This morning a weight client of mine commented how she had not realized that stress had been such a big factor in her weight gain and just how much hypnosis has helped her with her stress. She went on to further say that so many people she knows are stressed and they don’t know that hypnosis could help them! Wait a moment, she didn’t know that hypnosis could help relieve stress? Obviously from the number of clients I see for smoke cessation and weight management my message is out there. But apparently not the whole message. Hypnosis is a wonderful method to use for cutting down on stress!!!
stress reduction
June is Rebuild Your Life Month, a perfect time to pause and take an honest look at where you are — and where you want to go. Whether life has thrown you an unexpected curveball or you simply feel called to make changes, this month offers a powerful opportunity to recreate your life with intention.
Rebuilding your life doesn’t require drastic moves all at once. Often, meaningful change begins by identifying and removing stressors wherever possible.
Step One: Identify the Source of Your Stress
Recognizing what causes stress in your life is the first and most important step. Job stress often spills over into home life, while a difficult home environment can make work even more stressful. Because stress compounds itself, it’s essential to narrow down where it is coming from so you can address it at the root.
Clear the Clutter to Calm the Mind
Sometimes rebuilding your life starts with something simple — decluttering your home. Numerous studies show that physical clutter contributes to mental clutter, increasing stress and overwhelm.
In The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin dedicated an entire month to clearing clutter. She describes how removing excess belongings helped her appreciate what she chose to keep and experience a greater sense of freedom. A clean, organized space often leads to clearer thinking and reduced stress.
Rebuilding Your Life May Require Letting Go of Toxic Relationships
In other cases, stress stems from conflict or unhealthy relationships. This can lead to the difficult realization that certain people in your life may not have your best interests at heart.
Letting go of toxic relationships is rarely easy, and the initial separation can feel stressful. However, removing a consistently negative influence often creates a profound shift in how you experience life. Emotional well-being improves when you protect your peace.
When Your Job Is the Problem
A toxic workplace can be just as damaging as a toxic relationship. While leaving a job may not happen overnight, taking steps toward change is essential.
You spend a significant portion of your life at work, and chronic dissatisfaction can lead to serious emotional and physical health issues. Even beginning to explore new options — changing workplaces or returning to school one class at a time — can improve your outlook and reduce stress.
Healthy Changes That Support Rebuilding Your Life
Healthy Eating
One of the most impactful ways to rebuild your life is by improving your nutrition. Healthy eating supports energy levels, emotional balance, stress management, and long-term wellness.
There is no single “perfect” way to eat, as nutritional needs vary. However, a diet heavy in fast food and processed snacks does not support health or happiness. Choosing nourishing foods is an act of self-respect.
Regular Exercise
Regular exercise is a powerful tool for managing stress, maintaining a healthy weight, and improving emotional well-being. Exercise benefits both the body and the mind.
Psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen often says that 20 minutes of vigorous exercise can be more effective than medication for improving mood and brain health. Movement truly is medicine.
Get Quality Sleep
Quality sleep is often overlooked, yet it is essential for rebuilding your life. Stress can interfere with sleep, and lack of sleep makes stress harder to manage — a difficult cycle to break.
Practicing stress-reduction techniques and healthy sleep habits can dramatically improve sleep quality. Self-hypnosis and meditation are especially effective tools for calming the nervous system and promoting restorative sleep.
Create a Happiness Ritual
A happiness ritual is a simple, repeatable activity that brings you joy. It might be a daily cup of tea, quiet reflection, journaling, coloring, yoga, or time in nature.
Practicing your ritual regularly reinforces your sense of worth and creates emotional resilience. When stressful moments arise, you can draw on the calm and comfort you’ve cultivated.
Rebuilding Your Life Starts With Small, Intentional Choices
Life was never promised to be easy, but it is responsive to the choices we make. Rebuilding your life can begin with decluttering your space, changing relationships, improving habits, or simply deciding that your well-being matters.
By adjusting your sails and choosing a new direction, you move away from the past and toward a healthier future. Use this month as your starting point. The life you rebuild may surprise you.
How would you like a simple stress release exercise that helps calm anxious feelings — one that’s easy, effective, and even a little fun?
Imagine being able to release stress wherever you are: at home, in your car, or at the office. No equipment. No special preparation. Just a quick mind-body reset when you need it most.
Research on mind-body techniques shows that simple physical actions combined with focused imagination can help relieve stress and anxiety by calming the nervous system. This exercise is designed to do exactly that.
Step One: Acknowledge the Feeling
Begin by noticing what you’re feeling. Anxiety, nervousness, fear, or even panic — simply acknowledge it without judging yourself.
Allow the feeling to be present. Remember, it is just a feeling, and feelings themselves cannot harm you.
Step Two: Contain the Stress
Now, close your left hand (the hand you write with) into a fist. Make it tight. Really squeeze and feel the pressure.
As you do this, imagine all of your anxious feelings slowly flowing down your arm and into your clenched fist.
If it helps, visualize the anxiety as a red, glowing energy traveling down your arm and becoming trapped in your fist. Make the image as real as possible. You may notice sensations such as pulsing, warmth, or pressure — this is normal.
