May 7, 2025 • 18 mins
Understanding how stress impacts your breast cancer journey is vital for navigating challenges effectively. This episode discusses the nature of stress, shares personal insights, and provides practical tools for transforming your mindset from viewing stress as harmful to seeing it as a powerful ally.
• Exploring the definition and origins of stress
• The difference between real threats and perceived threats
• The impact of mindset on stress responses
• Research insights on perception shifts regarding stress
• Introduction to three practical tools for managing stress
• Tool One: The Stress Reset process
• Tool Two: Stress Less, Connect More and reaching out for support
• Tool Three: Highlighting strengths in stressful situations
• Emphasis on the ongoing process of shifting stress perspectives
• Encouragement to embrace and celebrate small victories
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List of 24 Character Strengths
Breast Cancer Reimagined Facebook Group
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
The story you tell yourself about your breast
cancer journey shapes yourentire experience, whether
you've been recently diagnosedor are in the midst of treatment
.
Breast Cancer Reimagined isyour podcast for writing this
new chapter of your life.
Hi, I'm Shannon, your host, andI'm so glad you're here.
(00:25):
As a proud two-time breastcancer survivor, I'm on a
mission to help women like youreimagine how you navigate your
breast cancer journey by helpingyou shift your mindset,
activate your strengths anduncover deeper meaning in your
journey.
I'm creating future episodes toaddress your unique challenges,
(00:45):
but I need your input.
What are your biggest questionsor struggles when it comes to
your journey?
Share them with me bycompleting the Google form
that's linked in the show notes.
Your voice matters and togetherwe can create something truly
powerful.
I can't wait to hear from you.
Create something truly powerful.
(01:11):
I can't wait to hear from you.
Hello, hello.
Welcome back to Breast CancerReimagined.
Hi, I'm Shannon, your host, aproud two-time breast cancer
survivor.
I am so glad you're here.
Welcome to episode 8.
Have you ever noticed how twopeople can go through the exact
same experience but reactcompletely differently?
One person stays more calm andfocused, while the other feels
(01:36):
completely overwhelmed.
Why does that happen?
We'll answer this question inthis episode, reimagining Stress
, how Changing your MindsetChanges Everything.
We'll also explore threepractical tools to make stress
work for you, not against you.
(01:57):
Let's start at the beginning.
What is stress?
Well, at its core, stress isyour body's natural response to
a challenge.
It's not good or bad, it justis.
So think of it as your built-inalarm system, designed to help
you respond to a perceivedthreat.
(02:17):
But what exactly is a perceivedthreat?
Let me give you an example.
You're waiting for scan resultsand your mind starts racing
with worst case scenarios.
Your heart pounds, your stomachtightens, your body reacts as
if something terrible is alreadyhappening, even though you
(02:37):
don't actually know the outcomeyet.
Now let's contrast that to areal threat.
So a real threat is when yourdoctor tells you that immediate
treatment is necessary to stopthe cancer from spreading.
So you take action, you startscheduling appointments,
starting treatment because yourhealth is at risk.
(02:57):
But here's the thing your braindoesn't always know the
difference between real threatsand perceived threats, and this
is where your mindset becomesincredibly powerful.
Shifting how you interpret asituation directly influences
how your body reacts, helpingyou respond with clarity and
(03:19):
confidence instead of stress andfear.
So, when you feel stressed, howdoes your body respond?
Do you notice your heart racing, your muscles tensing up, maybe
your mind going into overdrive,your stomach doing somersaults?
You're holding your breath.
(03:39):
For me, all of the above,especially my stomach doing
somersaults.
But you know what?
These reactions are completelynatural.
Remember, stress is simply yourbody's way of preparing you for
action.
It's not good or bad, it justis.
(04:00):
It's your built-in alarm system.
Now the key is understandingthat events themselves aren't
inherently stressful.
It's how we perceive them thatdetermines whether we feel
overwhelmed or empowered.
It's your interpretation ofstress that shapes your
experience.
(04:21):
Now, at the beginning of theepisode, I asked have you ever
noticed how two people gothrough the same exact
experience but react differently?
