Ever hit “send” on a big report or finish a massive project, and instead of feeling relief... you still feel wired, tense, or ready for the next punch? In this solo episode, I answer a listener question about that exact experience—and explain why your brain might think you’re done, but your body is still stuck on the rollercoaster of stress.

I’ll walk you through six surprisingly simple, science-backed ways to complete the stress cycle—so you don’t carry tension home or pass it onto your loved ones.

If you've ever felt like you're bracing for impact long after the storm has passed, this one's for you.

🌀 Key Topics Covered:

• Why your body stays in stress even when your mind moves on

• The “unfinished rollercoaster” of emotions

• 6 practical ways to complete the stress cycle

• How to avoid bringing work tension into your home life

• Why creativity and laughter are legit biological reset buttons

👉 Mentioned in This Episode:

• 2025 Midlife Work-Life Satisfaction Report
• Curious what joy might look like for you? Explore what’s possible

This is the Joy At Work podcast, and I'm Lucia Knight.

Here's this week's question from a listener.

I feel like I'm always carrying stress with me even

after I've completed big projects or handed in important reports.

How can I feel less stressed?

Ooh, this is a good question.

You know that feeling when you finally hit send on a big report or

you've wrapped up a huge project and instead of relief, your body still

feels like it's braced for impact.

You think I've done the thing, so why do I still feel stressed?

You are not alone, and here's what's happening.

Removing the cause of this stress doesn't automatically

remove the stress from your body.

Most of us are taught to deal with emotions in our heads.

We intellectualize them.

We think if we just understand the problem, then either solve

it or talk ourselves down.

The feeling will vanish so logically that works.

But emotions aren't just logical thoughts in our brain.

They live in our bodies.

Think of emotions like tunnels with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

And the emotions of stress are probably more like a roller coaster, still

with a start, a middle, and an end.

But most of us stop halfway through.

We encounter a stressful situation at work.

An unwanted email, a hard conversation, a potential conflict,

or just a simple, tight deadline.

That's the start button on the stress rollercoaster.

We push on through with logic, we plan it out.

We go into action mode.

We complete the report.

We send the tricky email work through that hard decision.

And to-do list.

We do all the things, but we still get stuck at the midpoint

of the stress rollercoaster.

We rarely actually deliberately finish the rollercoaster ride.

We get stuck in a tunnel between the middle and the end.

The stressful emotions stay stuck when your body doesn't get the

signal that it's safe again.

So what's going on?

Let's say you've just made it through a major decision, a stressful rollercoaster.

An example might be the decision to make layoffs due to market changes.

Lots of logic going on there, but the hard decisions keep coming.

Who, when, how?

And even when the plan has been set.

It has to be implemented so there is stress at every single part of

this process, this rollercoaster or multiple rollercoasters for those who

are making the decisions and those who are delivering them, and those

who are affected by those decisions.

After each of those stressful rollercoaster rides, everyone has to

go back and do their real job, switch back into spreadsheet mode or ops

mode, or marketing mode, whatever, and we somehow expect that to happen

seamlessly in the mind, but in the body.

Mm-hmm.

It's still in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn modes.

You can't think your way out of stress.

Your body needs a different language.

It needs you to do something to communicate with it.

Hey, we made it.

We're safe now.

So here's a few quick.

Scientifically proven ways to complete the cycle so that you don't carry all

the rollercoasters, all the stressful emotions with you every day, all day.

And particularly so you don't carry them home with you to gift to your loved ones.

Number one, move that body.

Any physical movement, walking, dancing, shaking out your arms, tensing every

muscle, and then relaxing, it helps your body release the stress chemicals.

Even a walk around the block can flush your body with safety feelings.

Number two, slow deep breathing.

Breathe out slowly, more slowly than you breathe in for about 90 seconds.

That long exhale signals safety.

It activates your parasympathetic nervous system.

Uh, that's a signal to your body that you are safe enough to rest and digest.

No need to keep sprinting.

Just 60 seconds of noticing your breath.

No effort.

Just let it come and go.

Number three, connection.

Hug someone you trust for 20 seconds.

Yes, a full 20 seconds.

Now that could be tricky in an open plan office, but on the days when you are

working from home, snuggle your partner or dog for just 20 seconds and tell them

you've just hit send on a big project and you're celebrating with a hug.

It literally changes your physiology.

If you can't hug your colleagues for 20 seconds without raising

eyebrows, just share a kind moment, a compliment to a new person in the team.

A giant smiley, thanks to the barista.

Uh, you look great today to anyone.

Feeling seen completes the cycle.

Number four, laughter not polite.

Laughter, real laughter, the kind that takes over your whole face and makes

you ugly snort, treat yourself to five minutes of your favorite comedian on

YouTube or that moment in that movie.

There's something about Mary.

Laughter completes stress cycles like nothing else.

Five.

Crying.

No crying, never fixes the problem, but it does move your emotion through

and literally out of your body.

It concludes the rollercoaster beautifully.

I can't watch the end of Pay it Forward with Kevin Spacey or A

Monster Calls with Sigourney Weaver without weeping uncontrollably.

Let it out and complete that rollercoaster.

Number six, creative expression.

Make something anything.

Knit hats for post boxes.

Doodle a memory.

Write a furious letter that you never send.

Creativity is how we get what's inside of us, outside of us.

Can I say that again?

Creativity is how we get what's inside of us, outside of us.

It's a real emotional rollercoaster flattener.

Stress cycles are biological.

Just because the project is done doesn't mean your body knows you are safe.

Your brain might be calmer, but your body needs help finishing the

loop, concluding the rollercoaster.

Why don't we normalize this?

You can care deeply, work hard, push through difficult tasks, and take

time to complete the stress cycle.

Not because you are soft or weak, but because you are smart and strong.

You are learning to speak your body's language and it'll speak back to you

in health, in calm, in gratitude, in connection, in strength, to keep doing

difficult things without breaking.

And that sounds like joy at work to me.