MAY 2026
This article is written by Jasmine Kelly-Stephens, Holistic Health and Wellness Coach
Monthly Newsletter
When the Lion Never Leaves: Understanding Stress and What It Does to Your Body
Jean-Michel Etienne, Ph.D.
Imagine walking into your bedroom and finding a lion sitting on your bed. What would you do? If you are anything like the average person, you would not pause to think. Every system in your body would activate in an instant. Your heart would pound, your breathing would quicken, your muscles would tense, and you would be out the front door before your brain even had time to form a complete sentence. That is not a weakness, nor is it an overreaction. That is your body doing exactly what God designed it to do.
That response has a name. It is called the stress response, and it is one of the most remarkable features of the human body. Understanding how it works and what happens when it never gets a chance to turn off are among the most important steps we can take for our health.
What Is Stress?
Stress is the body's natural response to any demand or threat, real or perceived. When the brain detects danger, it signals the adrenal glands to release hormones, primarily adrenaline and cortisol, triggering the fight-or-flight response. Heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, digestion slows, and blood is redirected to the muscles as the body becomes a finely tuned survival machine with a single focus: keeping you alive.
This is acute stress, short-term, intense, and purposeful. It is designed to get you out of danger and return you to balance once the threat has passed. In small doses, acute stress can be beneficial, sharpening focus, improving performance, and motivating action. The lion on your bed is a perfect example of acute stress working as intended. The threat appears, the body responds, the threat passes, and the body recovers. That is the cycle God built into us.
When Stress Becomes a Problem
The real challenge comes when the stress persists. What happens when the lion never leaves? What happens when the financial pressure, the difficult relationship, the demanding job, the unresolved conflict, the sleepless nights, and the endless responsibilities become not a momentary threat but a daily reality? The body does not distinguish between a lion in your bedroom and a stack of unpaid bills, and it responds the same way to both. When that response is activated day after day without adequate recovery, acute stress becomes chronic.
Chronic stress is sustained, ongoing stress that the body never fully recovers from, and its effects reach into nearly every system of the body. Prolonged elevation of cortisol can lead to high blood pressure, weakened immunity, digestive disorders, disrupted sleep, weight gain, anxiety, depression, and an increased risk of heart disease. The nervous system, designed for short bursts of high alert, becomes dysregulated and stuck in a state of constant activation. Many people do not recognize they are living in chronic stress until the symptoms, including persistent fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and emotional exhaustion, become impossible to ignore.
Ellen G. White wrote in The Ministry of Healing, "The relation that exists between the mind and the body is very intimate. When one is affected, the other sympathizes." That was written over a century ago, and modern science continues to confirm it. What we carry emotionally, we eventually carry physically.
What Can We Do?
The good news is that the body has a built-in recovery system called the parasympathetic nervous system, often referred to as the rest-and-digest response. Practices that activate this system include prayer and meditation, deep breathing, regular physical activity, adequate sleep, time in nature, and genuine human connection. These are not luxuries. They are necessities and deeply consistent with the holistic health principles at the heart of our Adventist lifestyle.
Psalm 55:22 reminds us, "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you." This is not merely poetic encouragement. It is a prescription for nervous system health and an invitation to bring every source of stress to the One who is more than able to carry it. We were never meant to carry it alone.
We encourage you to pay attention to what your body is telling you. Stress is a signal, not a life sentence, and with God's grace, the right tools, and intentional self-care, wholeness is possible. The lion does not have to stay.