Rethinking Stress: The Hidden Cost on Our Lives, Work, and Well-Being
- Trish Heitz
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Stress isn’t the problem; its the triggers based on unconscious beliefs that are the problem. So how do we fix this?
Most people think stress is what happens when life gets too busy, work piles up, deadlines collide, or relationships hit friction.
But after more than two decades of studying the mind–body connection, beginning with my own healing after kidney cancer, I’ve learned something far more accurate (and far more hopeful):
Stress isn’t the crisis.Stress is the signal.The crisis is the belief beneath it.
And when you understand this, your entire life, work, health, income, and relationships start to shift.
The Newest Science: Stress Doesn’t Just Happen to You. It’s Triggered through You
Modern neuroscience now shows that the brain interprets stress based on past belief patterns, not present reality.
If your childhood taught your body that:
approval = safety
achievement = worth
mistakes = danger
conflict = threat
not enough = identity
…your nervous system will carry those default settings into adulthood, into your workplace, into your relationships, and into your leadership.
This is why two people can experience the same event; a demanding boss, a tight deadline, a financial dip, and have completely different stress responses.
The difference isn't personality.
It’s programming.
How Stress Quietly Erodes Our Lives
(Even When We Think We're Managing It)
Stress doesn’t always show up as panic attacks or breakdowns.
More often, it shows up as…
• Irritability that feels “out of nowhere”• Emotional shutdown after too many demands• Overthinking every email, comment, or client interaction• Avoiding tasks you want to complete• Feeling exhausted no matter how much you sleep• Struggling to feel joy, even in good moments
And here’s where this becomes a workplace issue:
Stress shrinks your intelligence.
When the brain senses “threat,” it shuts down the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for strategy, clarity, communication, and decision-making.
Stress makes relationships harder.
We read tone incorrectly.We assume the worst.We personalize feedback.We react instead of respond.
Stress reduces earning potential.
Not because you’re “not capable”…but because the nervous system can’t allow expansion when it doesn’t feel safe.
Your paycheck is deeply tied to your belief system.Your next level of success is too.
This is why I say:
Stress is not a modern problem, it’s an old belief trying to survive in a new environment.
The Workplace Is the Perfect Mirror
We don’t just take our skills to work.We take our beliefs.
And the workplace will illuminate your patterns like nothing else:
Do you overwork to prove you're enough?
Do you shrink to stay “safe”?
Do you fear conflict because childhood taught you love was conditional?
Do you avoid leadership because being seen once felt dangerous?
Do you struggle receiving recognition because receiving wasn’t safe growing up?
These are not “traits.”They are trauma-linked beliefs playing out in real time.
And they are absolutely reversible.
**Here’s the part most people never learn:
Your stress response can be rewired.**
I discovered this through my own process over a number of years after surviving kidney cancer and vowing to understand the mind/body system.
My step by step journey turned into a complete method; D.A.R.E. Your Beliefs Method, in which I teach clients how to:
D – Discover
Identify the unconscious belief that’s activating the stress response (e.g., “I’m not allowed to make mistakes,” “I’m not safe unless I’m perfect,” “If I say no, I’ll lose love or approval”).
A – Assess
Trace where that belief formed and how it built your current stress patterns.
R – Recreate
Build a new belief that supports calm, confidence, and expansion.
E – Expand
Practice regulating your nervous system so your body learns a new definition of safety.
Because here’s the truth:
A belief reset will lower your stress faster than a vacation, spa day, or morning routine.
Why?
Because it removes the source of stress, not the symptoms of it.
Your Stress Is Costing You More Than You Realize
Unchecked stress costs:
Relationships (communication breakdowns, resentment, disconnection)
Opportunities (fear-driven hesitation)
Income (nervous system resistance to expansion)
Creativity & Productivity (shutdown responses)
Physical health (inflammation, disease, burnout)
(by the way; I discovered inflammation is at the cause of most disease)
But beneath every single stress pattern is one question:
What belief is your body still trying to protect you from?
When that belief shifts, everything in your life can shift with it.
A Final Thought… and a Gentle Invitation
As I prepare to co-host a workplace wellness conversation with Biomastery this month, I find myself returning to one truth:
Stress is not a personal failure.It’s a belief pattern calling for healing and retraining.
And when you heal the belief, and then retrain your mind, you don’t just become a better employee or leader, you become a healthier human, a thriving human.
If this resonates and you want to explore the belief driving your stress response, I invite you to join us for our event, or simply reach out to me directly.
Your next breakthrough is waiting beneath your stress, And I’d love to help you find it.
Attend our event, or get on our mailing list for our next one by filling out registration form: Through this link:
OR
Let's have a discussion about what you would like to achieve:
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