23/10/2025
Last month, I had the privilege of speaking at the Cost Matters Conference, to a great group of quantity surveyors on a topic that impacts every single one of us — stress.
We often think of stress as something “bad,” but in truth, it’s a natural response designed to protect us. When our brain perceives a threat — whether it’s a looming deadline or a difficult conversation — the amygdala sounds the alarm. This triggers a cascade of physiological changes: increased heart rate, tense muscles, and a flood of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
While this “fight or flight” response can help in the short term, chronic activation can lead to symptoms like fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbances, and even anxiety or burnout.
In my talk, I explored how we can retrain the brain to respond differently — by using evidence-based tools such as:
✨ Mindful awareness to calm the amygdala
✨ Breathing techniques to reset the nervous system
✨ Cognitive reframing to shift unhelpful thought patterns
✨ Building lifestyle habits that support balance and recovery
The key message I shared: we can’t always control what happens around us, but we can learn to regulate what happens within us.
If stress or anxiety has been showing up in your life lately, know that it’s not a sign of weakness — it’s your brain doing its best to protect you. With the right support and strategies, you can retrain those patterns and restore calm, clarity, and control.
💬 I’d love to hear — what’s one way you manage stress in your daily life?
