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What happens when the warning signals from our bodies become so normalized that we fail to recognize them as distress calls? After experiencing a sudden atrial fibrillation episode that landed me in the emergency room, doctors asked the question that haunted me: "Why did you wait so long to seek help?" The answer was both simple and profound – I had been ignoring my body's desperate attempts to complete stress cycles that had accumulated over the years.

This deeply personal episode explores the science behind stress cycles and explains why completing them is essential for our overall well-being. Drawing on Emily and Amelia Nagoski's groundbreaking work, I explain that stress isn't just a feeling, but a physiological cycle with distinct phases that must reach a state of completion. When we continuously interrupt this natural process, moving from one stressor to the next without allowing our bodies to process and release, we remain in a state of hypervigilance that takes a devastating toll on our physical and mental health.

Whether you're feeling the early warning signs of burnout or want to develop healthier rhythms, this episode offers seven practical strategies to complete stress cycles and return to a state of flourishing.

Revisit these podcast episodes mentioned in today's episode:

E337. The Art of Slowing Down with A.C. Seiple

E314. Radical Relaxation with Tracie Braylock

E272. Forest Bathing in the Hallerbos

E274. Everything is Reconciled in a Garden

Read Dr. Brene Brown's interview with the Nagoski Sisters

Read the Stanford U article on "Cyclic Sighing"

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