Well, imagine two individualsreceiving the same breast cancer
diagnosis.
One thinks this is the worstthing that could happen to me.
I don't know how I'll getthrough this.
(04:43):
It happened to me.
I don't know how I'll getthrough this.
The other person thinks this isgoing to be tough, but I will
find a way through it.
Two people, the same diagnosis.
One sees despair, the othersees resilience.
(05:03):
But did you notice that bothrecognize the challenge, but
only one sees a way forward?
Now, this isn't about pretendingthat everything is fine or
ignoring reality.
It's about becoming aware ofyour mindset around stress and
then making a choice, becausehow you think about stress
matters.
It can hold you back or helpyou move forward.
(05:25):
Now don't just take my word forit.
This is backed by research.
One of my favorite TED Talks isby Kelly McGonigal.
She's a health psychologist andlecturer at Stanford University
, and the name of her TED Talkis how to Make Stress your
Friend.
Now I have a link to this inthe show notes for you.
One thing she said is thatpeople who believe stress is
(05:48):
harmful tend to experience morenegative effects from it, but
those who see stress as energyfueling them to meet a challenge
actually have better healthoutcomes, even in difficult
circumstances.
Now there are essentially twoways we can think about stress,
and they lead to very differentoutcomes.
(06:10):
So one mindset is stress isharmful and the other mindset is
stress is helpful.
So, as I share about each ofthese mindsets, I want you to
think about which mindset you'reexperiencing in your cancer
journey.
Here we go With the mindset thatstress is harmful.
(06:32):
You might see those physicalstress responses, the racing
heart, the tension.
You might see those or labelthose as bad signs.
You might think, oh no, I'mfeeling anxious, I'm not coping
well, this is terrible, I can'tdo this coping well, this is
(06:54):
terrible, I can't do this.
You interpret stress as aweakness, of something going
wrong.
This mindset can actuallyamplify your stress and anxiety,
making you feel even worse.
It's like telling yourselfstress is the enemy and you're
losing the battle.
Well, let me share an example ofhow I made stress the enemy.
Well, following my first roundof breast cancer this was back
(07:15):
in 2018, I started a new job andbegan taking tamoxifen, used to
treat hormone receptor positivebreast cancer, and what it does
is reduce estrogen levels, andthis can lead to increased
anxiety or emotional instability.
And let me tell you, theanxiety hit hard and I felt like
(07:39):
a hot mess.
I felt like I was in constantPMS.
I started feeling a lot ofstress at work and that just
amplified the anxiety that I wasalready feeling.
And, to make it worse, I wasbeating myself up for feeling
anxious.
Eventually, I had to go out onmedical leave because I stressed
myself out so bad and, to makeit worse, I beat myself up again
(08:02):
for not being able to handlethe stress.
Clearly, I saw stress as badand I had a stress is harmful
mindset.
But what if we flip the script?
What if, instead, we adopted amindset that stress is helpful?
With this mindset, youinterpret those same physical
(08:23):
responses, the racing heart, theenergy surge, as your body
getting energized and ready foraction.
You see stress as your bodypreparing you to meet the
challenge head on.
You might think okay, my bodyis gearing up, I'm getting
stronger, I can handle this.
(08:44):
This is seeing stress as a toolto help you rise to the
occasion.
As a tool to help you rise tothe occasion Now.
In my previous example, Ishared how I stressed myself out
and went out on medical leave.
Well, during my time off, Ilearned how to ride an electric
skateboard called a boostedboard, and riding it was so
(09:05):
exhilarating.
And when it was time to returnto work, I was deciding whether
or not I wanted to commute toand from my shuttle stop on my
boosted board.
My husband was commuting on hisone wheel at the time, and so I
thought oh, wow, it would befun for me to do something
similar, but I wasn't sure if Iwas ready.
And then my husband saidsomething that changed
(09:28):
everything he said.
And then my husband saidsomething that changed
everything.
He said imagine having thatfeeling every day on your way to
work.
