---
title: '5 Surprising Signs Your Body Is FINALLY Recovering From Chronic Stress'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=AwD7rvXB62w'
video_id: 'AwD7rvXB62w'
date: 2026-08-17
duration_sec: 1504
channel: 'Dr. Mindy Pelz'
---

# 5 Surprising Signs Your Body Is FINALLY Recovering From Chronic Stress

> Source: [5 Surprising Signs Your Body Is FINALLY Recovering From Chronic Stress](https://youtube.com/watch?v=AwD7rvXB62w)

## Summary

This video explains how heart rate variability (HRV) serves as a key indicator of nervous system balance and stress resilience. The speaker outlines five signs that indicate the nervous system is healing, even when these signs feel uncomfortable, and provides practical steps to support recovery.

### Key Points

- **HRV as a Stress Predictor** [00:03] — A meta-analysis of over 38,000 people found that heart rate variability (HRV) is a predictor of stress overload. HRV reflects vagus nerve tone and indicates whether the nervous system is balanced or stuck in fight-or-flight.
- **Vagus Nerve and Parasympathetic System** [01:09] — The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the body and drives the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation. When stuck in fight-or-flight, HRV drops, signaling an inability to switch between states.
- **Nervous System States: Green, Yellow, Red** [04:58] — The nervous system has rest (parasympathetic) and go (sympathetic) modes. Staying in go mode too long leads to freeze mode. Green is balanced, yellow is activated (still perceiving threat), and red is collapsed.
- **Sign 1: Increased Fatigue** [06:12] — When healing, you may feel more tired than ever, including 'wired and tired.' This is because staying in fight-or-flight consumes energy, and finally resting allows the body to recover. Needing more sleep is not laziness.
- **Sign 2: Crying More Often** [07:20] — Crying releases cortisol through tears, helping to reduce stress buildup. It is a healthy mechanism to release stored emotion and move out of activated or frozen states. Normalize crying as part of healing.
- **Sign 3: Increased Irritability** [09:38] — Irritability can be a sign of healing because it indicates the nervous system is rebounding from stressors. A healthy nervous system recovers quickly after a stressor; constant irritability suggests being stuck in yellow or red states.
- **Sign 4: Digestion Changes** [11:41] — Digestion reflects nervous system balance. Constipation is linked to a yellow (activated) state, while diarrhea may indicate overactive movement. As the nervous system heals, digestion may fluctuate, including bloating or new hunger cues.
- **Sign 5: Stillness Feels Uncomfortable** [12:38] — When the nervous system is wired for alert, quiet moments can feel like torture. This is 'signal complexity'—the ability to handle calm. Finding activities like surfing or nature walks can help train the system to be still.
- **Step 1: Let Fatigue Win and Use 4-7-8 Breathing** [15:35] — Allow yourself to rest when exhausted. Practice 4-7-8 breathing: inhale through the nose for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8. The longer exhale activates stretch receptors in the vagus nerve, slowing heart rate and promoting relaxation.
- **Step 2: Feel and Express Emotions** [16:58] — Let yourself feel and express emotions—anger, sadness—rather than suppressing them. Time in nature supports cortisol release and calms the system because nature is in a parasympathetic state.
- **Step 3: Rebuild Sleep with Magnesium and Routine** [17:46] — Stress depletes magnesium, which impairs sleep, creating a vicious cycle. Consider a magnesium supplement (e.g., Qualia). Establish a consistent bedtime and wake time to signal safety to the nervous system.
- **Step 4: Give Irritability a Practice Ground** [19:53] — Instead of suppressing snappiness, express it through humming, gargling, chanting, or breath holds. These practices provide an outlet for the nervous system without lashing out at others.
- **Step 5: Get Support** [21:17] — Seek support from a somatic therapist, nervous system-informed practitioner, or a community like the Reset Academy. A supportive environment helps you master stillness and regulate your nervous system.

### Conclusion

Healing the nervous system often feels worse before it feels better, but these signs indicate progress. By using breathwork, nature, sleep, emotional expression, and support, you can train your nervous system to return to balance and improve overall health.

