How to Consciously Lower Stress Levels for Breast Cancer Healing

Blog | Feb, 17 2025

Quick Read:

Learning how to lower stress levels is essential because stress can initiate the development of cancer in your body and prevent healing.
Stress can also weaken your immune system, increase inflammation, ruin your sleep, disrupt hormonal balance, inhibit DNA repair, and so much more.
Being optimistic, practicing gratitude, tapping, journaling, meditating, having fun, exercising, and sweating, all great ways to consciously lower stress levels.

Emotional trauma and stress are triggers that can initiate the development of cancer in your body and prevent healing. It’s proven by science and by women in the BCC community. We constantly hear stories of women pinpointing the trauma and stress that led to the development of their diagnosis, including Dr. V.

Your thoughts can create biochemical changes in your body that literally “turn off” the cancer-promoting genes. They can also “turn on” the healing and protective genes that destroy cancer and restore health and vitality. Meaning, your thoughts and beliefs are a major part of the healing process since they can change your body chemistry.

However, healing emotional wounds from trauma is tragically sometimes the last thing people think about when receiving a breast cancer diagnosis. So, today, it’s time to break the cycle and PRIORITIZE consciously reducing and mindfully managing stress.

Chronic stress can:

Weaken your immune system. A weak immune system invites cancer and other dis-eases in and stops your body from naturally healing.
Increase inflammation. Discover the connection with breast cancer here.
Ruin your sleep. Uncover how to recover from stress and truly sleep well via this blog post.
Impair decision-making. Notice when you are stressed, you want to eat sugar or drink alcohol? Stress hormones (cortisol, insulin, and ghrelin) crave hits of dopamine, and those things can provide momentary relief but cause long-term damage.
Disrupt hormonal balance. Balanced hormones = a balanced you. Learn more about hormones via this blog on the EQ Ratio and this one on seed cycling.
Contribute to cancer progression. Research has proven that a compromised immune system can struggle to detect and eliminate cancerous cells that might otherwise be destroyed early on, leading to tumor growth. Stress also stimulates “epithelial-mesenchymal transition,” one of the processes through which new cancer stem cells can be born and encourage the spread of cancer cells.
Inhibit DNA repair. The lifestyle choices you make for your DNA will support healthy genetic expression and “program” your body for breast cancer prevention, healing, and vibrant health. Learn more via this blog post.

It also affects those around you and is just a horrible way to go through life!

Therefore, print off this blog post, stick it to your bathroom mirror and work desk, and consciously make efforts to lower your stress levels throughout the day so that one day, it will become a subconscious habit.

how to lower stress levels

Psychoneuroimmunology

Before we jump to the solutions, it’s important to be familiar with the study of Psychoneuroimmunology so that you will better understand why and how they work.

Psychoneuroimmunology studies the interaction between psychological processes and the nerve and immune systems of the human body since all systems of your body, from organs to cells, are intricately connected.

Your psychological state directly impacts the nervous and immune systems, which are supposed to protect you from physical illness. Therefore, emotional health is just as important as physical health because it equally impacts your healing.

In regards to breast cancer, this study—Psychoneuroimmunology and Cancer: A Decade of Discovery, Paradigm Shifts, and Methodological Innovations—found evidence to suggest:

Unhealed stressful experiences (in both childhood and adulthood) and depression may lead to lower survival rates. This was a major turning point for Dr. V, and you can learn more about healing your inner child here.
Women with breast cancer who reported feeling stressed and lonely also had abnormalities in their immune systems.
There is a connection among women with breast cancer between depression, the quality of social support, and their immune cell activity. Depression and lack of support are part of the “cancer personality,” and you can learn more about it via this blog post.
Healing emotional wounds and shifting your subconscious can be compared to peeling back the layers of an onion. Eventually, you can get to the core issues and release them once and for all. However, this takes time, effort, and the intention to do the real work. Recall healing can be a great place to start, as can reading this blog!

The Breast Cancer Conqueror’s Guide To Consciously Lowering Stress Levels

Consciously managing stress isn’t a luxury day at the spa—it’s the necessary micro-actions you take throughout the day to heal and achieve optimal health. Below, we explore actionable strategies to lower stress levels, focusing on mindfulness, lifestyle shifts, and natural therapies that align with holistic healing strategies and principles.

Be optimistic.