I remember the moment he askedme that question and I said, yes
, I am going to start commutingto and from my shuttle on my
boosted board.
It was about a five mile roundtrip.
But what I started noticingevery morning before heading out
(09:49):
is that I had a stomach acheand I would tell myself that I
was nervous and that I wasscared.
That didn't make me feel good,but I still was able to ride.
But about a week later I wokeup again in the morning and
noticed my stomach hurting.
But this time I told myselfthat you know what it's
(10:09):
completely normal to feelnervous.
This was something new that Iwas doing and you know, riding a
boosted board, an electricskateboard, it's kind of scary
and it's dangerous if you don'tknow how to ride safely.
And that helped me to see thatmy stomach aches were a way of
my body preparing me to ridesafely, way of my body preparing
(10:33):
me to ride safely.
And this helped me to realizethat, although I was nervous, I
was actually a lot more excitedabout riding than I was nervous
about riding After that when I'dnotice a stomach ache, I'd say
to myself wow, shannon, you'rereally excited.
You're really excited.
And soon after I stoppedgetting stomach aches because I
shifted my mindset around thestress of writing.
(10:55):
So the key thing to remember isthat when you change your mind
about stress, you change howyour body responds to it.
So instead of seeing stress asa threat, you can see it as a
signal of your strength andresilience.
And by shifting your mindset,you can channel that energy in a
way that supports you ratherthan overwhelms you.
(11:16):
But keep in mind that shiftingyour perspective about stress
it's a gradual and ongoingprocess.
Be gentle with yourself as younavigate this inner shift.
Allow yourself the space toexplore this new perspective
without judgment.
It may take time to fullyintegrate this shift in your
(11:39):
mindset, so choose to celebratesmall victories and be patient
with yourself as you cultivate amore supportive and
understanding relationship withstress.
Supportive and understandingrelationship with stress.
Now I want to transition andshare with you three practical
tools to help you adopt amindset that stress is helpful.
(11:59):
So the first tool that we'lltake a look at is called the
stress reset, and this tool hasthree steps.
Step one is to notice what'shappening in your body without
judgment.
This step is simple butpowerful.
So when you feel stresscreeping in the heart, racing,
(12:24):
the tension in your shoulders,pause and name what you are
experiencing.
My palms are a little sweatyand that's it.
No need to fix it, no need tofight it, just labeling what's
(12:44):
happening.
It helps to create spacebetween you and your reaction,
giving you the power to respondrather than just react.
Step number two is to loveyourself through it.
So, before trying to fix orchange the feeling, take a
moment to meet it with kindness.
So you might say to yourselfthis is a hard moment and it
(13:10):
makes sense that I'm feelingthis way.
I'm doing my best and I willsupport myself through this.
You can even place a hand onyour heart or take a couple of
deep breaths to reinforce thatsense of self-compassion.
When we respond to stress withunderstanding rather than
self-judgment, we shift fromfighting our emotions to
(13:34):
supporting ourselves throughthem.
And step number three look at itdifferently.
Now that you've acknowledgedwhat you're feeling with
kindness, you can shift how youinterpret it.
So, instead of thinking this isanxiety, this is bad, you could
try.
(13:54):
My heart is racing because mybody is giving me energy because
my body is giving me energy.
This is my body preparing me tobe strong and focused.
Here's another one Instead ofmy chest is tight, I'm panicking
before this appointment.
You could try my chest is tight, my body is energizing me, so I
(14:19):
can be clear and advocate formyself in this appointment.
By noticing what's happening inyour body without judgment,
loving yourself through it andlooking at the situation
differently, you can move fromfeeling overwhelmed by stress to
using it as fuel for strength,clarity and resilience.
And resilience.
(14:45):
Okay, the second tool StressLess, connect More.
This tool reminds you that youare not alone in this.
Stress can feel heavy, butleaning on others can make a
huge difference, not justemotionally, but physically too.
So when you reach out, whetherit's to a friend, a family
member, a support group or evenour breast cancer reimagined
community, your body responds ina powerful way.
