MSS #118: How to Rewrite Your Stress Story

MSS #118: How to Rewrite Your Stress Story

12 April, 2025

🕒Read time: 2.9 minutes

🚀 In a hurry? Jump to “The 6-Part STRESS Reset” for a reduced reading time of 1.2 minutes.

Stress isn’t about how much you’ve got on.
It’s about the story your mind is running.

Deadlines, inbox overload, a wall of expectations – it feels like the pressure comes from out there.

But the pressure really starts in own minds.

This week I share my 6-step process, to change how your mind reacts when the pressure builds, in an easy to remember way.

I use it myself. I share it with clients. It works.
Let me show you how to apply it when you need it most.

Where Stress Actually Comes From

Stress appears to come from the external – what’s going on around you.

But it’s really generated internally – from the automatic story your mind attaches, to how we have decided to respond to our perception that we are too busy.

Our brains love simplicity, its own minds way of saving energy – as our brain consumes more energy than any other organ.

One way to create simplicity is to have standard, remembered responses to situations – brain habits.

So, when our mind “sees” triggers that we interpret as stress triggers, our standard response to stress runs like an automatic program. That program is the ‘story’ you tell yourself about how you handle stress.

Often that program will show up as the voice in your head.

The one that says:
• “I can’t cope with this.”
• “This is too much.”
• “I’m never going to get this done.”

That voice is the story. It’s your default stress response.

Once it kicks off, your brain doesn’t fact-check.

It just does what it’s wired to do. It flips into survival mode.
Heart races.
Breath shortens.
Thinking fogs.
Everything feels urgent.
Nothing feels manageable.

This isn’t weakness.

It’s your mind doing what it thinks is necessary to keep you safe.

But now you know it’s a story, you can write a different one, one you CHOOSE to have, not the one you have previously learnt.

Why I Created the S.T.R.E.S.S. Tool

I built this tool as a practical way to short-circuit that story.

Something you can use in real time.
No jargon.
No fluff.
Just clear mental steps to get out of your head and back in control.

It’s a way of intercepting the noise, changing the narrative, and resetting your mind and body.

Here it is:

The 6-Part STRESS Reset

(📚 Jump here if short on time. Read time: 1.2 minutes)

S – Stop
Catch it early.
Pause the spiral.
Notice the rising tension and name it – “This is stress.”

There is a specific way to name your stress that has a big impact, this learning is reserved for my paying clients.

Simply noticing you are stressed, gives the opportunity to manage it differently.

Labelling stress is a great way to give it an identity, which reduces the impact it has on us, for a whole host of reasons – I get into this far more with my paying coaching clients. It’s actually quite simple, but when you understand how this works and what a positive impact it can have, it is game changing.

T – Think
Bring attention to what’s fueling it.
What thought is behind the feeling?
What story are you telling yourself right now?

I would suggest you avoid spending too much time on this without guidance.

So, for now simply notice what “story” or narrative are you telling yourself.

Is it something like “I am always rushed off my feet” or “I never seem to have time to finish things off properly”.

R – Reframe
Challenge the story.
Swap the fear-based message for a more helpful truth.
Examples:
• “I’ll take one thing at a time.”
• “I’ve handled worse.”
• “This isn’t permanent.”

If the story is “I am always rushed off my feet”. Replace this with some thing more helpful like “I have all the time I need to complete the important tasks”.

E – Engage
Get back into your body.
Take three slow breaths.
Stretch.
Walk.
Signal to your brain that you’re not under attack.

It's important to signal to your bodies nervous system that the standard stress response is not required just now.

There are lots of ways to do this.

S – Simplify
Shrink the noise.
One step. One task. One focus.
That’s enough.

Whatever task you are undertaking, especially if you feel stuck and unable to take action, the above advice is ideal.

S – Step Forward
Now act.
Do one small thing with intention.
Movement resets momentum.

Just taking the smallest amount of action is a clear signal to your mind that stress is not the appropriate response right now.

This Is Your Story – Tell It Your Way

Stress doesn’t come from your to-do list.
It comes from the mental script that kicks in when you look at your to-do list.

Change the script and you change the state.

Start with one step.
Catch the old story early.
Swap it out for one that helps – not hinders.

What’s one story you’ll rewrite today?

I’d love to hear.

Summary

Stress is not the workload. It’s the story your mind has attached to the workload.
That story becomes your felt experience.
But stories can be rewritten—and this tool helps you do just that.

• Stress is driven by internal interpretation, not external pressure
• The story in your head is the stress – not the facts
• S.T.R.E.S.S. is a practical 6-step process to reset your mind

• Stop

• Think

• Reframe

• Engage

• Simplify

• Step Forward

Reset the narrative, and the symptoms start to fall away

Till next week.

See you next week. One more thought 👇

Want more? 

When you're ready, 3 more ways I can help you:

1. My book - Nuclear Powered Resilience

2. Self confidence and resilience - £48 training course based on my book

3. Coaching packages - start with a FREE 15 minutes exploration session.

Other resources

If you haven't already, follow me on LinkedIn and hit the bell for daily posts on tips, insights and techniques or take a look at my website.

Want to explore what else I do? Including corporate speaking, coaching and workshops, or simply ask me a question or give me feedback on my newsletter - say hello in an email.

That's it for this week. Thanks for reading, really hope this helped. Contact me if you think I can help you further at [email protected].

Happy thinking.