1 A woman will not necessarily experience the same symptoms in the same way in subsequent pregnancies as with her first pregnancy. 2  Certain symptoms, like absence of menstruation and weight gain, are common to all pregnancies. 3  Other possible symptoms of early pregnancy include.  mood changes,
Chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels also increase risk for depression, mental illness, and lower life expectancy. This week, two separate studies were published in Science linking elevated cortisol levels as a potential trigger for mental illness and decreased resilienceâespecially in adolescence.
But, people who chronically stress their adrenal glands to overproduce cortisol change their cortisol concentrations so that itâs low instead of high when they wake up in the morning. Of course, then they reach for a cup of coffee to artificially spike their cortisol levels again. These same people experience huge cortisol surges at meals, which causes them to overeat. They, in turn, wind up with higher body fat, lower muscle mass, and a reduced metabolism so they burn fewer calories.