How to Reset Your Stress Response

Natasha Williams Author

Discover how to reset your stress response with simple, trauma-informed techniques. A practical guide for women balancing work and life.

If you wake up already feeling exhausted…

If your to-do list never ends, yet you barely feel productive…

If the pressure at work, the demands at home, and the unspoken expectations placed on you feel like too much to carry…

You’re not alone.

Many women — especially Black and Brown professional women — are navigating life under constant stress. You’re holding it together at work, showing up for your family, and still trying to find time to breathe. But what if your body and nervous system have been stuck in survival mode for far too long?

This is more than just “being busy” — it’s a chronic stress response. And when left unchecked, it can quietly sabotage your health, peace of mind, relationships, and career growth.

The good news? You can reset it.

In this guide, we’ll explore how your stress response actually works, why it gets stuck, and most importantly — what you can do to gently bring yourself back to balance. You’ll learn simple, trauma-informed practices that don’t require hours of meditation or a complete lifestyle overhaul. Just real tools for real women navigating real-life pressures.

What Is the Stress Response — and Why Does It Matter?

Stress isn’t just in your head — it’s in your nervous system.

When you feel under pressure, your body kicks into what’s called the stress response, also known as the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response. It’s your body’s way of protecting you when it senses danger — whether that danger is a car speeding towards you or a passive-aggressive email from your manager.

Here’s how it typically shows up:

• Fight: You become defensive or irritable — snapping at loved ones or feeling ready to argue.

• Flight: You avoid tasks, people, or situations — your anxiety tells you to run.

• Freeze: You shut down or feel paralysed — like you can’t make a decision or move forward.

• Fawn: You over-please — putting others first, saying yes when you want to say no, and neglecting your own needs.

These responses are normal and adaptive — they’ve helped us survive for generations. But in today’s world, many of us are stuck in one or more of these modes because we’re constantly juggling work deadlines, emotional labour at home, racial microaggressions, financial worries, and the pressure to succeed.

The result? Your nervous system never gets the memo that the “threat” is over — and that leaves your body in a constant state of alert, which leads to burnout, chronic illness, emotional fatigue, and disconnection from your joy and purpose.

But once you understand what’s happening internally, you can begin to shift it.

3 Signs Your Stress Response Is Stuck

So how do you know if your stress response is stuck in survival mode?

You might be powering through your day — showing up for meetings, checking off tasks, managing the household — but still feeling like something’s off. That’s because chronic stress doesn’t always scream… sometimes it whispers through your body, your habits, and your emotions.

Here are three common signs:

1. You feel tired, even after resting.

You sleep, but wake up exhausted. You rest, but never feel truly restored. This is often a sign that your nervous system hasn’t been able to fully come out of “alert mode.” Your body might be lying down, but your mind and internal systems are still bracing for impact.

2. You’re reactive — even to small things.

You might find yourself snapping at your children or coworkers, withdrawing from loved ones, or shutting down emotionally. These responses aren’t about being “moody” — they’re survival responses trying to protect you from more overwhelm.

3. You have physical symptoms you can’t ignore.

Stress doesn’t just live in the mind — it settles in the body. You may experience:

• Muscle tension (especially in your neck, shoulders or jaw)

• Digestive issues

• Headaches or migraines

• A racing heart, even when you're sitting still

• Sensitivity to noise, light, or touch

Pause & Reflect:

Do any of these signs resonate with you? It’s not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign your body is asking for support.

In the next section, we’ll explore how to reset your stress response — gently and powerfully — using tools that honour both your biology and your lived experience.

How to Reset Your Stress Response

Resetting your stress response doesn’t require you to quit your job, go on a retreat, or meditate for hours a day. The key is consistency over intensity — small, intentional practices that signal to your body: you are safe now.

Here are five practical, trauma-informed ways to gently reset your stress response, even during a busy day:

1. Reconnect With Your Breath

Your breath is one of the fastest ways to calm your nervous system. But many of us are stuck in shallow chest breathing, which keeps us in “alert mode.”

Try this:

Take a slow breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 2, then exhale for 6.
Repeat 3–5 times.
This signals to your body that it’s okay to let go.

2. Name What You Feel

Unspoken emotions often build up as stress in the body. Naming what you feel can help diffuse it.

Try this:

Pause and ask: “What am I feeling right now — physically and emotionally?”
Use words like: tight, overwhelmed, heavy, frustrated, or numb.
Simply noticing without judging starts the release process.

3. Ground Yourself in the Present Moment

When your nervous system is stuck, it often relives the past or panics about the future.

Try this:

Touch something with texture (fabric, a cup, a stone).
Look around and name five things you can see.
Feel your feet on the floor — wiggle your toes.
This grounds your body in now.

4. Create Micro-Moments of Safety

Your system needs regular reminders that it’s not in danger. Safety is personal — find what feels soothing to you.

Try this:

Wrap yourself in a warm blanket.
Play calming music.
Light a candle.
Repeat a grounding phrase like, “I am safe in this moment.”

5. Release the Pressure to Do It All

Many women, especially Black and Brown women, are carrying invisible loads — overgiving, overachieving, and overfunctioning. But healing starts with permission.

Try this:

Write yourself a “permission slip” for today.
Example: “I give myself permission to rest without guilt.”
You don’t need to earn rest. You deserve it by being human.

These tools are just the beginning. The more you practise, the easier it becomes for your body to move out of survival mode and into calm, clarity, and confidence.

Next, we’ll explore how to make this reset sustainable — without adding more pressure to your already full plate.

Healing Is a Journey, Not a Fix

Let’s be honest — most of us wish we could fix stress like we fix a broken appliance.
But healing doesn’t work like that. It’s not linear, and it’s not instant.

Resetting your stress response is a daily practice, not a one-time quick fix. Some days you’ll feel grounded and calm. Other days, you’ll feel triggered, tired, or unsure of what you need — and that’s okay.

What matters most is this:

• You show up with compassion instead of criticism. 
• You keep choosing yourself — even in small ways. 
• You give yourself permission to grow at your own pace.

For many women, especially those raised to “be strong” and push through, it can feel uncomfortable to slow down or ask for support. But strength isn’t about doing it all alone — it’s about learning to listen to your body and honouring your needs without guilt.

That’s what healing truly is:
Coming back home to yourself — over and over again.

And you don’t have to do it alone. Whether it's through journaling, joining a community, attending a workshop, or exploring your own story through reflection, there is support here for you.

Ready to take the next step?

If you haven’t already, start with the Stress Buster Journal — your personal space to begin understanding your stress patterns and building in small, powerful moments of calm.

👉 Download the Journal or Explore Our Free Course

Or, if you're feeling called to go deeper…

Join our free Heal to Achieve Community where we support women just like you to move from burnout to balance — with trauma-informed tools, leadership workshops, and real conversations that honour your lived experience.

You Deserve More Than Just Survival

If no one has told you lately: You deserve rest. You deserve support. You deserve to feel safe in your own body.

The world asks a lot from women — especially Black and Brown women — but you don’t have to carry it all alone. By learning to reset your stress response, you’re not only healing yourself, you’re modelling a new way forward for those around you.

This is your reminder: You’re not broken. You’re tired — and there’s a path to healing.

If this guide resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you.

Leave a comment in the community: What’s one thing you’re committing to this week to reset your stress?

Or share this with a friend or colleague who’s been feeling overwhelmed. We heal faster, and deeper, together.