The Stress Cycle

Stress itself isn’t the enemy – it’s the stuckness. Our bodies are built to handle stress: a burst of energy to face a challenge, then a release once it’s over. But modern life rarely gives us that release. The emails, deadlines, worries, and invisible pressures don’t have a clear finish line. The body stays on alert – heart racing, muscles tight – long after the “threat” has passed.

When we don’t complete the stress cycle, the tension lingers. We might feel restless, foggy, snappy, or simply done. It’s like the body is still waiting for permission to stand down. Burnout begins here – not from caring too much, but from caring for too long without a pause to discharge what’s built up.

You can’t think your way out of stress. The stress response lives in the body – so the body needs to finish it. Completing the cycle isn’t a luxury or a trick; it’s how we tell the nervous system: We made it through. You can rest now.

Ways to Complete the Cycle

Movement – Walk, stretch, dance, shake, breathe. It doesn’t need to be intense – just something that lets your body express what it’s been holding.

Affection – A hug that lasts long enough for both bodies to soften. A hand on your heart. A few deep breaths while imagining someone safe and kind beside you.

Laughter – Real laughter, not polite smiles. The kind that loosens something inside. It’s the body’s way of saying, “The danger’s over.”

Crying – Not as a sign of weakness, but as release. Tears are the nervous system’s way of exhaling.

Creativity – Singing, cooking, painting, journaling – anything that helps emotion move from inside to outside.

Rest – Sometimes the most powerful completion is simply stopping. Letting the body know: “You’ve done enough for today.”

Ducks

Two ducks face each other on the water, wings half-lifted, necks stretched forward, a burst of splashing and sharp quacks. For a few heated seconds, there’s a flurry of movement, water flying, feathers ruffled, tension alive in the air. Then, as quickly as it began, it’s over.

Each duck turns away, gliding off in opposite directions. A few moments later, they both do the same thing: a vigorous shake of their wings, feathers rippling, droplets scattering like tiny sparks of sunlight. And then, calm. They float on, unbothered, as if nothing ever happened.

That shake isn’t random; it’s the body completing the stress cycle. The ducks don’t hold on to the conflict, replay it, or judge themselves for it. They release the energy, return to balance, and carry on. A quiet, natural reminder that we, too, can let the body finish what the moment began.

Stress is a natural part of being alive. The aim isn’t to avoid it, but to let it move through you.

When you learn to complete the cycle, you’re not fighting your body – you’re partnering with it.

Burnout happens when the cycle gets interrupted again and again. Recovery begins the moment we stop asking the mind to do what only the body can.

So when the day feels heavy, try this: breathe, move, feel, release. Let the body finish its story. Every time you do, you’re teaching it – I’m safe now. I can rest.