(15:08):
Talking, sharing, even justgetting a warm hug releases
oxytocin, the cuddle hormone.
It's your body's natural way ofcalming stress, lowering
anxiety and reminding you thatyou are supported.
Remember, vulnerability isn'tweakness, it's connection, and
(15:30):
sometimes just hearing I get it,you're not alone is enough to
shift how we feel.
So if you're carrying stresstoday, don't do it alone.
Reach out, connect and let yourbody and your people help you
through it.
Tool number three strengthspotlight.
(15:54):
The first step in managingstress is awareness.
Before going into a situationthat you think might be
stressful, pause for a momentand check in with yourself.
Ask yourself what am I feeling?
Where do I feel it in my body?
And do this with no judgment,just noticing.
(16:17):
Just noticing.
Now.
Shift your focus.
Stress might feel like theenemy, but your strengths are
your greatest allies.
So when stress creeps in, askyourself what strength can I
lean on right now?
I remember the first time I hadto do an MRI.
(16:39):
I was scared.
The thought of going into thattube and the loud sounds really
made me nervous.
But I decided you know what Iam going to call on my bravery.
So I said to myself I am brave,I can face this.
It became my mantra.
Became my mantra.
(17:04):
Another character strength thatyou might use is perseverance.
You might say to yourself I'veovercome challenges before I can
do it again.
Another example the characterstrength of hope.
You might say better days areahead and I will keep moving
forward.
In the show notes there's alist of the 24 character
strengths and there's also alink to the VIA survey if you
(17:26):
would like to get a freepersonalized character strengths
profile.
Think of activating yourstrengths, like putting on your
superhero cape it reminds you ofwho you are and what you're
capable of.
Now, as we close out thisepisode, remember these three
things.
Stress is your body's naturalresponse to a challenge.
(17:51):
It's a physical andpsychological reaction to a
perceived threat.
Number two stress is energy youcan choose to use it.
And number three the way youthink about stress changes the
way your body experiences it.
Now it's your turn.
(18:12):
Which of the three practiceswill you explore this week?
The stress reset, stress less,connect More or the Strength
Spotlight?
If this episode resonated withyou, hit, follow and share it
with someone who might need tohear this today.
Please join our Breast CancerReimagined Facebook group so we
(18:34):
can support each other.
The link is in the show notes.
In our next episode, we'llexplore the power of gratitude.
Don't forget to subscribe.
I'll talk with you in the nextepisode.
Thank you for joining.
The story you tell yourself about your breast
cancer journey shapes yourentire experience, whether
you've been recently diagnosedor are in the midst of treatment
.
Breast Cancer Reimagined isyour podcast for writing this
new chapter of your life.
Hi, I'm Shannon, your host, andI'm so glad you're here.
(00:25):
As a proud two-time breastcancer survivor, I'm on a
mission to help women like youreimagine how you navigate your
breast cancer journey by helpingyou shift your mindset,
activate your strengths anduncover deeper meaning in your
journey.
I'm creating future episodes toaddress your unique challenges,
(00:45):
but I need your input.
What are your biggest questionsor struggles when it comes to
your journey?
Share them with me bycompleting the Google form
that's linked in the show notes.
Your voice matters and togetherwe can create something truly
powerful.
I can't wait to hear from you.
Create something truly powerful.
(01:11):
I can't wait to hear from you.
Hello, hello.
Welcome back to Breast CancerReimagined.
Hi, I'm Shannon, your host, aproud two-time breast cancer
survivor.
I am so glad you're here.
Welcome to episode 8.
Have you ever noticed how twopeople can go through the exact
same experience but reactcompletely differently?
One person stays more calm andfocused, while the other feels
(01:36):
completely overwhelmed.
Why does that happen?
We'll answer this question inthis episode, reimagining Stress
, how Changing your MindsetChanges Everything.
We'll also explore threepractical tools to make stress
work for you, not against you.
(01:57):
Let's start at the beginning.
What is stress?
Well, at its core, stress isyour body's natural response to
a challenge.
It's not good or bad, it justis.
