Cortisol, Adrenaline, and the Trauma Response
When you experience trauma or overwhelming stress, your body reacts instantly. Two key hormones—cortisol and adrenaline—are released to help you survive. At Body and Mind Collective, we help clients understand how these stress hormones affect the brain and body, and why learning about them can be an important step toward healing.
What Are Cortisol and Adrenaline?
Both cortisol and adrenaline are part of the body’s stress response system, often called the “fight, flight, freeze, or fawn” response.
Adrenaline (epinephrine): Released first, adrenaline increases your heart rate, blood pressure, and energy supply. It prepares your body to react instantly to danger.
Cortisol: Released slightly later, cortisol helps sustain the stress response. It keeps blood sugar elevated, suppresses non-essential functions (like digestion), and maintains alertness.
These hormones are life-saving in emergencies, but when trauma or chronic stress keeps them activated, they can overwhelm the nervous system.
The Role of Cortisol and Adrenaline in Trauma
In a trauma response, the brain signals the adrenal glands to release cortisol and adrenaline. This can create:
Hyperarousal: feeling on edge, anxious, or unable to relax
Physical symptoms: racing heart, sweating, digestive issues, sleep disruption
Emotional effects: irritability, mood swings, or feeling overwhelmed
Long-term impact: chronic stress and unresolved trauma can lead to immune system changes, fatigue, and health issues
Why the Trauma Response Feels Stuck
The nervous system is designed to return to balance once the threat has passed. But after trauma, the brain’s alarm system (the amygdala) may remain hypersensitive, keeping cortisol and adrenaline levels elevated. This makes the body feel like it’s in constant danger, even when it’s safe.
This “stuck” response explains why trauma survivors often report anxiety, sleep problems, chronic tension, or emotional flooding.
Calming the Cortisol and Adrenaline Cycle
The good news is that the nervous system is adaptable. With trauma therapy and mind-body practices, it’s possible to regulate stress hormones and restore balance. Approaches that help include:
Somatic therapy and EMDR — reprocess trauma and reduce hyperarousal
Mindfulness and breathwork — calm the body and lower cortisol
Yoga and movement — release stored energy and support regulation
Compassionate self-care — signals safety to the nervous system
Over time, these practices retrain the brain and body to respond with calm rather than chronic alarm.
Moving Toward Healing
Cortisol and adrenaline are not enemies—they are survival tools. But when trauma locks the stress response in overdrive, they can become overwhelming. Healing means teaching the body that it no longer needs to stay on high alert.
With the right support, therapy, and nervous system practices, you can move from survival to safety, resilience, and thriving.