## Transcript

cardiovascular medicine highlighted >> [music] >> a meta-analysis over 38,000 people. That's a lot of people to study. And what they found is that there's one
And what they found is that there's one predictor of overload of stress. And it is called heart rate variability. And if you understand this one measurement and how it can show you whether your nervous system is balanced,
whether you're able to handle the stress load that maybe your life is providing you, whether you are setting yourself up for a heart attack, whether it's your nervous system that has you so locked that you can't lose weight, that this
that you can't lose weight, that this one measurement tells you all the information you need to know to answer those questions. Heart rate variability is a sign of vagus nerv- nerve tone.
The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in your body, and it [music] is the number one driver of the part of your nervous system that helps you relax, called your parasympathetic nervous system. And when
parasympathetic nervous system. And when your nervous system is actually stuck in fight or flight, if it's stuck in freeze mode, and your stress is so over the mode, and your stress is so over the top, this one measurement, HRV, will
top, this one measurement, HRV, will actually take a nose dive. actually take a nose dive. And what it is signaling is that you are not able to switch from a parasympathetic
parasympathetic nervous system state into a sympathetic nervous system state. You can not able to switch back and forth that you are to switch back and forth that you are actually locked into a fight or flight
nervous system. And what I want to show you on this video is learning how to go you on this video is learning how to go from back into a balanced nervous system by looking at your HRV, and we'll talk about it here in a moment, is one of the
about it here in a moment, is one of the greatest skills you can learn for your health. It is one of the greatest skills you can [music] learn for losing weight. It is one of the greatest skills you can learn for balancing your menopause
symptoms. Knowing how to go from rest and digest to fight or flight [music] and move in and out of that is the key to health. But here's what I want you to know. When you come out of a fight or [music]
flight situation, what's happening is it's like I call it like a thawing out where all of a sudden you are trying to relax, you're dipping >> [music] >> relax state, you actually will feel
worse. Which is why so many people don't [music] train their parasympathetic. Why so many people have these horrible heart rate variabilities. [music] Why so many people have chronic disease and and
weight loss resistance because of the overstimulation their stress. And I'm here to tell you that I am one of those people [music] and I have been working on balancing my nervous system consciously now [music]
for a year and a half. And in this video, what I'm going to And in this video, what I'm going to show you is that there are clear signs >> that your nervous system is starting to get itself balanced again,
>> [music] >> because this one HRV is a tough >> because this one HRV is a tough measurement. It's hard to be able to understand it. [music] You can get an aura ring. You can get a Whoop band.
>> [music] >> but I've come up with something better and it's a free gift to you. It's called a nervous system questionnaire. I'll leave it the link here in the notes. You can put NSQ in your comments or my team
will send it to you. We got QR codes. I want you to have it. It is free and you can take a quiz [music] that will tell you where your nervous system is at and what you do to get out, get [music] your nervous system back into a balanced
>> [music] >> we're going to show you the five signs of why your nervous system is healing and you feel horrible. And don't worry, I want you to feel great. But I want [music] you to start
to learn to rehab your nervous system cuz it'll change everything [music] in cuz it'll change everything [music] in your life. So, here we go.
five signs of what's actually happening. We know that your nervous system has a We know that your nervous system has a rest mode and it has a go mode. This is called parasympathetic. This is called sympathetic. If you stay in go mode too
long, you go into freeze mode. And freeze mode is where we withdraw. It's where we numb ourselves. That was Stephen Porges's work with the polyvagal theory. And so, one of the first signs most of us, when you take the nervous
think most of you are going to find you're in what we call a yellow. Which means you are activated. Your nervous system still thinks it is nervous system still thinks it is running from a threat. That is yellow.
And when you are in red, your nervous system collapses And when you are in a green nervous system state, it you can move in and out of stress really well. But what we've noticed here in on in YouTube, what I noticed in my clinic,
what we see in our Reset Academy, is when people start to finally heal their nervous system, the sign number one sign is you may be more tired than ever. And honestly,
that could look like wired and tired. Anybody else experience wired and tired you're just exhausted and you're like, "Oh my god, I just feel so horrible." But your your nervous system's like, "Get up and go. Go do something." Put in