So think of it as your built-inalarm system, designed to help
you respond to a perceivedthreat.
(02:17):
But what exactly is a perceivedthreat?
Let me give you an example.
You're waiting for scan resultsand your mind starts racing
with worst case scenarios.
Your heart pounds, your stomachtightens, your body reacts as
if something terrible is alreadyhappening, even though you
(02:37):
don't actually know the outcomeyet.
Now let's contrast that to areal threat.
So a real threat is when yourdoctor tells you that immediate
treatment is necessary to stopthe cancer from spreading.
So you take action, you startscheduling appointments,
starting treatment because yourhealth is at risk.
(02:57):
But here's the thing your braindoesn't always know the
difference between real threatsand perceived threats, and this
is where your mindset becomesincredibly powerful.
Shifting how you interpret asituation directly influences
how your body reacts, helpingyou respond with clarity and
(03:19):
confidence instead of stress andfear.
So, when you feel stressed, howdoes your body respond?
Do you notice your heart racing, your muscles tensing up, maybe
your mind going into overdrive,your stomach doing somersaults?
You're holding your breath.
(03:39):
For me, all of the above,especially my stomach doing
somersaults.
But you know what?
These reactions are completelynatural.
Remember, stress is simply yourbody's way of preparing you for
action.
It's not good or bad, it justis.
(04:00):
It's your built-in alarm system.
Now the key is understandingthat events themselves aren't
inherently stressful.
It's how we perceive them thatdetermines whether we feel
overwhelmed or empowered.
It's your interpretation ofstress that shapes your
experience.
(04:21):
Now, at the beginning of theepisode, I asked have you ever
noticed how two people gothrough the same exact
experience but react differently?
Well, imagine two individualsreceiving the same breast cancer
diagnosis.
One thinks this is the worstthing that could happen to me.
I don't know how I'll getthrough this.
(04:43):
It happened to me.
I don't know how I'll getthrough this.
The other person thinks this isgoing to be tough, but I will
find a way through it.
Two people, the same diagnosis.
One sees despair, the othersees resilience.
(05:03):
But did you notice that bothrecognize the challenge, but
only one sees a way forward?
Now, this isn't about pretendingthat everything is fine or
ignoring reality.
It's about becoming aware ofyour mindset around stress and
then making a choice, becausehow you think about stress
matters.
It can hold you back or helpyou move forward.
(05:25):
Now don't just take my word forit.
This is backed by research.
One of my favorite TED Talks isby Kelly McGonigal.
She's a health psychologist andlecturer at Stanford University
, and the name of her TED Talkis how to Make Stress your
Friend.
Now I have a link to this inthe show notes for you.
One thing she said is thatpeople who believe stress is
(05:48):
harmful tend to experience morenegative effects from it, but
those who see stress as energyfueling them to meet a challenge
actually have better healthoutcomes, even in difficult
circumstances.
Now there are essentially twoways we can think about stress,
and they lead to very differentoutcomes.
(06:10):
So one mindset is stress isharmful and the other mindset is
stress is helpful.
So, as I share about each ofthese mindsets, I want you to
think about which mindset you'reexperiencing in your cancer
journey.
Here we go With the mindset thatstress is harmful.
(06:32):
You might see those physicalstress responses, the racing
heart, the tension.
You might see those or labelthose as bad signs.
You might think, oh no, I'mfeeling anxious, I'm not coping
well, this is terrible, I can'tdo this coping well, this is
(06:54):
terrible, I can't do this.
You interpret stress as aweakness, of something going
wrong.
This mindset can actuallyamplify your stress and anxiety,
making you feel even worse.
It's like telling yourselfstress is the enemy and you're
losing the battle.
Well, let me share an example ofhow I made stress the enemy.
Well, following my first roundof breast cancer this was back
(07:15):
in 2018, I started a new job andbegan taking tamoxifen, used to
treat hormone receptor positivebreast cancer, and what it does
is reduce estrogen levels, andthis can lead to increased
anxiety or emotional instability.
And let me tell you, theanxiety hit hard and I felt like
(07:39):
a hot mess.
