Feeling Stuck? You Might Be in a Stress Cycle and Not Even Know It!

In this episode of Safely Divergent, Eleanor and Kirstie take you behind the scenes of a real-time stress cycle—because, yep, they’re living it. Instead of slapping on a productivity hack or pretending everything’s fine, they break down what stress actually is (spoiler: it’s not just a feeling), and how it builds up when multiple domains—biological, emotional, cognitive, social, and prosocial—start stacking on top of each other.

They get honest about everything from cortisol wakeups and dino nugget dinners to skipping small talk in elevators and redefining what a “win” looks like. You’ll learn how to spot a stress cycle before it spirals, why your empathy might vanish when you're maxed out, and how giving yourself accommodations is actually a sign of regulation—not failure.

Plus, they close things out with a serotonin-sparking deep dive into... the history of the high five.

🕒 Timestamps
00:01 – What stress really means & how it builds in the body / 06:00 – How emotional overload turns into a full-body shutdown / 13:30 – Spotting the signs (and shifting the self-talk) / 16:00 – Recovery in real life: pizza, naps, and not forcing social energy / 20:45 – 🖐️ Let’s get scattered: the surprisingly recent invention of the high five

Resources & Mentions:
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Read the blog: safelydivergent.com
Cover art: Honor Heindel
Music by Obey Grey