the comments if that's you. This 25 review described HR recovery, HRV recovery, after a stressor as the autonomic system's ability to return
back to baseline. So, you end up having this stressed out moment and all of a sudden you rest and you're exhausted because it took a lot of energy to stay in fight or flight. So, if suddenly you need more
sleep than you used to, that's not laziness. It's your body finally being able to rest. So, if you have been trying to overcome burnout, if you're
differently, and you're exhausted, congratulations. Your nervous system thanks you. Stay with it because you won't always be like that. You cry more often. Okay.
I mean, in our culture, crying is like a sign of weakness. But do you know that when you cry, you actually cortisol comes out of your tears? It is a mechanism inside your brilliant body that is making sure that the cortisol
doesn't just build, build, build, build, build, but that it actually starts to build, but that it actually starts to come out of you. Crying is a good thing. Let's normalize crying. Because crying is a way for us to start
to release and get out of the activated yellow or the totally frozen and stuck So there was brain scan research reviewed in this in this article I'm
talking about that found people with a higher resting heart rate variability amygdala that part of your brain, the the limbic system that is always looking out to make sure you're safe and the prefrontal
cortex, the part of you that regulates your emotions. And what they found is that a stuck nervous system, this one that's in red,
keeps emotions locked down, doesn't express it. express it. Because it feels like if I express it, something horrible more difficult will happen to me.
So when you your nervous system is feeling less safe, you are less emotional. But as vagal tone improves, as HRV improves, as you start to strengthen this parasympathetic
nervous system and you come out of these locked states, you have a lot of stored emotion inside of you, more tears are going to come. I did a great interview that I a lot [snorts] of you are enjoying here on YouTube with Dr. Frank
Anderson where he talked about how trauma from childhood from years ago gets locked in our nervous systems and in our body and and prevents us from losing weight and contributes to really crazy menopause
symptoms. So let it out. Cry away. Get those emotions out because that's how you start to balance your nervous system. Sign number three, you're healing but doesn't feel so good, but your nervous
system's trying to heal, is you get more irritable or you snap more than you So, in the stress test done in the study, they looked at HRV dropping
sharply when a stressor hits. That's what we would expect. Your HRV would drop, and then it rises as your body recovers. And that rebound is a sign of nervous system re- resetting itself. It is a very good thing. So, you go into a
stressor, and all of a sudden you're like, "Game on." And you're able to like do whatever you need to do, but then you can recover from it. Those of you that don't recover from it, you get irritable.
So, if you're in a constant state of irritability all day long, it tells you you're in a yellow state or a red state. You're not in this green balanced nervous system because your nervous system can't recover from the stressors.
It's staying locked in that state. So, you know, irritability is good because you will lash out and then you relax. One of the things I like to look at is I like to look at how quickly I recover from a
stressor. I like I mentioned for a year and a half, I have been really training my nervous system. It got so locked up from all the books I've written, all the book launches I've done, all the videos I've done here on YouTube, all the the
travel I've done doing interviews, my nervous system was so agitated that I withdrew. I became numb. I became almost like a wall. And as I've been healing, I cry more, I'm irritable more, but what happens is I recover quicker. So, I have
an experience with stress, and then I can let go of that. That is a healthy Okay, sign number four your nervous system is actually healing is your digestion changes. So,
rest and digest is what the parasympathetic nervous system looks like. People who are constipated are often in a yellow activated state. often in a yellow activated state. People who are um who maybe have
diarrhea are often times in a nervous system state that is moving things through them too quickly. So, when you get that balance back in the nervous system system starts to heal, you might get bloated, you might
have new hunger cues, um you might notice that your digestive system is changing. You might one day be constipated, the next day maybe you are are you have looser stools. But, your digestion tells you how balanced that
nervous system is. Constipation is definitely a sign of a locked state. Okay, sign number five. This one I've experienced so much. I want you If this is you, please put it in the comments so I at least know I'm
not alone. Stillness feels uncomfortable. It feels like torture. Anybody else have that experience? that experience? So, when a system is wild wired for
