Why Your Nervous System Feels “Stuck” After Chronic Stress

By Dr. Denise Carballea

Many people assume stress ends once the stressful event is over. However, for individuals who have experienced prolonged periods of stress, anxiety, burnout, trauma, caregiving demands, or ongoing emotional strain, the body and brain do not always “reset” immediately afterward.

Even after external stressors improve, many individuals continue to feel tense, emotionally reactive, mentally exhausted, hypervigilant, disconnected, or unable to fully relax. Some describe feeling as though their nervous system is “stuck in survival mode.”

Importantly, this experience is not uncommon, and it is not simply a matter of “overreacting” or failing to cope effectively. Chronic stress can create measurable changes in how the nervous system responds to perceived demands and threats (McEwen, 2007).

Understanding the Stress Response

The nervous system is designed to help us respond to danger and adapt to challenges. When the brain perceives a threat, the body activates a stress response involving increased physiological arousal, heightened alertness, and the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.

In short-term situations, this response can be helpful and protective. However, when stress becomes chronic or repetitive, the nervous system may remain activated for longer periods of time than intended (Southwick et al., 2005).

Over time, this prolonged activation can contribute to what many people experience as feeling “stuck” in a heightened state of stress or emotional reactivity.

Signs Your Nervous System May Be Overloaded

Chronic stress can affect both emotional and physical functioning. Common experiences may include:

• Feeling constantly “on edge”

• Difficulty relaxing, even during downtime

• Increased irritability or emotional sensitivity

• Trouble concentrating or mentally “shutting off”

• Fatigue paired with feeling internally restless

• Difficulty sleeping or feeling rested

• Increased startle response or hypervigilance

• Feeling emotionally numb or disconnected

• Physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle tension, or gastrointestinal distress

Many people become frustrated with themselves because they believe they “should be over it by now.” In reality, the nervous system may still be adapting to prolonged periods of activation.

Why the Brain and Body Have Trouble “Letting Go”

When stress is ongoing, the brain becomes increasingly efficient at detecting potential threats. In some cases, the nervous system begins operating as though danger may still be present, even when circumstances have improved.

Research suggests that chronic stress can alter activity within brain systems involved in emotional regulation, threat detection, and executive functioning, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex (Arnsten, 2009; McEwen & Morrison, 2013).

As a result, individuals may notice that they:

• React more strongly to minor stressors

• Feel emotionally overwhelmed more quickly

• Have difficulty feeling safe or relaxed

• Experience increased worry or rumination

• Become mentally and physically exhausted more easily

This is not a personal weakness. Rather, it reflects a nervous system that has adapted to prolonged stress exposure.

The Connection Between Stress and Cognitive Functioning

Chronic stress does not only affect emotions — it can also affect cognition. Many individuals report increased forgetfulness, distractibility, slowed processing speed, difficulty concentrating, and mental fatigue during periods of prolonged stress (Lupien et al., 2009).

This can create additional distress, particularly for high-functioning individuals who are accustomed to operating at a high level professionally or academically. People often begin questioning themselves or worrying that something is seriously wrong cognitively, which may further increase anxiety and nervous system activation.

Recovery Often Requires More Than “Pushing Through”

Many people attempt to cope with chronic stress by becoming more productive, staying busier, or ignoring signs of burnout. Unfortunately, this approach may further reinforce nervous system overload.

Recovery often involves intentionally creating opportunities for regulation, rest, emotional processing, and nervous system recovery.

Helpful strategies may include:

• Improving sleep consistency

• Setting realistic boundaries and reducing overload

• Engaging in regular physical movement

• Practicing mindfulness or grounding strategies

• Cognitive behavioral interventions

• Therapy focused on stress, trauma, or emotional regulation

• Increasing structure, predictability, and self-care routines

• Reducing excessive self-criticism

Importantly, recovery is often gradual. Many individuals expect themselves to “bounce back” quickly, but nervous system healing frequently takes time and consistency.

Final Thoughts

If your nervous system feels “stuck” after chronic stress, you are not alone. Prolonged stress can significantly affect emotional, physical, and cognitive functioning, even after the original stressors have improved.

Understanding how chronic stress affects the brain and body can help reduce shame and self-criticism while creating space for more effective coping, support, and recovery.

References

Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). Stress signalling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6), 410–422. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2648

Lupien, S. J., McEwen, B. S., Gunnar, M. R., & Heim, C. (2009). Effects of stress throughout the lifespan on the brain, behaviour and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6), 434–445. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2639

McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: Central role of the brain. Physiological Reviews, 87(3), 873–904. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00041.2006

McEwen, B. S., & Morrison, J. H. (2013). The brain on stress: Vulnerability and plasticity of the prefrontal cortex over the life course. Neuron, 79(1), 16–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2013.06.028

Southwick, S. M., Vythilingam, M., & Charney, D. S. (2005). The psychobiology of depression and resilience to stress: Implications for prevention and treatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 255–291. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.143948