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The body has a stress circuit; something your doctor calls the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. It is a feedback loop between the nervous system and the parts of the endocrine system that release stress hormones. Like cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). All of these stress related hormones cause elevations in blood pressure and heart rate, increased blood flow to muscles, and a release of glucose into the bloodstream.