alert, when it is constantly scanning to make sure a threat doesn't get it, then when it's quiet, it screams at you And it says, "Oh my god, you're not scanning for safety. Get up. Go." So,
scanning for safety. Get up. Go." So, when you sit, you feel horrible. when you sit, you feel horrible. So, they call it signal complexity. And it is the nervous system's ability to handle calm in unstructured moments.
I am going through this right now. When I slow down, my nervous system yells at me. This is one of the reasons those of you who've been following me for a while, or you've been on my in my reset academy, I am so
in love with my new sport, surfing. Because I can go out into the water without any electronics. I have to think about the waves to stay alive. Um, I about the waves to stay alive. Um, I can't be thinking about stress. I had to
find another way to calm because sitting on the couch felt torturous because all my nervous system wanted to do is tell me I wasn't scanning for safety. So,
again, if that's you, understand that's a sign the nervous system is trying to balance itself. Get that nervous system questionnaire so that you can see where
you're at. So, here's what I don't want you to do if you are trying to heal a nervous system. If you have any of those symptoms I just said, don't tell yourself you're getting worse. You may actually be getting
better. Second, if you are in a maxed nervous system, please don't push through with caffeine or push harder into a fast or push harder at your workouts. If that's not helping you, if you're not feeling
calmer after those, get off the more train. Number three, stop suppressing your irritability, stop suppressing tears. Those of you that are going through menopause, go watch the video I did with
LeAnn Rimes where she talks about the rage she's feeling. It's great that she has rage. If you're angry, express it. If you're sad, express it. Stop having that I'm going to stay professional phase. You need to be able to let it out
because that's how we start to balance the nervous system. The fourth trick I the nervous system. The fourth trick I don't want you to do is restricting food the moment your digestion changes. If you are having digestive problems, let
me show you how you can balance your nervous system so that you can start to be able to balance your digestive system. So, here's what you do. Step
we're going to start letting fatigue win. If you feel exhausted, go with it. Even if you're like, "I'm going to sit on the couch. This feels horrible. I I It's my nervous system is screaming at me." Just give your body a moment and
let it do it. If that is difficult to do, then when you're sitting, try My favorite form of breathing is called 4-7-8 breathing, where you inhale
through your nose for four, you hold it for a count of seven, and you exhale for a count of eight. The research is showing that the longer The research is showing that the longer exhale is pivotal for training this
parasympathetic nervous system, for moving you out of these yellow and red states and into a green state. The longer exhale is one of the simplest
ways to send a cue to your body that it can relax. It actually activates stretch can relax. It actually activates stretch stress receptors, these receptor sites in the vagus nerve that slow down your heart rate. And they start to nudge you
heart rate. And they start to nudge you towards a more balanced nervous system. Step number two I want you to apply is I want you to let yourself want you to let yourself feel whatever is coming in and get it
out. If you're mad, get it out. If you're sad, get it out. Stop holding it inside. And if you can't do that around other people, get out into nature because what we know is that time in nature is one of the simplest ways to
nature is one of the simplest ways to support the release of cortisol, the release of sympathetic energy, and it calms the whole system. Why? Because nature is never in a state of fight or flight.
Nature lives in a state of parasympathetic. Lie on the ground in the back in your backyard. Go for a walk at the beach. Go hug a tree. Get into a Anything that puts you into the frequency of nature is going to start to
train your nervous system that it is safe. Step number three is that I want you to start rebuilding sleep. And this might look like increasing your mineral
support. So, there is an interesting connection between cortisol, too much cortisol, and too little magnesium. So, the first thing I want you to do in rebuilding your sleep is I want you to try a
magnesium supplement. My favorite is Qualia. It's one I use every night. I'll leave a link in the notes, so you can access that and get codes. And the interesting thing about magnesium is that when you're stressed, you
deplete magnesium. And when your magnesium is depleted, you can't sleep. And when you can't sleep, you get stressed. And all of a sudden, you're in this vicious loop. So, when we go to rebuild sleep,
magnesium is a key part of it. Another key part of rebuilding sleep in order through the lens of the nervous system is to say tell your nervous system, "It's 9:00 right now. We're going to go to bed. And we get up at 6:00." Whatever
your yours is. But that definite rhythm of I go to bed at the same time, and I get up at the same time, that kind of routine is calming to your nervous
