November 24, 2025

267 — The Surprising Truth About Stress and Why Trying to Relax Is Making You Feel Worse with Dr. Rebecca Heiss

41 minutes

Do you feel like you’re constantly battling stress or that you're stressed out all the time? Do attempts to relax backfire and cause you to feel even worse? If so, today's episode is for you.

My guest today is Dr. Rebecca Heiss, a stress physiologist who says we can change the way stress affects us. In fact, she says we can turn our biological responses to stress into an advantage once we know how.

Some of the things we discuss are:

Why you should stop trying to get rid of your stress

Why believing stress is bad for you might actually kill you

Why animals don't get stressed out

How to trick your brain into making stress an advantage

Why avoiding stressful situations often causes more anxiety than facing them

The role of oxytocin as a "courage hormone" and the importance of connection

How to use a "catastrophe diary" to manage negative thinking

Why service to others is the only thing that truly mitigates stress

Practical ways to reframe your routine instead of just adding stress-reduction tasks

Why curiosity and fear cannot coexist

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Links & Resources

RebeccaHeiss.com

Springboard

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By Amy Morin

4.8

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