A relationship falls apart. A job ends. Even something as simple as a conversation can leave us feeling rattled. And in those moments, without even realising it, we fall into a fear mindset.

You know that feeling when you have poured your heart, time and brainpower into something at work, and then when it finally gets to the big moment, it is like you were never really there?

Six years ago, the life I had imagined ended. The dream I had clung to for so long, the one of being a mum, was over. Not because I chose it to be, but because life chose otherwise. After a long and painful journey, we lost the two daughters we were meant to adopt. And with them, I lost the future I thought I was building.

I tried CBT. More than once, actually. I learned to notice my unhelpful thoughts. I practised challenging them. I journaled. I had tools. But even with all that, I burned out. Three times.

Stress – It's a word we often use when feeling overwhelmed by life's demands, when life throws more at us than we feel we can handle.