How I Rewired My Stress Response with Meditation and Hypnotherapy

Remember that time you were totally relaxed about speaking in front of a crowd? Yeah... me neither.

(Well, not before I learned how to actually calm my nervous system instead of just suppressing it.)

I used to be a black belt in Worst-Case-Scenario-Jitsu. Fluent in catastrophising, constantly rehearsing what could go wrong - just in case life threw me a curveball and I needed to be ready (I will come back to this). My brain genuinely thought it was doing me a favour as its main job is to keep me alive. By expecting disaster and preparing for it is an efficient way to keep myself safe, right?

Here's the catch

Every time I imagined a disaster unfolding, my body responded as if it were happening. Cue stress hormones. Racing thoughts. Tight jaw. Tense shoulders. Protective posture. The full stress response, on loop.

All of this was happening quietly, in the background - without me even realising it.

Why Catastrophising Isn’t Clever (Even Though It Feels Like It)

As I progressed in my studies about human behaviour, the brain, and the nervous system, I learnt that stress can interfere with the prefrontal cortex - the part of the brain responsible for planning, decision-making, and problem-solving. When that part goes offline, clear thinking becomes much harder.

So while I thought I was planning for every outcome (739 of them, to be precise), what I was actually doing was:

• Draining my energy

• Fueling anxiety

• Making it harder to respond creatively or calmly when real challenges showed up

A Fancy Word That Changed Everything

Then I stumbled upon neuroplasticity - the idea that our brains can change. Like, literally rewire. I was mindblown, for two reasons:

1. Neuroplasticity meant that I have been actively training my brain to notice stressful and negative situations, for decades,

2. I could also train my mind to expect positive changes, situations that I can meet with my current capabilities and skills. No need to always prepare to be ready, because I am ready.

I can remember crystal clear the moment this revelation hit me, driving down on the Collie hills - it was such a profound moment. I also began to understand why I’d always felt intuitively drawn to meditation, and to creative outlets that allowed me to slip into softer, more relaxed brainwave states. Unconsciously I was searching for relief, to help my nervous system.

The mindful, heartful moments

These mindful, heartful moments weren't just self-care. They provided essential breaks for my nervous system and softened the constant mental noise. And they helped balance out the stress that both life - and my own thinking - kept generating.

Something began to shift

As I kept meditating and practising self-hypnosis, something began to shift. My mind felt calmer. I became more patient. I made better choices. I found myself staying curious about how things might unfold - rather than preloading every possible disaster.

I began to think: “Maybe this will turn out better than I imagined.” Or even, “Maybe the universe has my back.” And the more I leaned into that way of thinking, the more it started to feel... natural.

Rottnest Island

The final piece

When I began my hypnotherapy training, the final piece clicked into place. Catastrophising wasn’t part of who I was - it was something I’d learnt. A habit of thought. A protective strategy I’d picked up somewhere along the way.

Catastrophising wasn’t part of who I was - it was something I’d learnt.

That realisation changed everything. If these beliefs weren’t truly mine, weren't my personality, then I could stop believe in them. It's now in my power to decide if I want those limiting beliefs, or I want new ones that are designed by me, based on the experiences I want to have in my life.

The key?

Change has to happen where the beliefs live - in the subconscious. That’s where hypnosis and meditation together become such a powerful team. They create space for calm. Space for rewiring. Space for real, lasting change.

Interestingly, on a recent visit home - after Covid, and three years of practising as a hypnotherapist - I noticed something that really landed. I wasn’t the same.

The old patterns, the usual emotional hooks - they were still there around me. But they didn’t pull me in like they used to. It was like watching an old film I no longer had a role in.

If you find yourself in situations where it's hard to find your centre, you obsess over past events and unable to relax naturally, I have a hopeful message for you: you can unlearn these habits and patterns that were never truly yours.

If you'd like my help with this transformation, please reach out. I won't be able to guide you unless you take the first step.