Step Three: Transform the Energy
As the energy gathers in your fist, begin to notice a shift. The anxiety may soften into a manageable nervous excitement.
You might imagine the color changing — from red to pink, or even to a calming blue. Let the sensations evolve naturally.
Step Four: Release and Let Go
Now for the final step.
Slowly begin to open your fist, one finger at a time, counting from 5 down to 1. Take a gentle breath with each finger as it opens.
As your hand opens fully, notice the tension releasing. The trapped anxiety is being set free.
With one final deep breath, blow gently onto the palm of your hand, sending the stress, fear, and tension away.
Step Five: Notice the Release
Take a moment to notice how you feel. You may experience a light sense of relief or calm.
You can imagine the remaining anxiety floating up, up, and away — carried off into the sky and out of your awareness.
Repeat this simple stress release exercise up to three times, and notice how much better you feel.
Extra Support for Stress Relief
If you’d like additional guidance, you can also tune into a free stress-relief audio here: Serenity.
“My life has been filled with terrible misfortunes, most of which have never happened.” ~Mark Twain
This quote is a perfect illustration of why cognitive reframing for stress can be so powerful.
Have you ever noticed how a single shift in perspective can suddenly make life feel easier? Cognitive reframing for stress is the process of changing how we interpret situations so our nervous system responds differently. A simple change in thought can reduce anxiety, restore clarity, and completely alter how a day unfolds — as I was reminded recently by an unexpected fall.
Suddenly, your perspective changes.
Your mood lifts.
Things feel… easier.
That shift is called cognitive reframing.
How Thoughts Shape Stress and Clarity
Stress can increase or decrease based largely on our thoughts. Anxiety, stress, and irrational thinking shape how we experience daily life and how we respond to situations.
The body’s stress response isn’t triggered by events themselves — it’s triggered by perceived stress. Reframing thoughts can literally change physical stress reactions, helping restore emotional balance and mental clarity.
This kind of reframing happens often in my office. I teach it, talk about it, and encourage it regularly. One might assume that means I live in a perpetual state of positive thinking.
I wish.
Sharing this story feels vulnerable, but it matters. Because we’re all human — and we’re all in this together.
The Bike Ride and the Fall
This past Saturday, my husband Greg and I went for a bike ride. Cycling has always been a source of exercise and mood enhancement for both of us. We’ve logged many miles over the years.
I had recently been ill and wasn’t fully back to my normal strength, but I was determined to push through.
At one point, Greg noticed beautiful flowers tucked into a clump of trees and asked me to turn around so we could look more closely. Normally, this would have been easy.
Instead, my balance failed me — and I fell.
I lay on the ground with tears in my eyes, more from humiliation than pain.
When Thoughts Spiral
Once I got up, I truly enjoyed the flowers and even took several photos. In that moment, everything felt fine.
But as we got back on our bikes, my thoughts took over.
I felt old.
Clumsy.
Stupid.
At our next stop, I began lamenting my condition to Greg.
Thankfully, Greg would have none of it.
A Reframe That Changed Everything
He reminded me of a recent conversation with his clients — people who had suffered from the same virus I had. Many were younger, stronger, more balanced — and many struggled longer than I did.
The fact that I was out riding at all was a testament to my immune system and determination.
That simple reframe changed everything.
Suddenly, it was as if the sun rose — though it had been shining all along.
Clarity Returns
We were riding along a beach causeway. I noticed families playing, children laughing, brilliant colors, a warm breeze, the sound of water — and yes, a dolphin swimming nearby.
My thoughts shifted to confident, grateful ones.
I felt strong again.
Present.
Clear.
I was simply happy to be there.
One Thought Can Change a Day
Nothing about my physical situation changed — except my thoughts.
A single cognitive reframe turned frustration into appreciation and restored clarity and peace.
Can you think of ways your thoughts might help improve your day?
April 16 (the day after Tax Day, April 15) has become a special day to set aside for Americans to become aware of just how stressed they may have become! Everyone feels stressed from time to time and if left unchecked, it tends to be a real happiness killer as well as a threat to your health. This makes it harder for us to live joy-filled lives. Stress has also been reported to lead to a number of major health problems, ranging anywhere from anxiety or severe depression to physical symptoms such as a mild case of acne to life-threatening heart attacks. It is easy to see why it is so vitally important to keep life’s major stressors in check.
Scientists report that psychological stress may exact its toll, at least in part, by affecting molecules believed to play a key role in cellular aging and possibly, disease development. Anecdotal evidence and scientific evidence has have suggested that chronic stress can take years off your life. Stress can also have an indirect effect on the immune system as a person may use unhealthy behavioral coping strategies to reduce their stress, such as drinking and smoking. It is easy to see why it is so vitally important to keep life’s major stressors in check.
Enough of the dire news and warnings, I don’t need to stress you out more.
Instead, here are some quick tips for changing into a stress free zone for the day and at the end a link to 3 free audios I have available for you to reduce your stress!
1. Focus On The Now
So many people live their entire lives in yesterday or tomorrow. The truth is, however, that there is only the Now. Focusing on this moment, right now, provides a wonderful escape from the disappointment of what once was and the fear of what might be, leaving stress stuck in a time warp. (You do remember the Time Warp, right?)