I felt like I was in constantPMS.
I started feeling a lot ofstress at work and that just
amplified the anxiety that I wasalready feeling.
And, to make it worse, I wasbeating myself up for feeling
anxious.
Eventually, I had to go out onmedical leave because I stressed
myself out so bad and, to makeit worse, I beat myself up again
(08:02):
for not being able to handlethe stress.
Clearly, I saw stress as badand I had a stress is harmful
mindset.
But what if we flip the script?
What if, instead, we adopted amindset that stress is helpful?
With this mindset, youinterpret those same physical
(08:23):
responses, the racing heart, theenergy surge, as your body
getting energized and ready foraction.
You see stress as your bodypreparing you to meet the
challenge head on.
You might think okay, my bodyis gearing up, I'm getting
stronger, I can handle this.
(08:44):
This is seeing stress as a toolto help you rise to the
occasion.
As a tool to help you rise tothe occasion Now.
In my previous example, Ishared how I stressed myself out
and went out on medical leave.
Well, during my time off, Ilearned how to ride an electric
skateboard called a boostedboard, and riding it was so
(09:05):
exhilarating.
And when it was time to returnto work, I was deciding whether
or not I wanted to commute toand from my shuttle stop on my
boosted board.
My husband was commuting on hisone wheel at the time, and so I
thought oh, wow, it would befun for me to do something
similar, but I wasn't sure if Iwas ready.
And then my husband saidsomething that changed
(09:28):
everything he said.
And then my husband saidsomething that changed
everything.
He said imagine having thatfeeling every day on your way to
work.
I remember the moment he askedme that question and I said, yes
, I am going to start commutingto and from my shuttle on my
boosted board.
It was about a five mile roundtrip.
But what I started noticingevery morning before heading out
(09:49):
is that I had a stomach acheand I would tell myself that I
was nervous and that I wasscared.
That didn't make me feel good,but I still was able to ride.
But about a week later I wokeup again in the morning and
noticed my stomach hurting.
But this time I told myselfthat you know what it's
(10:09):
completely normal to feelnervous.
This was something new that Iwas doing and you know, riding a
boosted board, an electricskateboard, it's kind of scary
and it's dangerous if you don'tknow how to ride safely.
And that helped me to see thatmy stomach aches were a way of
my body preparing me to ridesafely, way of my body preparing
(10:33):
me to ride safely.
And this helped me to realizethat, although I was nervous, I
was actually a lot more excitedabout riding than I was nervous
about riding After that when I'dnotice a stomach ache, I'd say
to myself wow, shannon, you'rereally excited.
You're really excited.
And soon after I stoppedgetting stomach aches because I
shifted my mindset around thestress of writing.
(10:55):
So the key thing to remember isthat when you change your mind
about stress, you change howyour body responds to it.
So instead of seeing stress asa threat, you can see it as a
signal of your strength andresilience.
And by shifting your mindset,you can channel that energy in a
way that supports you ratherthan overwhelms you.
(11:16):
But keep in mind that shiftingyour perspective about stress
it's a gradual and ongoingprocess.
Be gentle with yourself as younavigate this inner shift.
Allow yourself the space toexplore this new perspective
without judgment.
It may take time to fullyintegrate this shift in your
(11:39):
mindset, so choose to celebratesmall victories and be patient
with yourself as you cultivate amore supportive and
understanding relationship withstress.
Supportive and understandingrelationship with stress.
Now I want to transition andshare with you three practical
tools to help you adopt amindset that stress is helpful.
(11:59):
So the first tool that we'lltake a look at is called the
stress reset, and this tool hasthree steps.
Step one is to notice what'shappening in your body without
judgment.
This step is simple butpowerful.
So when you feel stresscreeping in the heart, racing,
(12:24):
the tension in your shoulders,pause and name what you are
experiencing.
My palms are a little sweatyand that's it.
No need to fix it, no need tofight it, just labeling what's
(12:44):
happening.
It helps to create spacebetween you and your reaction,
giving you the power to respondrather than just react.
