Stress Awareness Month: What the Body Keeps the Score On

April is National Stress Awareness Month. Most people encounter stress management as a response — something you reach for after the damage is already accumulating. This talk starts earlier. The first half covers the physiology: how the stress response works, what cortisol and the autonomic nervous system do over time, and what chronic low-grade activation looks like in the body before it becomes a problem you can name. The second half is evidence-based tools, what the research supports, what the effect sizes look like, and how to build them into a life that is already full. Questions submitted in advance shape the Q&A. Submitting a question does not constitute medical advice or establish a patient relationship.