Do you feel like your skin just won’t clear, your body feels puffy or sluggish, or your mind races when you’re trying to fall asleep? One of the possible culprits might be chronic inflammation.

While inflammation is a natural and necessary part of your body’s defense system, when it becomes chronic, it can quietly wear down your health. Chronic inflammation can be an underlying source of many different ailments we experience. It can drive an ailment itself, or it can knock other things out of balance (hormone function, digestion, etc.) which can lead to symptoms we don’t want.

In this post, we’ll go back to basics: what inflammation really is, the difference between acute and chronic inflammation, how it affects your body, and why calming it may be one of the best first steps in your healing journey.

What Is Inflammation? Your Body’s Built-In Repair System

At its core, your body is always striving to maintain homeostasis, or balance. Inflammation is one of the body’s key tools to achieve this. When your environment–internal or external–becomes unfavorable, inflammation helps protect your body and restore equilibrium.

When the body detects an invader, the immune system sends out inflammatory cells to contain and neutralize the threat. These cells work to:

Trap and destroy harmful agents
Protect the affected area from further damage
Kickstart the healing process (Howell, 2024).

Acute vs. Chronic Inflammation

In the short term, inflammation can be a positive response. It plays a role in strengthening muscles, fighting infections, and healing injuries. However, in today’s world, many of us experience chronic inflammation due to ongoing environmental stressors. When inflammation becomes constant, the body doesn’t have the opportunity to rest, recover and heal. This persistent, low-grade inflammation can weaken the immune system over time, leaving your body more vulnerable to things such as:

Seasonal illnesses such as colds or the flu
Everyday stressors like unhealthy foods, alcohol, and work-related stress
Long-term health issues stemming from an overburdened immune system (Howell, 2024).

Think of inflammation as your body’s fire alarm system–it alerts you to issues. Chronic inflammation is like a fire alarm that never turns off, wearing down your body over time.

How Chronic Inflammation Affects the Body

Chronic inflammation is a hidden driver behind many health challenges, including skin issues (such as acne or eczema,) digestive discomfort and bloating, hormonal imbalances, and long-term risks for chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and autoimmune conditions (Howell, 2024).

When inflammation is in a chronic state, it is a drain on your body’s resources. It puts your body in a constant state of trying to repair, and while it is your body’s way of trying to protect you–that high inflammation impacts other areas of your body in a negative way.

It’s like leaving your phone on all day with dozens of apps running in the background–it slows down everything else.

Why Calming Inflammation Comes First

Reducing chronic inflammation is the first step toward overall healing. When your body is no longer in a constant state of inflammation and “fight or flight”, it can focus its energy on repairing deeper imbalances such as: restoring gut health, clearing up skin impurities, and rebalancing hormones.

This is why in my 1:1 coaching program, Foundations of Flourishing, this is the second step and area I address with my clients. It is where healing starts from.

Conclusion

Inflammation is your body’s built-in defense and repair system–essential for healing and protecting you when there’s an injury, infection, or other short-term threat. But when that response stays switched on, it can shift from helpful to harmful. Chronic inflammation quietly wears down your immune system, drains your energy, and contributes to several different health issues.

By understanding the difference between acute and chronic inflammation–and learning how to calm the chronic kind–you’ll take one of the most important first steps towards true healing.

If inflammation is something you’re struggling with, you don’t have to figure it out alone. In my 1:1 coaching program, Foundations of Flourishing, we start by addressing inflammation–because when the body calms down, true healing can begin.

If you’re curious about how this could look in your life, I’d love to chat!

Inflammation 101: What It Is and Why It Matters