I am a teacher but just took 3 weeks off as I had chest pain and it seems to have improved?
Could anxiety/stress be the cause of your high cortisol? Cortisol is known as the stress hormone and rises during anxiety or in stressful situations and lowers when in a relaxed state which could fit with what you describe.
There are other reasons, this is taken from an article onThriva's website
Many things can cause high cortisol levels, including:
* physical and emotional stress — your body can't gauge the seriousness of a stressful situation, so something simple like a traffic jam can kick-start your stress response system, as can being ill with a cold
* medication — certain medications like corticosteroids and oral contraceptives might increase your cortisol levels
* oestrogen — high oestrogen levels in women, for example, in pregnancy, is linked to raised cortisol levels
* an adrenal gland tumour — your adrenal glands produce cortisol, so any issues with them can affect your cortisol levels
* a pituitary gland issue — an overactive pituitary gland stimulates your adrenal glands to make too much cortisol
* malnutrition — for example, if you suffer from an eating disorder like anorexia nervosa
Conditions like depression, diabetes, PCOS, and alcoholism are also linked to high cortisol levels.
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