Beyond Chronic Stress: A Real Path to Healing | Petra Brunnbauer
Meet Petra Brunnbauer, a visionary in the world of stress recovery and holistic healing. After years of battling chronic stress, burnout, and exhaustion, Petra realized that the typical self-care advice—think positive, take a bubble bath, push through—wasn’t enough. She knew there had to be a deeper, more sustainable way to heal.
That realization led her to create The Jōrni®, a transformative space dedicated to helping people move beyond chronic stress, anxiety, and chronic pain using evidence-based mind-body approaches. Her work focuses on Functional Freeze as a key factor in understanding and managing chronic stress.
With a mission to change the conversation around stress and healing, Petra is proving that recovery isn’t about willpower—it’s about the right support, tools, and a new way forward.
In this feature, she shares her journey, the insights that shaped her work, and how The Jōrni and her book, The Functional Freeze Formula™, are redefining how we understand and navigate chronic stress.
Can you share more about your personal experience with chronic stress and burnout? What was the turning point that led you to seek a new way forward?
For years, I pushed through intense chronic stress, believing that if I just worked harder and put in more hours, I could get everything under control. Like many high-achieving professionals, I normalized exhaustion, brain fog, and emotional disconnection as part of success. But eventually, my body and mind could not keep up. No matter how much I accomplished, I felt increasingly unwell, numb, and detached from my own life.
The real turning point came after my second burnout in the corporate world when I realized that traditional stress management advice—like ‘just snap out of it’ or ‘this too shall pass’—was not enough. I needed an approach that truly supported healing on a mental, emotional, and physical level. That realization led me to develop The Jōrni Wellbeing Platform, a space dedicated to holistic, evidence-based healing for chronic stress and burnout.
Through The Jōrni, I worked with individuals struggling with chronic stress, anxiety, chronic pain, overwhelm, and burnout, using a variety of holistic healing modalities and coaching. Over time, I started to notice patterns in how stress was affecting my clients, especially in cases where people felt overwhelmed, anxious, stuck, disconnected, or numb despite outwardly functioning. That deeper understanding eventually led me to explore Functional Freeze and the need for a holistic approach, which became the foundation for my book later on.
What sets The Jōrni apart from other wellness or self-care platforms?
The Jōrni was created for those who feel overwhelmed, disconnected, in pain, or stuck in a cycle of chronic stress and burnout. It was born from both professional experience and my own journey navigating mental health distress, chronic stress, loss, and personal transformation. Moving countries as a teenager, I often struggled with identity and belonging. In adulthood, immense personal challenges, grief, and burnout led me to search for ways to heal far beyond what traditional stress management could offer.
Many people who come to The Jōrni have tried everything like meditation, breathwork, and talk therapy, but still feel exhausted, numb, and anxious. That is because stress does not just disappear when ignored, and healing often requires more than any single approach on its own. It lives in the body, shapes the nervous system, and influences every part of life. When I later suffered an accident, chronic pain became yet another layer of struggle, reinforcing the reality that true healing requires more than just quick-fix wellness trends.
The Jōrni is different because it recognizes the complexity of healing. Traditional approaches often focus on isolated techniques such as relaxation, movement, and mindset shifts, but they rarely address how deeply stress affects the nervous system, mind, body, and emotions all at once. The Jōrni provides a comprehensive, sustainable path forward for those who feel like nothing else has worked.
I don’t advocate for forced positivity, pushing through, or pretending to be okay. For me, healing is not about willpower but rather about having the support that is right for you at the time. The Jōrni creates a foundation where real, lasting recovery is possible, helping clients move from survival mode to a place of greater balance, resilience, and healing.
Many people feel overwhelmed by the idea of adding more wellness practices to their already full plates. How does The Jōrni make healing feel accessible and sustainable?
When you are stuck in Functional Freeze, everything feels overwhelming, including the idea of healing. Even small tasks can feel impossible, which is why many people stay stuck. I understand that deeply, both from my own experience and from working with people who feel exhausted, disconnected, and unable to engage with the world in the way they want to.
The nervous system does not heal through sheer force or willpower. It responds to small, consistent signals of safety. These incremental “micro-moments” create real shifts over time. The Jōrni focuses on gentle, sustainable approaches that work with the nervous system rather than against it. Instead of asking people to commit to overwhelming routines or rigid self-care practices, The Jōrni offers ways to make healing feel possible, even on the hardest days.
By breaking healing down into manageable micro-moments, The Jōrni helps reduce the sense of pressure that often comes with wellness practices or trying to “get better”. This allows each person to engage at their own pace, making the healing journey feel more personalized and sustainable.
What’s next for The Jōrni? Are there any upcoming projects or resources you’re excited about?
There are some exciting things ahead for 2025. My new book, The Functional Freeze Formula, just launched. When I was struggling for the past decades, I kept hearing the same advice: meditate, take a hot bath, think positively, and manage my time better. None of it addressed the deeper issue of why I felt completely exhausted and stuck. Writing this book was about giving a name to that experience and offering a holistic framework for managing chronic stress and Functional Freeze in a way that makes sense and digs into the root causes.
At the same time, I know that reading about something and applying it in real life are two different things. When I was stuck in Functional Freeze, I felt completely alone. I needed guidance, but there was no real support for what I was experiencing. That is why we are developing the Freeze to Free™ program—to close that gap and provide a way for individuals to work through their healing journey with more guidance and personal support.
