How does stress occur?


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 Stress occurs when you perceive danger in the form of stress from any source (a big deadline, an angry boss, financial woes, mean girls), your brain releases hormones that travel through the blood to the adrenal glands. These little stress hot spots sit on top of your kidneys and release two stress hormones that act on your entire body.
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When the adrenal glands release adrenaline, you are instantly ready to fight or run. Your heart pounds to supply your muscles with blood, your bronchial (lung) tubes dilate to bring in more oxygen, and your brain becomes more alert to assimilate and process new information. At the same time, the adrenal glands emit cortisol to release fat and glucose into the bloodstream to fuel your flight. This is a perfect system in the short term.
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Trouble develops during chronic stress as cortisol levels remain high in the body. Now your body goes into survival mode and begins to store as much energy as it can for future fights. Our adrenal glands don't know that our stress is coming from our boss, not from running away from some angry boar (an angry bore, perhaps) so they continue to prepare you for the worst. This energy storage overdrive leads to metabolic disruption, muscle breakdown, high blood sugar, and belly fat storage. Chronic stress makes you fat, which just adds to your already stressed-out life.