#prolonged

Not even in a dramatic way. Just… constantly alert. Constantly thinking ahead. Constantly waiting for something to go wrong, even during good moments.

And after a while, stress stops feeling temporary. It becomes the background noise of your entire life.

You wake up already tense.

You struggle to fully relax because your brain immediately starts searching for the next problem.

You feel guilty resting because part of you thinks you should always be preparing for something.

Even peace can start feeling unfamiliar, almost uncomfortable, because your nervous system got so used to surviving.

I think people underestimate what prolonged stress does to a person.

How it slowly changes the way you exist.

How you stop knowing the difference between being productive and being in survival mode.

How your body forgets how to soften.

How exhausting it is to carry invisible tension every single day for years.

And sometimes the saddest part is realizing you don’t even know how to function without it anymore.

You don’t know how to stop overthinking.

How to stop anticipating disappointment.

How to stop bracing yourself emotionally before anything has even happened.

But if this sounds like you, I hope you know this gently:

You are not broken for struggling to relax after living in stress for so long.

A nervous system that spent years trying to protect you does not suddenly learn safety overnight.

That constant alertness is not weakness.

That exhaustion is not laziness.

And the fact that rest feels difficult does not mean you are failing at healing.

It just means your mind and body have been carrying too much for too long.

So please be patient with yourself.

Be patient if you don’t know how to slow down yet.

Be patient if calmness feels unfamiliar.

Be patient if you are still learning that you do not have to earn rest by completely burning yourself out first.

You deserve a life that feels softer than survival.