Your scores suggest you're functioning, but probably working harder than you should have to just to get through the day. This is one of the most common — and most overlooked — stress profiles, because from the outside everything looks fine. You're showing up, you're getting things done. But inside, it's a different story.

Think of your nervous system as a bucket. Every demand you face — big or small — drops a scoop of stress into that bucket. A difficult conversation, a bad night's sleep, a snappy email, the kids kicking off at bedtime — all scoops. When your bucket is getting full, you start to feel it. Your patience gets shorter. Your sleep isn't as restorative as it once was. The voice in your head gets louder and less kind. These aren't signs of weakness — they're your body's warning signals that the inflow of stress is starting to outpace your ability to process it.

Watch out for those emotional overreactions — losing it over something small and then feeling terrible about it afterwards. That's your bucket overflowing, not you being a bad person. Watch out too for the 3am wake-up, mind already racing, unable to get back to sleep. And notice whether you're reaching more and more for food, caffeine, alcohol or your phone to take the edge off — these are all signs your nervous system is looking for relief wherever it can find it.

Your relationships may be starting to feel the strain too — snapping at the people closest to you, feeling drained after time with certain people, going through the motions rather than feeling genuinely present. And the voice in your head at this level is probably saying some pretty unkind things about you.