I used to think that stress and tension was just something I'd have to figure out how to deal with. I'd power through, find ways to decompress, take ibuprofen for the tightness in my muscles and wait until it boiled over to let off some of the pressure.
And I was just partly right.
The truth is, stress doesn't have to get in the way as much as it does. And I've got some really great hypnotic tools for changing the way we respond to stressful situations.
What is Stress Really?
Stress is our normal, physiological response to things that put pressure on us, either emotionally or physically. It can be triggered by events, situations, memories, illness or injury, and thoughts.
Our bodies respond to those triggers by releasing adrenaline, cortisol, and other chemicals to prepare us for a 'fight or flight' response. The heart rate increases, breathing gets faster and more shallow, muscles tense up, and our digestive system slows down.
This stress response is designed to keep us safe, and will continue to run like a high-speed engine until we feel like we're out of whatever situation triggered the event in the first place.
When we're faced with multiple stress triggers, our stress levels increase, keeping us at a "ready state" so that we're better able to cope with whatever comes next.
All of this happens because of cues from our subconscious minds. We store all kinds of memories so that we can recognize things that may put us in harms way, which is great, but the system isn't perfect. The subconscious mind will continue to store the memory of a trigger long after it's become irrelevant, so we can still find ourselves getting stressed out over things that are no longer an issue to us.
How To Be More Choosy About What Stresses You Out
So, your subconscious is doing you the favor of looking out for things that could be potentially emotionally or physically harmful. And that's great! But most of the time it's using really outdated information to decide what triggers the stress response. What we really need is to give the subconscious better information to work with.
First, we need to get the mind to stop what it's doing and listen to us for a minute. We can do this with a tool called a "pattern interrupt." Pattern Interrupts are anything that brings your attention away from what's happening, and they cause a small break, or pause, in the flow of thoughts. in that small pause we can redirect the mind to something else.
Abdominal breathing is one of my favorite pattern interrupts. Not only does it let you focus on taking a breath, the abdominal breath (or belly breath) triggers a vagal nerve response that naturally interrupts the stress response.
Once you're in that brief pause, you have options! You can ask yourself if this is worth feeling tense about, if it's still relevant to you right now, or if you are actually okay for right now. Most of the time, in most situations, we are okay right now. Recognizing that gives us a solid place to stand while we decide what to do next.
How Hypnosis Helps
Hypnosis and hypnotic language lets the subconscious mind take in new information quickly and efficiently to create changes in how we think, feel, and respond. We're not tricking the mind, we're giving it better information to work with you rather than against you.
Hypnotic tools like the pattern interrupt, cognitive reframing, hypnotic suggestions, anchoring, and future pacing all work to re-wire the mind so that you can feel calm, confident, and more relaxed in any situation.
Understanding Stress - The Workshop
Understanding how the stress response works gives you the ability to change how you respond. Over the years I've had the privilege of helping hundreds of clients lower their stress levels and experience less stress in their daily lives.
It's been so successful that I've put together a workshop to share these tools.
Understanding Stress is a 90-minute workshop that gives you a deeper understanding of what triggers the stress response, what's going on in your mind and body when it happens, and how to make the changes that will allow you to feel better more often. Here are the details:
When: September 16, 2025, 6:30 - 8 pm EST
Where: Live, Online
How Much: $29
Space is limited to just 10 participants to give everyone time to learn, share, and practice.
Register now and save your spot!