Your mindset is everything. A more optimistic mindset is strongly linked to greater resilience in the face of difficulties, such as a breast cancer diagnosis. The researchers at The Centre For Optimism found that optimism is not just about having a positive outlook; it is about fostering a mindset that views challenges as opportunities for growth, maintaining a positive outlook even during adversity, and actively seeking solutions to overcome obstacles, ultimately enhancing their ability to bounce back from setbacks.

During difficult times, it can be helpful to ask yourself: Is this a problem to be solved or a truth to be accepted? Either way, visualize the best possible outcome.

Practice gratitude.

No matter what has happened in your life, you have many things to be grateful for, and a change in perspective will reduce stress and depression.

Daily gratitude practice: Before going to sleep and again getting out of bed—say out loud two specific things you are grateful for.

Trash these toxic myths that are often ingrained into women.

Myth #1: My value comes from how much I give and how I sacrifice for others.

Truth: On an airplane, you must put your breathing mask on before assisting others. This is true in every aspect of life. If you don’t first focus on nurturing your body, mind, and soul, then you will create a worn-out body that invites cancer and other dis-eases. Putting people’s needs and worries above your own is a mainstay of the cancer personality (learn more here), and if you can relate, it’s time to completely transform your mind!

Myth #2: I have to “earn” my self-care, and it’s something I’ll do at the end of the day when I accomplish everything else on my to-do list.

Self-care can and should be easy and simple and never something you have to earn. You simply can pause for 30 seconds to focus on nothing but breathing or do a 2-minute meditation when you are feeling stressed. Self-care can also be slowing down to enjoy a hot cup of healing tea or walking outside to get fresh air and sunshine on your face.

Sweat it out.

The heat from the sauna causes the body to release endorphins, your body’s natural way of reducing pain, relieving stress, and improving mood. (Study) Additionally, sauna therapy has been shown to reduce the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the “fight or flight” response that is triggered during times of stress. Any sauna you have access to is a good choice, and if you are thinking of an at-home option, we love Sunlighten Saunas. To learn more about the benefits of sauna sessions, please read this blog post.

Get artsy.

There are countless studies on how participating in artist endeavors releases cancer-related stress. For example, this study looked specifically at mindfulness art therapy (MBAT) for women undergoing traditional treatment for a variety of cancers. Across the board, the women showed a decrease in stress and anxiety-related symptoms after participating in MBAT for two months.

Color in a coloring book, take a pottery class, paint on a canvas…just get artsy for the journey, and don’t even worry about the destination of your creation.

Tap away stress.

Emotional Freedom Technique, or “tapping,” is a fantastic, free, and at-home tool that literally taps the stress out of your body. You tap on specific acupuncture points on your body while focusing on and verbalizing a negative emotion or stressful situation with the aim of alleviating its intensity and promoting emotional well-being. To learn more about tapping and the research linked to breast cancer healing, please review this blog post.

Meditate, even for a minute.

Cancer cells have receptor sites for adrenaline, and getting into relaxation mode via meditation can stop feeding cancer what it wants: stress.

Research has shown that even just one minute (but 15-20 minutes is more effective) of any type of meditation can profoundly change your brain, mind, and soul. Our brain’s neuroplasticity can be rewired for improved happiness and calm, leading to better sleep and a stronger immune system.

So let’s get started. Right now, take a moment to practice this: visualize a positive outcome of your journey and see and feel your body as healthy, whole, and complete.

To learn more about meditation and guidance on starting or furthering your practice, please listen to this podcast episode and review this blog post. It also combines beautifully with tapping, so try them out together!

Unlock Heart Coherence.

It is a physiological state that occurs when your body’s systems (heart, brain, hormonal, etc.) are in sync. In this state, calmness, balance, focus, clear thinking, and self-regulation naturally take over your body. This unity and integration of your mind, body, and energy flow into stability and resilience for optimal health and healing.

The HeartMath Inner Balance Coherence Plus helps you measure and translate your heart rhythm patterns (HRV) into real-time coherence scores. Doing so trains your heart and brain to sync—reducing stress, anxiety, and overwhelm. To learn more and experience HeartMath for free, please check this blog post.

Girls just wanna have fun!

In all seriousness, having fun reduces stress, boosts happiness, and creates wonderful memories! Don’t hold yourself back. Dance at concerts, go on girlfriend road trips, be silly with your grandkids, create wild art, and just do whatever is fun for you!

Breast Cancer Conqueror’s Stress-Busting Bliss Resource Library

Many of these topics are discussed throughout this blog post, but they are listed here for easy access.

Breast Cancer Conqueror