Jenny Taitz, a clinical psychologist and UCLA professor, dives into the crucial relationship between stress and communication. She reveals how our internal dialogue often fuels stress and offers tools to recalibrate our self-talk. Taitz introduces her G.I.V.E. framework—being Gentle, Interested, Validating, and Easy-mannered—as a pathway to better conversations. Listeners learn techniques to redirect negative thoughts and enhance empathy, ultimately transforming their interactions with themselves and others.
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volunteer_activism ADVICE
Resetting Behavior
Relax your facial expression to create a landscape for more acceptance.
Try opposite action, approaching what you want to avoid, to shift from stress-inducing behaviors.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Resetting Mind and Body
Reset your mind by noticing when you are in "emotion mind" and try to shift to "reasonable mind."
Use playful techniques like singing negative thoughts to an upbeat tune to short-circuit them.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Overthinking
Be aware of your beliefs about overthinking, as seeing it as helpful fuels the habit.
Instead of surface-level rumination, dedicate time for deeper emotional processing.
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Stress Resets provides a comprehensive toolkit for managing stress through cognitive-behavioral techniques, mindfulness, and other therapeutic approaches. The book, written by clinical psychologist Dr. Jennifer L. Taitz, includes 75 quick and scientifically proven ways to improve how readers respond to stress, both in the moment and the long run. It features accessible yet powerful exercises such as dipping your face in ice water, adopting a half smile, singing irrational negative thoughts, building a hope kit, and making a pie chart of your life. These methods help readers stop the cycle of obsessing, panicking, and avoiding, and instead effectively approach what matters most to them. The book integrates personal anecdotes, expert interviews, cutting-edge studies, and practical tips to help readers manage their emotions and build resilience[2][3][4].
Stress can get in the way of our communication with others. To manage our stress, psychologist Jenny Taitz says, we first need to adjust the conversations that we have with ourselves.
Taitz is an assistant clinical professor in psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of several books, including Stress Resets: How to Soothe Your Body and Mind in Minutes. According to her, much of the stress we experience is self-created through negative thought patterns and harsh self-criticism. “We're doing this to ourselves all the time,” she says. But as we become aware of these unhelpful mental loops, Taitz’ “resets” can help us disrupt them and reframe self-talk in more productive ways
In addition to changing our self-talk, Taitz offers tools for refreshing our communication with others. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, she and host Matt Abrahams explore her G.I.V.E. framework — how being gentle, interested, validating, and easy-mannered equips us for more positive conversations with ourselves and others
Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques 