system. So, let's make sure that you are sending a signal to your nervous system by laying down at 9:00 and getting up at laying down at 9:00 and getting up at 6:00, whatever your amount is. Um I one
6:00, whatever your amount is. Um I one trick that I've done is if 9:00 shows up and I'm not tired, is I get in the bed anyways, cuz I'm training my nervous system. We are balanced now. I'm telling it, we're balanced. We We stop You don't
have to scan. Yeah, we're balanced. We're fine. So, it's a message to the nervous system. Okay, step number four is give your irritability a practice
ground, like a practice place. You're going to practice your irritability. Let's just make it that easy. So, instead of suppressing your snappiness, instead of suppressing your snappiness, you want to express the snappiness, but
that might not mean you're going to yell at somebody. It can be humming. It can be gargling. It can be those breath holds. And the hold your breath for a count of four and then exhale for eight. You want, when you are irritable, to
have practice tools. I can tell you what I've started doing is I hum. When I'm in bed and I and I can feel my nervous system doesn't want to let go, I just hum. I'm like, "Mhm. Mhm."
I just start to go into a hum state and it really relaxes me. So, if you haven't tried humming, I highly highly recommend it. But, instead of lashing out at somebody, now you could go talk to a friend and talk about your problems, if
that feels good, or why you're irritable, or a therapist, um is great, but in the moment, if you can't yell at your boss, you can't yell at your kids, you can't yell at your spouse, try humming, gargling, chanting, those
humming, gargling, chanting, those breathing, those are are practice ground for your nervous system to give it an outlet. And step number five is get some support.
You got we got to get you mastering stillness. We got to get you into that place where you can sit and you can your body can go I'm safe. I'm okay. And so body can go I'm safe. I'm okay. And so if it the quiet feels unbearable, it's
not a personal flaw. It's your nervous system has never been given the opportunity to sit and be safe. So you might try like a somatic therapist or a nervous system informed practitioner or a community. Come on
into our reset Academy. You can put reset Academy in the comments and my team will send you a link. We have thousands of women over there supporting each other. We have calls, meditation calls, and gatherings, and we created
this incredible supportive environment where you can not only become insulin sensitive again, but you can regulate [clears throat] your nervous system. So you don't have to go at this alone. It's often time times it's more beneficial to
get around a like-minded community who supports you and is cheering you on in your nervous system healing. Here are the five things you can do immediately. Start with your breath. Right after this
video, you can do four in, hold for seven, eight out. Second thing, make sure you're getting outside, getting into nature, you're getting light. So right now, get off your phones. After you watch this, go
And get out and start walking around, get into nature, get into light. All of that can be really calming to your nervous system. Number three, create a lights out time. Remember how your kids had a had a
bedtime? Put yourself on a bedtime. And what did you do for your kids? You read them books, you gave them a bath, you wind them down so that they could get to sleep. Number four is you're going to start to
Number four is you're going to start to attach or grab on to a vagal tone attach or grab on to a vagal tone exercise like humming, gargling, chanting, and you can attach this to teeth brush
where you brush your teeth when you get ready for bed, walk around chanting, listen to chanting music. When you go to brush your teeth, gargle. Gargling is great for stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system.
parasympathetic nervous system. And number five is you want to say one out loud to a person. So, maybe it's your spouse, maybe it's your best friend, maybe it's your therapist. Like go in and be tell
somebody, "My nervous system is healing and it feels like crap right now. I feel Well, that's because you're moving out of go mode. And so, all of a sudden you're in this trying to relax, but you can't because your nervous system was so
trained to be in fight fight or flight and to watch safety constantly. But I can tell you as one person who has been really working on her nervous system, really working to improve her vagal tone, this works. And when you first do
it, you will feel [music] horrible. This is why I created my nervous system questionnaire so you knew where you were at and then I gave you lifestyle tools that will support [music] that nervous system state in helping you get back to
balance. If you're already balanced, then that nervous [music] system NSQ will show you how to stay balanced. But this is everything [music] because if you are struggling with your life, with your mood, with your health,
[music] we got to start with the nervous system. So, as always, I hope that you're not going to want to stop there. Check out this video.