Hypnotherapy for Work Stress:Work Anxiety Alarm Has Outlived the Emergency

Three words can hijack your whole morning: “Can we talk?” Before you’ve even opened the message, your stomach drops, your shoulders tighten and your mind is already six corridors ahead, trying to work out what has gone wrong. In this episode, we explore hypnotherapy for stress through one of the most familiar patterns in workplace anxiety: the moment your internal alarm reacts before you have enough evidence to know what is actually happening. This isn’t about forcing yourself to calm down or convincing yourself that everything is fine. Hypnotherapy for stress may help you become more aware of the automatic meanings and predictions your mind has attached to pressure, so you can begin creating more choice in how you respond. Sometimes stress is useful information. There really is smoke. The workload may be unreasonable, somebody may be behaving badly, or something genuinely needs your attention. But sometimes the alarm has become so sensitive that burnt toast and a house fire are receiving roughly the same response. The aim isn’t to ignore the alarm. It is to become more curious about what set it off and whether the level of alarm matches what is actually happening now. I share a simple 60-second exercise you can use the next time an email, Teams message, meeting request or change in tone triggers that familiar internal thud. Using two headings, Facts I Have and Story My Mind Added, you can begin separating what you know from what your mind is predicting. That small pause may help create space for a more flexible response, so you can deal with the situation that is actually in front of you rather than every possible version of what might happen next. Because a stress response can be completely understandable without being the only response available to you now. Follow Work Stress Anxiety for the rest of the Hypnotherapy and Choice series and more practical conversations about work stress, anxiety and the automatic patterns that can quietly shape how you feel and perform at work. Send us Fan Mail The contents of this podcast are for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. If you have a specific health concern or condition, please consult a qualified Healthcare professional for more details. Check out herguru dot uk forward slash disclaimers Support the show Got feedback, a question, or a future episode suggestion? https://podcastfeedback.com/workstressanxiety Work Stress Anxiety by ABGW is part of HerGuru Hypnotherapy and Coaching™ and grounded in the ABGW Method®. Calm first. Reality first. Then change.™ Connect with Cheryl Paris LinkedIn: https://go.workstressanxiety.com/linkedin  Facebook: https://go.workstressanxiety.com/Facebook Shared stories are anonymised. This podcast is provided for educational and self- reflective purposes only and does not constitute medical, psychological, legal, workplace, or professional advice. Disclaimer: https://herguru.uk/disclaimers/ © Cheryl Paris. Copyright 2026. All rights reserved.