Work Stress Anxiety | Burnout Prevention, Stress Recovery & Emotional Resilience for High-Achieving Women
The weekday podcast for high-achieving women dealing with work stress, workplace stress, work anxiety, anxiety at work, emotional exhaustion, burnout and being human.
If you're struggling with workplace anxiety, feeling emotionally drained, lying awake at 2:03 a.m. looking at the clock, replaying conversations, or wondering why your success feels so expensive now, you're in the right place.
Hosted by Cheryl Paris, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Stress Recovery Coach, this podcast helps high-achieving women understand work-related stress, prevent burnout, build emotional resilience, and recover from chronic workplace pressure.
Work Stress Anxiety uses metaphors, nervous system education and real-world workplace examples to help high-achieving women make sense of stress, anxiety and emotional exhaustion at work.
Through honest conversations with ordinary people you’d walk past in the street every day, Cheryl explores real stories, real struggles and practical ways forward, without the motivational nonsense.
You'll get to learn practical strategies for:
• Work stress and workplace stress
• Work anxiety and anxiety at work
• Burnout prevention and burnout recovery
• Emotional exhaustion and nervous system overload
• Emotional resilience during difficult periods
• Stress recovery after prolonged pressure
• High-functioning anxiety
• Workplace conflict and investigations
• Toxic workplace cultures
• Setting boundaries without guilt
• Sleeping better when your mind won't switch off
• Coping with uncertainty, change, and job insecurity
Helping you understand what's really happening in your workplace mind, what's happening in your nervous system, and what you can do next.
ABGW stands for Awareness, Balance, Growth, and Win-Win Wellbeing.
Not pretending that a breathing exercise fixes your dysfunctional workplace.
None of that resilience theatre or so-called positivity.
Just practical support for high-achieving women who want to stop paying for their success with their health.
Shared stories are anonymised.
This podcast is for educational and reflective purposes only and does not constitute medical, psychological, legal, workplace, or professional advice.
Episodes
113 episodes
Why Sleep Is the Ultimate Act of Self-Respect
You can spend thousands chasing better health and still feel worn out, snappy, foggy, and stuck in your own head at night. We keep buying the tools, but we keep postponing the most powerful recovery process we already have: sleep. And if work s...
Mr Darcy, Workplace Anxiety and the Exhaustion of Being the Capable One
You can be excellent at your job and still be running on fumes. We talk about the kind of competence that gets applauded, the calm voice, the quick fixes, the “no problem” email, and how that same capability can quietly turn into a costume that...
The Stupid Idea of Perfection: Why Life Isn't a Maths Exam
Perfection is supposed to make us feel confident, but it often does the opposite: it keeps us stuck, second-guessing messages we already sent and replaying moments we cannot change. We dig into why that happens, why “perfect” is an imaginary fi...
Fear-Based Leadership at Work: What Voldemort Can Teach Us About Ego, Power and the Price of Fear
A room can feel fine one second and unsafe the next, all because one person walks in. We’ve both felt that sudden shift: conversations stop, shoulders rise, and everyone starts editing themselves in real time. We dig into what’s really happenin...
The Resilience Trumpet And The Office Sandwich
Nice people can still be unsafe people. That sounds harsh until you’ve lived the quiet version of workplace stress: the meetings where everyone speaks calmly, the smiles that don’t match the outcomes, the slow shift in access and warmth that le...
When New Management Changes the Weather- Work Stress
When management changes, your body often knows before your mind does—and that anxiety is valid. In this episode, Cheryl explores how women leaders pick up on subtle workplace shifts, why nervous system Awareness matters during transitions, and ...
Why I Charge for a Discovery Session: Respect, Clarity, and Not Wasting Your Time
In this insightful episode, Cheryl delves into the significance of the discovery session within the ABGW Method®, shedding light on why she charges for it. She addresses the common misconception surrounding paid consultations, contrasting it wi...
Why I Created the Emotional Survival System™: For Women Who Are Always Expected to Cope
In this insightful episode, Cheryl unveils the Emotional Survival System, designed specifically for women who are often seen as the reliable ones, yet struggle silently under the weight of expectations. She challenges the damaging m...
Stress Recovery Through Real Gratitude | Beyond Toxic Positivity
Gratitude gets a bad rap—and for good reason. Cheryl explores why forced thankfulness is actually a trauma response and how authentic appreciation serves as a powerful tool for regulating the nervous systems of stressed women leaders.&nb...
