For those, like me, who find this article too pseudo-sciencey, the paper Psychological Stress and Mitochondria: A Conceptual Framework [1] lays the foundation I

For those, like me, who find this article too pseudo-sciencey, the paper Psychological Stress and Mitochondria: A Conceptual Framework [1] lays the foundation I was missing: > It is also interesting to note in the context of stress regulation that all steroid hormones, including glucocorticoids and sex hormones, are synthesized in a process that is regulated by, and occurs in mitochondria, further linking mitochondrial biology to stress signaling. Stress in this sense refers to all biological stressors such as physical exertion. Mitochondria, therefore, are not only central to energy production but also to stress response. This is simply how the system works. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5901651/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5901651/