Description
Understanding How Stress Affects Your Body from the Inside Out
Chronic stress and anxiety don’t just affect your mood—they have a profound impact on your physical health. Elevated stress hormones like cortisol can disrupt blood sugar regulation, increase inflammation, throw off thyroid function, and even impact cardiovascular health. This comprehensive panel helps assess how your body is responding to ongoing stress, revealing imbalances that may be contributing to fatigue, irritability, poor sleep, and difficulty coping.
Whether you're navigating high-pressure situations, experiencing burnout, or struggling with anxiety, this panel offers valuable insight into your hormonal, metabolic, and inflammatory status.
This Panel Includes:
- C-Peptide – Evaluates insulin production and blood sugar regulation
- Complete Blood Count (CBC) – Screens for signs of stress-related immune suppression or anemia
- Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) – Assesses liver and kidney function, electrolytes, and glucose
- Cortisol – Measures the primary stress hormone, often elevated in chronic anxiety or burnout
- Free T4 – Evaluates thyroid hormone production, which can affect energy, mood, and metabolism
- Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) – Reflects average blood sugar levels over the past 2–3 months
- Lipid Profile Panel – Evaluates cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which can be impacted by stress hormones
- Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) – Assesses thyroid gland function, which is closely linked to emotional well-being and energy levels
Fasting is recommended for accurate glucose, lipid, and insulin-related results.
Why These Tests Matter
Cortisol:
Elevated cortisol levels from chronic stress can contribute to insomnia, weight gain, high blood pressure, fatigue, and anxiety. This test helps identify if your stress response is becoming dysregulated.
C-Peptide & HbA1c:
Stress can increase insulin resistance and blood sugar fluctuations, leading to energy crashes, irritability, and cravings. These tests help evaluate how your body is managing glucose under pressure.
Thyroid Markers (TSH & Free T4):
Thyroid imbalances are often overlooked contributors to anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Stress can suppress thyroid function, so it’s important to assess both TSH and active thyroid hormone levels.
CBC & CMP:
These foundational panels offer a snapshot of your overall health, screening for anemia, dehydration, organ function, and electrolyte balance—all of which may be affected by chronic stress.
Lipid Panel:
Stress hormones can increase cholesterol and triglyceride levels, elevating your cardiovascular risk even if your lifestyle hasn’t changed.
Who Should Consider This Panel?
- Individuals dealing with chronic stress, burnout, or anxiety
- Anyone with unexplained fatigue, sleep issues, or irritability
- People seeking a root-cause approach to managing stress-related symptoms
- Providers monitoring the physiological impact of mental health challenges
- High-performing professionals, parents, caregivers, or anyone under sustained pressure
Why It’s Important
Mental and emotional stress often go hand-in-hand with silent physical changes that may go undetected without testing. Identifying these imbalances early gives you the power to take back control of your health—through nutrition, lifestyle adjustments, or targeted interventions.
