Why Stress and Anxiety Might Be Stealing Your Senses (and Your Peace of Mind)
Have you noticed that food doesn’t taste as vibrant as it used to? Or that your favorite scent barely registers anymore? Maybe you’ve made choices in relationships that left you wondering, “Why do I keep repeating the same mistakes?” Add to that a constant feeling of exhaustion, overwhelm, and living in “emergency mode,” and it’s easy to feel like your body and mind are working against you.
But what if all these struggles are connected — and the root cause isn’t what you think?
The Hidden Culprit: Chronic Stress and Anxiety
When we talk about stress, we often focus on the obvious: racing thoughts, sleepless nights, or tight shoulders. But stress and anxiety don’t stop there. They quietly hijack your body’s systems, leading to unexpected symptoms that feel unrelated at first glance.
1. Loss of Taste or Smell
Stress triggers your body’s fight-or-flight response, diverting resources away from “non-essential” functions like digestion and sensory perception. Over time, chronic anxiety can dull your senses, making food taste bland or smells harder to detect. It’s not just in your head — your nervous system is prioritizing survival over savoring life’s pleasures.
2. Poor Intuition and Relationship Choices
When you’re stuck in survival mode, your prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for decision-making and self-awareness — gets sidelined. Instead, reactive, fear-driven parts take over. This makes it harder to trust your gut or see red flags in relationships. You might gravitate toward familiar patterns (even unhealthy ones) because stress leaves little room for clarity or self-trust.
3. Constant Overwhelm and Exhaustion
Living in a prolonged state of “emergency mode” drains your adrenal glands, spikes cortisol levels, and depletes your energy reserves. The result? A foggy mind, emotional burnout, and the sense that even small tasks feel impossible.
Treat the Root, Not Just the Symptoms
It’s tempting to tackle these issues individually: force yourself to “eat mindfully,” overanalyze past relationships, or chug caffeine to push through fatigue. But without addressing the root cause — chronic stress and anxiety — you’ll stay stuck in a cycle.
Reset Your Nervous System: Practices like deep breathing, yoga, or even short walks signal safety to your body, dialing down the fight-or-flight response.
Reclaim Your Senses: Engage in mindfulness exercises. Slowly savor a piece of dark chocolate or inhale the scent of fresh herbs. This retrains your brain to reconnect with the present.
Rebuild Self-Trust: Therapy, journaling, or grounding techniques can help you pause before making decisions. Over time, you’ll learn to distinguish fear from intuition.
Prioritize Recovery: Sleep, nutrient-rich foods, and setting boundaries aren’t luxuries — they’re non-negotiables for healing a stressed-out body and mind.
The Takeaway
Your struggles with taste, smell, relationships, or energy aren’t random flaws — they’re signs of a system pushed to its limits. By addressing stress and anxiety at their core, you don’t just fix symptoms; you reclaim your ability to live fully.
It won’t happen overnight, but every small step toward calming your nervous system is a step toward rediscovering joy, clarity, and the vibrant life you deserve.
Ready to start? Begin with one deep breath. Then another. This is how healing begins.
About Kelly Prehn
Kelly moved to Japan at 17 years old and has spent significant periods of her career in Asia, including Japan, Korea, China and Singapore. Her work as an acclaimed fashion model is blended with her impact as a columnist and author. During her modelling career, Kelly fled from being internationally human trafficked. To transform from this, she focused on Asian healing modalities. With 1.4 million transformed women and tens of millions more women helped by GENKI SYSTEM™, she is a multi dimensional women.
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