Work Stress and Sleep Disruption: Because Apparently Your Job Needed a Night Shift Too
In this engaging episode, Cheryl Paris delves into the intricate relationship between work stress and sleep disruption, shedding light on the all-too-familiar struggle of high-functioning individuals, particularly women, who find themselves men...
Protect Your Energy Before Work Stress Becomes Anxiety
In this thought-provoking episode, Cheryl tackles the often-ignored yet vital topic of energy protection for high-functioning women. She highlights the misconception that our energy is an unlimited resource, urging listeners to recognise the si...
Burnout in Women: Why Pushing Through Is Not Recovery
In this enlightening episode, Cheryl dives deep into the often-overlooked phenomenon of high-functioning burnout in women. She reveals that burnout doesn't always manifest as a dramatic collapse; instead, it can look like merely keeping up with...
What ABGW Really Means: Real Relief for Women Who Look Fine but Feel Anything But
In this episode, Cheryl introduces the concept of Work Stress Anxiety, aimed at women who appear to be coping but feel overwhelmed beneath the surface. She discusses the importance of recognising emotional overload and the need for self-care am...
Work Anxiety and Overthinking at Night: Why Your Brain Keeps Doing the 2:03 a.m. Night Shift
In this insightful episode, Cheryl addresses the all-too-familiar struggle of work anxiety and the relentless overthinking that often strikes at night. Have you ever found yourself wide awake at 2:03am, replaying every email and conversation in...
How to Stop Replaying Work Mistakes and Loosen Regret’s Grip
In this thought-provoking episode, Cheryl tackles the all-too-familiar cycle of replaying work mistakes in our minds, transforming them into epic narratives that can linger for days, weeks, or even years. Have you ever felt like your brain has ...
The ABGW Method®: Calm First. Reality First. Then Change.™
In this enlightening episode, Cheryl delves into the heart of the ABGW method, addressing the often-overlooked reality of work-related stress. Rather than relying on yet another inspirational quote or productivity tip, she emphasises the import...
How to Step Back Without Guilt: Why This Stress Coach Went Quiet During Stress Awareness Month
In this episode, we dive into the often unspoken struggle of high-functioning women: the guilt that accompanies the need to step back and rest. As Stress Awareness Month unfolds, Cheryl reflects on her own journey of prioritising energy protect...
Why Your Boundaries Fail And How To Keep Them
Boundaries don’t need to be dramatic to work; they need to be steady. We wrap our mini series by turning vague requests into clear limits you can hold under pressure, even when your calendar is crammed and your stress is high. Instead of chasin...
The Hidden Cost Of Always Saying Yes
What if the fear of being judged is the only thing standing between you and the energy you’ve been missing? We zoom into that quiet worry—“if I put myself first, I’ll be judged”—and turn it into a clear, simple practice you can try today. Inste...
Learn How To Stop Swallowing The Sea Of Stress
Ever hear that inner voice say, “This won’t work for me,” and feel your body tense before your mind even argues back? We explore why that thought often signals a nervous system scanning for safety, not a verdict on your ability. Rather than try...
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From Overwhelm To Action: Sorting Complex Boundaries With Three Simple Buckets
Feeling pinned by “it’s complicated”? We explore a calm way to navigate messy boundary moments without drama or self-doubt. When history, power, or office politics make everything feel loaded, our minds swirl. We slow that swirl with a simple f...
Are You Exhausted from Fixing Their Moods? The Hidden Cost of the Rescue Reflex
Ever walk into a meeting and feel the temperature drop even though no one says a word? We dig into the hidden labor of managing other people’s moods at work and offer a calmer path: stop chasing the weather and start owning your role. I share w...
You Can’t Think Your Way Out Of Stress When Your State Is Wrecked
Some truths are hard to say out loud: you can’t think your way out of stress when your state is wrecked. We close the series by getting honest about tired-brain traps, why exhaustion shrinks your options, and how to build a steady state that ma...
Who Benefits From Your Self-Editing?
Ever been tagged as difficult, too much, cold, or not approachable and felt the air go out of the room? We pull those stickers off and look at what they hide: a culture that rewards performance of niceness and punishes clarity. Cheryl explores ...
Stop Owning What Isn’t Yours And Start Seeing Clearly
Ever feel like every problem at work lands on your desk and somehow becomes your fault? We go straight at that myth with a candid look at how stress narrows our lenses and turns systemic dysfunction into personal shame. From shifting goalposts ...