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Overwhelmed No More: Simple Tools to Bust Stress and Raise Your Frequency

As a disclaimer, EnvisionCo Blog is reader-supported. Some links on this site are for additional informational purposes whereas some others are affiliate links (don't worry, these will be clearly marked as such). When you click through an affiliate link on our site and sign-up for a service or finalize a purchase, we may earn affiliate commissions. This of course is at no additional cost to you. Additionally, EnvisionCo Blog is for informational and educational purposes only and is in no way intended to be a substitute for financial advice by a registered certified financial planner, medical advice by a qualified physician, or therapy by a trained mental health professional.


Many of us have gotten so used to living with stress and burnout that pushing through feels like the only option. We keep going even when it costs us our energy, our relationships, our health, and sometimes our sense of who we are. At some point, survival mode starts to feel normal. But stress and anxiety do not have to define your life. There are practical, research-backed ways to relate to them differently so they stop running the show.


When Stress Gets Personal

This week I stepped into the helping space, not as the coach or the professional, but simply as a person holding a lot at once. My therapist and I talked about stress in a very real, human way: balancing work, showing up for family, maintaining friendships, and caring for aging parents who live in different states. We also discussed my own health. Managing chronic conditions and monitoring changes in my body affect not only my energy and focus but also my ability to work. When you rely on your work to earn income, being unwell creates an extra layer of pressure. If I am not well enough to work, I cannot earn. That reality alone activates a whole internal system of urgency and fear.


As I spoke, I could hear the different parts of me speaking. The part that wants to keep pushing. The part that worries about finances and stability. The part that feels responsible for everyone who depends on me. And the quieter part that just wants to slow down and care for my body without guilt. Naming those parts reminded me of something important: even when you have the tools, even when you support others for a living, you are still human. Stress does not bypass you just because you understand it. That moment grounded me and brought me back to the importance of slowing down, noticing what I was carrying, and choosing how I wanted to respond instead of simply reacting. From there, it became clear that this is where the real work begins for so many of us.



When Stress Becomes a Lifestyle

For many people, stress is not just an occasional experience. It becomes the background noise of daily life, something we adapt to and carry without questioning. We normalize exhaustion and tell ourselves this is simply what adulthood, responsibility, and success feel like. Over time, the cost adds up. Disconnection, irritability, brain fog, and emotional numbness begin to surface, and burnout creeps in slowly, often unnoticed until we feel completely depleted. Pushing harder rarely solves this. What begins to help is learning a different way to relate to stress altogether, one that invites awareness rather than avoidance and intention rather than constant urgency.



A Different Approach to Stress and Anxiety

I'd like to share with you another very effective approach for managing stress and anxiety, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, often called ACT. It focuses on small, natural shifts in how you think, respond, and live that create meaningful change over time. Instead of trying to eliminate stress completely, ACT helps you build a new relationship with it by noticing thoughts without getting trapped in them, staying present with your emotions without judgment, and making choices aligned with your values rather than your fears.


This approach is the foundation of a self-paced online course (affiliate) "Guide to Anxiety & Stress Management with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy" led by Dr. Richard Sears, a board-certified clinical psychologist, organizational consultant, author, and international speaker known for his work in anxiety, stress, and mindfulness. Dr. Sears holds two doctoral degrees, has authored numerous books on ACT, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral strategies, and maintains an active therapy practice while teaching and researching at the University of Cincinnati.


What makes his perspective especially compelling is the blend of science and lived practice. From decades of training in martial and meditative disciplines, earning a seventh-degree black belt in Ninjutsu, and recognition as a Zen teacher, to briefly serving as a bodyguard for the Dalai Lama, Dr. Sears has cultivated a unique ability to translate stress, anxiety, and pressure into practical, human-centered tools. His approach reflects both modern psychology and longstanding wisdom traditions, offering participants tools that are practical, realistic, and deeply human.


From Overwhelm to Resilience

At its core, this work is not about becoming stress free but about becoming stress resilient. Dr. Spear's course is designed to help participants learn to break free from repetitive, anxiety-driven thought patterns, quiet the inner critic, and allow emotions to exist without immediately judging or suppressing them. Reconnecting with what matters most allows decisions to come from intention rather than urgency.


Mindfulness techniques help you stay present and focused, even in situations that once felt overwhelming. Over time, this creates a deeper sense of calm and balance. Many people notice changes not only in how they feel internally but also in how they relate to others. Interactions become less reactive and more intentional, and the relationship you have with yourself begins to soften.



Understanding Stress, Anxiety, and Burnout

To change your relationship with stress, it helps to understand it. The course walks through what is happening in the body and mind, how burnout develops, and how it impacts motivation, mood, and identity. It also explores why the urge to control everything often keeps anxiety alive and how acceptance creates space for something new. This awareness becomes the starting point for meaningful change, allowing you to respond with clarity rather than react from habit.



