“In the past, when life got stressful, I used to cope in unhealthy ways. I’d overeat, drink, take substances, scream, shout, kick, punch… or just avoid things altogether.

Those strategies worked for me in the short term, but eventually, they always created more problems than they solved.

My life would have been so much easier if I’d had the skills to work through difficult emotions without losing my mind.

Over time, I developed a systematic process. Daily meditation helped me, but I needed more. I focused on two areas. Firstly, I constructed a toolkit that I could draw upon when stressed, overwhelmed or challenged. Secondly, I refined my meditation practice day by day. My daily practice built resilience, which meant that I didn’t get stressed or overwhelmed as much. Many of the things that used to bother me didn’t bother me anymore.

I used my tools when life got crazy, and I sharpened my meditation skills each day, so I didn’t need to bring out my tools that often.

I learned to calm down my stress response and manage my intense emotions. I learned to identify triggering situations to avoid situations that didn’t serve me. And I learned to mentally and physically prepare for uncomfortable situations that couldn’t (or shouldn’t) be avoided. I built my personalised toolkit so that I could handle different challenging situations.

I’ve now worked with hundreds of clients and delivered workshops to tens of thousands of participants. I’ve helped select and integrate the perfect tools and techniques for healthy coping and self-care routines. Experience has shown me that stress, anxiety and burnout don’t have to run our lives. We can integrate tools to manage our uncomfortable emotions in healthy ways.”

– Chibs Okereke, Stress & Burnout Specialist, MSc Organisational Psychology, PG Dip, BA (Hons), Accredited Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Teacher, Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School