With my return to academia this fall, I am looking forward to expanding this work even further. There is still so much to learn, and I am passionate about finding better ways to support individuals in changing their relationship with chronic stress and moving out of Functional Freeze.
How does chronic stress impact the body, and why is it so important to address both the mind and body in healing?
Chronic stress is not just about feeling overwhelmed—it rewires our entire system. It changes our brains, disrupts hormones, weakens the immune system, and even alters gene expression. Stress is not just something we “go through” and move on from. It embeds itself in the body, shaping how we think, feel, and function on every level.
Everything in the body operates on frequencies, from brain waves to heart rhythms to the way our cells communicate. Chronic stress lowers these frequencies, keeping us in a state of contraction and dysregulation. This is why when we are stuck in Functional Freeze, we may struggle to feel emotions fully, experience chronic pain, or feel disconnected from ourselves and others.
We cannot separate the mind, body, and emotions in healing. If we only focus on one piece, the imbalance remains. It is like trying to clear a polluted pond by adding fresh water and bright-coloured fish. The surface may look better for a while, but if toxic wastewater keeps flowing in, nothing truly changes. The same is true for stress. If we do not address the deeper patterns driving dysregulation, no amount of relaxation techniques or mindset shifts will create lasting change.
The Jōrni and The Functional Freeze Formula take a holistic approach, addressing the entire stress response—physical, emotional, mental, and energetic—so that healing is not just temporary, but something that becomes part of how we live and function every day.
Are there any daily practices or small mindset shifts that can make a significant difference over time?
I believe the first step in creating real change is awareness. Without it, we stay stuck in patterns without realizing why. Chronic stress reshapes our brain and nervous system, reinforcing survival-based responses that keep us stuck in Functional Freeze. It also creates a disconnect between mind and body, making it harder to recognize what we need or how we truly feel. The simple act of noticing what is happening in our mind, body, and emotions without judgment can start to interrupt this cycle.
Awareness is not just about understanding our stress responses. It actively engages the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for decision-making and self-regulation. Studies on neuroplasticity show that when we shift from autopilot to conscious awareness, we create new neural pathways that help the nervous system regain flexibility. Research also suggests that awareness can influence gene expression, reduce stress-related inflammation, and improve nervous system regulation.
This does not have to be complicated. Take a few moments to check in with yourself. “How does my body feel? What emotions are present? Where is my attention going?” This can already begin to shift long-standing stress patterns. Over time, these small moments of awareness help us recognize patterns, rebuild the connection between mind and body, and move out of survival mode.
What role does self-compassion play in the healing process, and how can someone cultivate it?
Self-compassion plays a critical role in shifting out of Functional Freeze and changing our relationship with chronic stress. Many of us have internalized the belief that struggling is a personal failure, leading to cycles of guilt and frustration that keep the nervous system stuck. In reality, research shows that self-compassion can lower stress in the body, reduce inflammation, and support nervous system regulation.
At its core, self-compassion helps bridge the gap between mind and body. Chronic stress and trauma often create a disconnect, making it difficult to sense our needs or respond with care. When we practice self-compassion, we engage neural pathways associated with safety and emotional regulation, gradually shifting our internal state from survival mode to a place of greater balance.
From an energy perspective, emotions like self-love and gratitude shift how our body functions. Studies show they can improve heart rhythm and increase our ability to recover from stress. Over time, this creates a more resilient nervous system and makes it easier to move out of survival mode. This means that cultivating self-compassion is not just about feeling better—it is a biological shift that supports healing.
One way to begin is through small moments of self-recognition. Noticing our inner dialogue, acknowledging our struggles with kindness, and replacing self-criticism with understanding can help rewire how we respond to stress. Over time, these shifts create a foundation for deeper healing, helping us move from self-judgment to self-support.
How can workplaces and communities better support individuals struggling with chronic stress and burnout?
Having burned out twice in the corporate world, I know firsthand what it is like to push through exhaustion in an environment that does not recognize or support what is happening. Burnout is often treated as an individual issue, something to be “managed” through personal resilience, but the reality is that chronic stress is a systemic problem. Workplaces expect high performance but rarely create conditions that allow for real recovery. When stress becomes unrelenting and there is no space to recharge, burnout is inevitable.
The first step is shifting the workplace culture to recognize that burnout is not about personal weakness. It is not just a mindset issue or a matter of willpower. Chronic stress affects the brain, the immune system, and nearly every biological process in the body. Companies need to foster true psychological safety, where employees can talk about chronic stress before they hit a breaking point. Leaders who prioritize recovery—through structured downtime, flexible expectations, and realistic workloads—help shift the culture from one of survival to one of sustainable performance.
At a community level, shifting the conversation around stress can make a profound difference. Rather than viewing it as just a mental or emotional struggle, recognizing the full impact of chronic stress allows for more meaningful support. When discussions about long-term stress and recovery become part of our workplaces and communities, it becomes easier to create environments where healing feels possible and not just like another thing we are expected to “figure out” alone.
This is exactly why I created The Jōrni and wrote The Functional Freeze Formula. I know how isolating it feels to struggle in a world that does not fully understand Functional Freeze or the effects of long-term stress. The book provides a holistic framework for understanding and addressing this experience, while The Jōrni offers resources and support for those ready to take the next step. The more we shift the conversation around chronic stress, the more we can build workplaces and communities that prioritize long-term wellbeing over short-term productivity.