Cultivating Resilience and Living with Intention

As you build psychological flexibility, you learn to hold your thoughts and emotions lightly while still moving toward what truly matters. This means separating yourself from the stories your mind tells, noticing the different parts of you that carry worry or pressure, and reconnecting with your internal compass. As clarity grows, you gain the ability to slow down, let go of what is not working, and build habits that support long-term resilience and steadiness instead of constant urgency. You begin to explore what it looks like to care for yourself without shame or guilt, honoring the parts of you that need rest and the parts that want to keep pushing. Burnout becomes something you can notice early and prevent, and your actions start to come from intention rather than reaction. This work is not about doing more, it is about doing what matters in a way that aligns with your values and preserves your well-being.



Raising Your Frequency Through Awareness and Choice

All of this connects deeply with my theme for the year around increasing your frequency, not in a forced positivity way but in a grounded, nervous-system-aware way. When we live in chronic stress, our internal state often runs on urgency and survival. Our thoughts race, our bodies stay tense, and our attention narrows to problem solving and protection.

As we practice noticing thoughts without attaching to them, making space for emotions, and choosing actions aligned with our values, that internal state begins to shift. There is more clarity, more presence, and more steadiness, and we begin responding rather than reacting. Raising your frequency looks like pausing before snapping at someone you love, recognizing when a protective part is driving your choices, honoring rest, and choosing meaning over urgency. It is not about pretending everything is positive. It is about creating internal conditions that support calm, connection, and intentional living.



Moving Forward with Purpose

With that foundation in place, the next step becomes action. You learn how to create values-based goals and navigate both internal resistance and external barriers while practicing focusing on one task at a time to strengthen clarity and follow-through. As this happens, you also begin to notice moments of meaning even when your mind wants to stay in problem-solving mode, and life begins to feel less reactive and more directed.


Learning at Your Own Pace

This is not therapy. It is a self-paced learning experience designed to offer tools, insight, and structure. Many people find it complements therapy, while others use it as a starting point for understanding their stress and emotions more clearly. You receive immediate access to the full program and can move through it at your own pace, with videos, exercises, and reflection tools available anytime from any device. The goal is not perfection. The goal is progress and awareness.


IFS-Informed Note: Where ACT and IFS Overlap

Those familiar with my work know that I am an IFS practitioner both in the coaching room and therapy room. But I am not closed-minded to other complementary helping modalities. Both ACT and Internal Family Systems encourage us to change our relationship with our inner experiences rather than trying to control or eliminate them. IFS helps us notice and understand the parts of us that carry pressure, fear, and responsibility, while ACT supports that process by teaching us to observe thoughts and emotions without getting pulled into them and still take action toward what matters. Together, they support living with more intention, compassion, and Self-leadership.


You Are Allowed to Choose a Different Way

If you have been carrying stress for a long time, it can start to feel like part of your identity. This work gently reminds you that you are more than your anxiety, more than your burnout, and more than the pressure you have learned to carry. You are allowed to feel calm, allowed to slow down, and allowed to build a life that feels aligned instead of constantly urgent. If this resonates with where you are right now, consider exploring this ACT-based course as a next step in your self-care and growth. Take a moment to learn more, reflect on what support you may need, and decide if it feels like a fit for your journey. You do not have to keep pushing through alone. Sometimes the most powerful step forward is choosing a new way to relate to what you are carrying. And please remember that wherever you are on this wellness journey, do not worry about getting it perfect; just get it going. Until next time. Happy reading!


Affiliate Links

Financial stress is one of those quiet forces that can keep parts of us on edge, even when we’re trying to rest, reset, or start fresh. If this year is about raising your frequency, it makes sense to give your finances a bit of mindful attention as well. One way to do that is by simplifying high-interest debt into a single, predictable payment. This can help reduce mental clutter and give your nervous system some space to settle.

A SoFi Personal Loan is one option that may support this kind of financial reset, offering the potential to consolidate debt and even lower your interest rate. If you decide to apply using my affiliate link and are approved, SoFi provides a $300 bonus to both of us. It’s a small but meaningful way to support yourself as you continue creating a steadier, more aligned, and self-led year ahead.


“It is not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” ~Lou Holtz

Here at EnvisionCo Blog, we try to keep ads to a minimum making our blog entirely reader-supported. We may feature links on this site for additional informational purposes. From time to time, we may feature other links which are affiliate links (and these will be clearly marked). When you click through an affiliate link on our site and sign up for a service or finalize a purchase, we may earn affiliate commissions. This is of course at no additional cost to you. However, if you like what you see and would like to make a donation to help us keep ads to a minimum, we would greatly appreciate it! Nothing fancy. We accept the price of a cup coffee with as much gratitude as we would the price of a tank of gas!


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