Rebecca Heiss is a leading stress expert, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur based in South Carolina. For more than two decades, she has ardently applied her expertise to unraveling the intricacies of stress management. She just finished a groundbreaking qualitative study with more than 750 average Americans spread across almost a year’s worth of sessions. The findings reveal an intriguing insight: 58% of participants reported increased stress when attempting to control their anxiety.
Heiss, a holistic coach and stress educator, stresses the importance of identifying all stressors in order to successfully manage stress. He’s the author of a practical book on workplace stress reduction, which title escapes us now. Her research indicates that the traditional ways of addressing stress don’t work quite as well as we like to believe.
As Heiss explains, treating ourselves to some bubble baths and spa days is some major faux self-care. In reality, these hobbies are usually little more than escapism. To be sure, she doesn’t say that these activities are bad for kids. They’re consistently missing one key element that will actually deliver stress relief. Heiss wants people to redirect their self-soothing urges. Instead, he challenges them to focus that rage on making the world a better place for others.
Heiss describes how this change in outlook can have a powerful affect on the way stress is able to control your life. “How can I use this energy to help someone else?” she questions, highlighting the potential benefits of altruism in managing personal stress levels.
Through her long career, Heiss has advised artists on methods of self-care and escapism. She has recently written pieces for CNBC as well, helping to expose the message to a wider audience. As a dog owner of two, Guinness and Murphy, she believes that pets provide necessary companionship. This bond goes beyond alleviating stress and increases vitality and well-being.
Heiss says she’s found that understanding what’s stressing you out in the first place is key to better managing your stress. Through her artistic expression, she helps people identify their stressors. Along with these therapeutic appointments, she provides them with “hands-on” tools to face their emotional obstacles directly.
Based on her extensive research, this expert says the old ways of coping can make people even more overwhelmed. Or attempting to manage stress by imposing strict daily schedules only ends up increasing stress. Rather than relieve pressure, over-planning typically increases it.
“While these activities aren’t harmful, they’re missing something crucial.” – Rebecca Heiss
Heiss’s goal is to promote a more holistic approach to relieving stress, one that brings empathy and connection with other people into the equation. By fostering a sense of community and support, individuals can find relief from their own anxiety while simultaneously aiding others.