Can Indoor Air Exposure Affect the Body’s Stress Sensitivity?
The stress didn’t change — my margin did.
I noticed it with small pressures.
A schedule shift. A brief interruption. A decision that shouldn’t have mattered much.
Indoors, those moments reached my body faster than they used to.
“The same stress felt closer than before.”
This didn’t mean I became fragile — it meant my system had less room.
Why stress sensitivity is about threshold, not toughness
Sensitivity isn’t weakness.
It’s how quickly the body registers demand.
Indoors, my threshold lowered without anything dramatic happening.
“I wasn’t overwhelmed — I was closer to the edge.”
This didn’t mean I lost resilience — it meant my baseline shifted.
How indoor air can quietly raise the body’s starting point
My system stayed lightly engaged.
That background engagement meant stress landed on a body that was already working.
I recognized this pattern alongside what I described in a higher stress baseline.
“Stress didn’t add up — it arrived on top of something.”
This didn’t mean the environment created stress — it meant it changed how stress registered.
When increased sensitivity feels personal or discouraging
I questioned myself.
Why did small things feel bigger than they should?
This echoed what I felt when my stress tolerance narrowed without obvious cause.
“I blamed my reactions instead of noticing capacity.”
This didn’t mean the self-criticism was accurate — it meant I misunderstood the signal.
Why contrast showed my sensitivity wasn’t permanent
In other environments, my sensitivity eased.
The same pressures felt proportionate again.
This mirrored what I noticed in feeling different in different spaces.
“My margin widened when my body started from ease.”
This didn’t mean I needed to desensitize — it meant my body needed support.