ONE SMALL SHIFT — Stress Without Fixing It

What This Month Is About

Stress is not a failure. It’s a physiological response.

Most of us move through the day trying to optimize or override our stress: calm down and push through.

This month is different.

Instead of managing stress, we’re simply going to name it.

What the Research Is Actually Saying

Research in emotional regulation shows that affect labeling putting feelings into words can:

• Reduce physiological stress reactivity
• Decrease amygdala (the brain’s threat center) activation
• Increase regulatory prefrontal activity
• Lower emotional intensity

A widely cited neuroimaging study by Lieberman et al. (2007, Psychological Science) found that when participants labeled their emotions, amygdala activity decreased while regulatory brain regions became more active.

In simple terms:

When you name what you’re feeling, your nervous system begins to settle.

You are not fixing the stress.
You are signaling safety to your brain.

One Small Shift

Once per day, name your stress without trying to resolve it.

That’s it.

No analysis.
No solution.
No productivity strategy.

Just acknowledgment.

Examples:

• “I feel rushed today.”
• “I feel heavy.”
• “I feel overwhelmed right now.”
• “I feel stretched thin.”
• “I feel uncertain.”

How to Try It

Keep this practical and low effort. You might:

• Say it quietly in your car before walking inside.
• Write one sentence at the top of your planner.
• Pause at lunch and check in with one word.
• Text it to yourself.
• Notice it during a transition (before a meeting, before picking up your phone).

This should take 10 seconds or less.

If you feel the urge to fix it, stop.

The practice is naming not solving.

Why This Works

Stress escalates when it stays unnamed.

When we don’t acknowledge it, the body stays in low-grade activation:

• Elevated cortisol
• Faster heart rate
• Shallow breathing
• Automatic coping patterns (scrolling, snacking, snapping, shutting down)

Labeling your stress interrupts that loop.

It shifts the brain from reactive mode to reflective mode.
And reflective mode is where regulation begins.

This is not mindset work.
It’s nervous system literacy.

Remember

For research participants, clinicians, and professionals alike, this matters:

Small, repeatable regulation practices often outperform large, unsustainable interventions.

You do not have to earn calm.
You do not have to fix stress to move through it.

Sometimes the smallest shift is simply saying:

“This is what I’m feeling.”

Let that be enough.

Brittany Sloan

Brittany Sloan is a health and wellness coach, yoga teacher, and run coach who brings two decades of clinical research experience into every conversation about well-being. Her background spans academic medical centers and sponsor-level roles, from clinical assistant and study coordinator to regulatory and compliance work, giving her a grounded, evidence-informed perspective on what truly keeps people well.

She is the founder of ThreeBreaks Wellness, a coaching and consulting practice rooted in restoration, self-trust, and sustainable healing. Her work is deeply shaped by a love for Black people—our health, our stories, our survival, and our joy.

Brittany supports clients in reconnecting with themselves, realigning their lives, and reclaiming the parts of their well-being that systems have historically ignored. She shows up with warmth, honesty, and a steady, nurturing presence, offering guidance that is both compassionate and direct. Her work is grounded in the belief that Black folks deserve care that honors the fullness of who we are.