Dr. Tara Swart

Hey, everyone. If you loved that conversation, go and check out my episode with the world's leading therapist, Laurie Gottlieb, where she answers the biggest questions that people ask in therapy when it comes to love, relationships, heartbreak and dating. If you're trying to figure out that space right now, you won't want to miss this conversation.

Check this out. So cortisol is known as the stress hormone, and it absolutely correlates with emotions such as fear, anger, disgust, shame, and sadness. Cortisol isn't all bad. You know, we need it to wake up in the morning. We need it to have an adaptive stress response to, you know, a car driving too fast on the street that we're trying to cross.

Check this out. So cortisol is known as the stress hormone, and it absolutely correlates with emotions such as fear, anger, disgust, shame, and sadness. Cortisol isn't all bad. You know, we need it to wake up in the morning. We need it to have an adaptive stress response to, you know, a car driving too fast on the street that we're trying to cross.

Check this out. So cortisol is known as the stress hormone, and it absolutely correlates with emotions such as fear, anger, disgust, shame, and sadness. Cortisol isn't all bad. You know, we need it to wake up in the morning. We need it to have an adaptive stress response to, you know, a car driving too fast on the street that we're trying to cross.

So as long as it stays within that range, that's fine. But when something super stressful happens, like the saber-toothed tiger that we spoke about earlier, the cortisol levels spike. And that enables us to run away, to warn our tribe, and it should go back to normal levels quite quickly. In the modern day, as I mentioned earlier, we're so overwhelmed with information.

So as long as it stays within that range, that's fine. But when something super stressful happens, like the saber-toothed tiger that we spoke about earlier, the cortisol levels spike. And that enables us to run away, to warn our tribe, and it should go back to normal levels quite quickly. In the modern day, as I mentioned earlier, we're so overwhelmed with information.

So as long as it stays within that range, that's fine. But when something super stressful happens, like the saber-toothed tiger that we spoke about earlier, the cortisol levels spike. And that enables us to run away, to warn our tribe, and it should go back to normal levels quite quickly. In the modern day, as I mentioned earlier, we're so overwhelmed with information.

There are so many psychological threats to our safety that it's most people, unfortunately, the levels are high and they're either at the higher end or higher. And that's pretty constant, whereas they should be, you know, kind of undulating between that range.

There are so many psychological threats to our safety that it's most people, unfortunately, the levels are high and they're either at the higher end or higher. And that's pretty constant, whereas they should be, you know, kind of undulating between that range.

There are so many psychological threats to our safety that it's most people, unfortunately, the levels are high and they're either at the higher end or higher. And that's pretty constant, whereas they should be, you know, kind of undulating between that range.

When that happens, because cortisol is carried in the blood supply around the body and it crosses the blood-brain barrier, there are receptors in the brain that monitor the levels of cortisol in a way to sense threat in our environment.

When that happens, because cortisol is carried in the blood supply around the body and it crosses the blood-brain barrier, there are receptors in the brain that monitor the levels of cortisol in a way to sense threat in our environment.

When that happens, because cortisol is carried in the blood supply around the body and it crosses the blood-brain barrier, there are receptors in the brain that monitor the levels of cortisol in a way to sense threat in our environment.

When those levels are high, most of the time or all the time, or higher than the higher end of the threshold, the brain immediately thinks, I'm about to die, what is the biggest threat to my survival? And in some ways, because it's from so long ago, we're wired in such a cave person way. The first threat that the brain will consider is starvation.

When those levels are high, most of the time or all the time, or higher than the higher end of the threshold, the brain immediately thinks, I'm about to die, what is the biggest threat to my survival? And in some ways, because it's from so long ago, we're wired in such a cave person way. The first threat that the brain will consider is starvation.

When those levels are high, most of the time or all the time, or higher than the higher end of the threshold, the brain immediately thinks, I'm about to die, what is the biggest threat to my survival? And in some ways, because it's from so long ago, we're wired in such a cave person way. The first threat that the brain will consider is starvation.

Even though that's, for most of us, thank goodness, not the biggest threat to our survival. In fact, quite the opposite. So to try to protect us from dying of starvation, one of the things that cortisol does is lay down extra fat in the abdominal fat cells so that if we are unable to hunt or gather for some time, we can digest that fat and stay alive until a food source becomes available.

Even though that's, for most of us, thank goodness, not the biggest threat to our survival. In fact, quite the opposite. So to try to protect us from dying of starvation, one of the things that cortisol does is lay down extra fat in the abdominal fat cells so that if we are unable to hunt or gather for some time, we can digest that fat and stay alive until a food source becomes available.

Even though that's, for most of us, thank goodness, not the biggest threat to our survival. In fact, quite the opposite. So to try to protect us from dying of starvation, one of the things that cortisol does is lay down extra fat in the abdominal fat cells so that if we are unable to hunt or gather for some time, we can digest that fat and stay alive until a food source becomes available.

Wait, so are you saying that