on an organiser for the basement, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

You need enough energy, or cortisol credit, built up to lose weight. It\u2019s why Kinney, somewhat counterintuitively, often advises female patients to slow down. \u201cI actually have them stop exercising and just do gentle walks and stretches instead, and we work on refuelling the body and getting their cortisol back up,\u201d she says. \u201cThen when we approach weight loss<\/a>, it\u2019s a whole different ballgame. It works every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

If your household checking account \u2013 your cortisol account \u2013 is running low, you\u2019re not going to spend the money on an organiser for the basement, right?<\/p>\n

Cortisol debt can also impact sex drive, mood, sleep, digestion, and the menstrual cycle. So, if the key to improving our health is replenishing our cortisol stores and getting back in the black, how to go about building credit? Here are some of Kinney\u2019s top tips:<\/p>\n

Toes up<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favourite quick practice is a 10-minute \u2018toes up\u2019 reset where you lay flat and you close your eyes. You could listen to music or do a meditation. It\u2019s like a power relaxation nap \u2013 kind of like charging your phone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duvet days \u2013 in moderation<\/p>\n

\u201cI block out one day a month and call it my \u2018bed day\u2019. I don\u2019t get out of bed \u2013 I sleep and I read and sometimes I\u2019ll watch a movie, or my partner and I might have sex. I plan for it and I put it in the calendar as an intentional practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eat regularly<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important diet thing relating to cortisol is to keep your blood sugar balanced. When you have a blood sugar dip, that is what we call an internal stressor to the body, which will activate your cortisol response. I make sure patients are eating something at least three times a day. No skipping breakfast \u2013 eat your protein before having your caffeine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NoNo skips: breakfast is a must if you\u2019re ever going to balance your cortisol (Getty)<\/p>\n

Exercise \u2013 but not too much<\/p>\n

\u201cMovement is an important part of living a healthy lifestyle, but exercise for most people is the extreme version of fight or flight. If you\u2019re doing a HIIT class or cardio, it\u2019s the same as running from something, so it\u2019s putting your body into that cortisol \u2018spend\u2019 state. It\u2019s not to say that you shouldn\u2019t exercise; just make sure you\u2019re not overdoing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Save it for when you need it<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have a really busy season coming up and you know you\u2019re going to want to have more energy, make some extra deposits in your energy account in the weeks leading up to it. Before a big event or project, I\u2019ll only walk and maybe do some light yoga. I don\u2019t do any intense exercise \u2013 because I don\u2019t want to drain my energy account too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Work out your relax muscle<\/p>\n

\u201cIn modern-day society, we put so much value on productivity, but we don\u2019t put value on rest and recovery. We have two muscles of our nervous system: your stress muscle and your relax muscle. Often, all we do all day long is work out the stress muscle \u2013 we get up, we exercise, we drive to work, we work, we come home, we cook dinner, we go with friends, we take care of our kids. We\u2019re constantly doing. Every time you do something where you\u2019re \u2018on\u2019, it\u2019s a rep for that muscle, so for most of us it\u2019s very strong. Conversely, our relax muscle is very weak. We need to re-learn how to switch off and just be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The Cortisol Cure\u2019 by Dr Erin Kinney is published on 22 September 2026 by Piatkus, and is available to buy online and in stores<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every good story has a villain and, in the tale of modern-day anxiety and chronic stress, cortisol has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[103,61,60,410,411],"class_list":["post-632661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}