Step number two is to loveyourself through it.
So, before trying to fix orchange the feeling, take a
moment to meet it with kindness.
So you might say to yourselfthis is a hard moment and it
(13:10):
makes sense that I'm feelingthis way.
I'm doing my best and I willsupport myself through this.
You can even place a hand onyour heart or take a couple of
deep breaths to reinforce thatsense of self-compassion.
When we respond to stress withunderstanding rather than
self-judgment, we shift fromfighting our emotions to
(13:34):
supporting ourselves throughthem.
And step number three look at itdifferently.
Now that you've acknowledgedwhat you're feeling with
kindness, you can shift how youinterpret it.
So, instead of thinking this isanxiety, this is bad, you could
try.
(13:54):
My heart is racing because mybody is giving me energy because
my body is giving me energy.
This is my body preparing me tobe strong and focused.
Here's another one Instead ofmy chest is tight, I'm panicking
before this appointment.
You could try my chest is tight, my body is energizing me, so I
(14:19):
can be clear and advocate formyself in this appointment.
By noticing what's happening inyour body without judgment,
loving yourself through it andlooking at the situation
differently, you can move fromfeeling overwhelmed by stress to
using it as fuel for strength,clarity and resilience.
And resilience.
(14:45):
Okay, the second tool StressLess, connect More.
This tool reminds you that youare not alone in this.
Stress can feel heavy, butleaning on others can make a
huge difference, not justemotionally, but physically too.
So when you reach out, whetherit's to a friend, a family
member, a support group or evenour breast cancer reimagined
community, your body responds ina powerful way.
(15:08):
Talking, sharing, even justgetting a warm hug releases
oxytocin, the cuddle hormone.
It's your body's natural way ofcalming stress, lowering
anxiety and reminding you thatyou are supported.
Remember, vulnerability isn'tweakness, it's connection, and
(15:30):
sometimes just hearing I get it,you're not alone is enough to
shift how we feel.
So if you're carrying stresstoday, don't do it alone.
Reach out, connect and let yourbody and your people help you
through it.
Tool number three strengthspotlight.
(15:54):
The first step in managingstress is awareness.
Before going into a situationthat you think might be
stressful, pause for a momentand check in with yourself.
Ask yourself what am I feeling?
Where do I feel it in my body?
And do this with no judgment,just noticing.
(16:17):
Just noticing.
Now.
Shift your focus.
Stress might feel like theenemy, but your strengths are
your greatest allies.
So when stress creeps in, askyourself what strength can I
lean on right now?
I remember the first time I hadto do an MRI.
(16:39):
I was scared.
The thought of going into thattube and the loud sounds really
made me nervous.
But I decided you know what Iam going to call on my bravery.
So I said to myself I am brave,I can face this.
It became my mantra.
Became my mantra.
(17:04):
Another character strength thatyou might use is perseverance.
You might say to yourself I'veovercome challenges before I can
do it again.
Another example the characterstrength of hope.
You might say better days areahead and I will keep moving
forward.
In the show notes there's alist of the 24 character
strengths and there's also alink to the VIA survey if you
(17:26):
would like to get a freepersonalized character strengths
profile.
Think of activating yourstrengths, like putting on your
superhero cape it reminds you ofwho you are and what you're
capable of.
Now, as we close out thisepisode, remember these three
things.
Stress is your body's naturalresponse to a challenge.
(17:51):
It's a physical andpsychological reaction to a
perceived threat.
Number two stress is energy youcan choose to use it.
And number three the way youthink about stress changes the
way your body experiences it.
Now it's your turn.
(18:12):
Which of the three practiceswill you explore this week?
The stress reset, stress less,connect More or the Strength
Spotlight?
If this episode resonated withyou, hit, follow and share it
with someone who might need tohear this today.
Please join our Breast CancerReimagined Facebook group so we
(18:34):
can support each other.
The link is in the show notes.
In our next episode, we'llexplore the power of gratitude.
Don't forget to subscribe.
I'll talk with you in the nextepisode.
Thank you for joining.
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