Hi

It’s been a full start of the year for me, not chaotic, just… expanding.

I made a simple decision a few months ago in end of Summer:
Double down on collaboration.

Instead of pouring all my energy into one thing, I’m building a portfolio career: multiple projects, multiple businesses, multiple possibilities.

And funnily enough, the more I open myself to collaboration, the more aligned people show up.

That’s how I met Marcelina, a workplace wellbeing facilitator

She knows brains, stress, and the nervous system.

I know communication, behavior, and how stress changes who we become.
One chat. One idea. One ding in my brain later 💡…

We decided to combine our worlds.

And that led to something I’m excited to share with you.

Communication Under Stress

We are in the middle of November already, 7 weeks to go.

Tons of last minutes projects, the end of year review, team feedback, delivery deadline, feature launches.

Are you caught in the middle of stress?

Have you ever noticed when we under stress we communicate differently?

We don’t communicate the same when we’re under stress.
Not because we’re “overreacting,”
not because we’re “too sensitive,”
but because our biology hijacks our personality.

Some people become controlling.
Some withdraw.
Some explode.
Some shut down.
Some over-explain.
Some go into pleasing mode.

It’s not random — and it’s not personal.
It’s neuroscience meeting personality.

And once you understand that, everything changes:

Your relationships.
Your leadership.
Your emotional regulation.
Your ability to speak clearly when it matters.

What I’m Seeing Lately

Across my clients, teams, and community, communication breakdowns tend to happen when:

• stress rises

• pressure builds

• the nervous system goes into survival

• expectations collide

• people don’t understand their own stress responses

And this creates the same cycle over and over:
miscommunication → conflict → distance → shame → silence.

If you are like me, a persister.

here’s what tends to happen when stress hits:

• You become highly critical — of yourself and others.

• You feel intense pressure to stay responsible, correct, and “on top of everything.”

• You might take on too much because you feel morally obliged to “do it right.”

Your nervous system interprets stress as a threat to your values and integrity, which can make you tense, rigid, or overly judgmental.

But there's another option and it starts with knowledge

Why I'm Hosting This Workshop with Marcelina

I’ve spent a decade learning about effective communication
Marcelina has spent years studying stress, trauma, and the nervous system.

We realized something big:
You can’t communicate well if your nervous system is dysregulated.
And you can’t regulate if you don’t understand your personality’s stress patterns.

So we merged our frameworks into a 90-minute interactive experience

A 90-Minute Workshop: Neuroscience Meets Process Communication Model

Co-led by me and Marcelina
(Luma link at the bottom)

This session is for anyone who wants to understand why they become someone else under stress and how to shift from reactivity to intentional, clear communication.

You’ll discover:

• How your brain goes “offline” under stress

• What your PCM personality type does when under pressure

• Your early stress signals (physiological + behavioral)

• Practical tools to regulate your nervous system

• How to reconnect and communicate effectively even when overwhelmed

Who this is for:

• People who want fewer conflicts and more clarity

• Anyone who feels misunderstood under stress

• Leaders and teams

• Anyone who values well-being + high performance

Your takeaways:

• Awareness of your stress physiology

• Insights into your PCM base type

• Tools to move from reaction → calm responsiveness

• A somatic + communication toolkit you can use daily

This Week’s Reflection

Think about your last stressful moment — a tough conversation, a conflict, a miscommunication.

Ask yourself:

“Who did I become in that moment?”

For Persisters, notice: Did your sense of responsibility or moral obligation spike?
Did you become critical, rigid, or controlling?

And then ask yourself:

“What small step could I take next time to respond rather than react?”

Micro Action: Notice Your First Signal

This week, pay attention to your earliest stress cue:

Is it physical (tight chest, shallow breath)?
Emotional (irritation, panic)?
Behavioral (talking faster, shutting down)?

Write it down somewhere visible:

“My earliest stress signal is ________,
and when I notice it, I will pause and ________.”

One pause can change the entire direction of a conversation.

Want to Go Deeper? Join Our Workshop

If you’re curious about psychology, neuroscience, and practical ways to level up your daily communication, this workshop is for you.

Come as you are.
Bring your stress communication patterns with you.
We’ll make sense of them together.

This workshop gave me an opportunity to become keynote speaker. We have very limited spot and 4 are taken already.

Until next time,
Irene