Stress and anxiety don’t just appear out of nowhere. Often learned in early life, these are strategies that the mind and body run on repeat whenever we feel overwhelmed or unsafe. Left unchecked, they can drive us toward burnout, disconnection, or addiction.

In this interactive session, change specialist Christopher Paul Jones invites you to rethink what anxiety really is: not a weakness, but a learned pattern your brain runs when it’s trying to protect you. The problem? These patterns—often rooted in early life—don’t always know when to switch off.

Drawing on powerful tools from therapy, neuroscience, and his 7-step Integrated Change System™, Christopher will show you how to spot the hidden strategies behind stress, interrupt them in real-time, and gently rewire the beliefs that keep you stuck. You’ll learn quick, practical techniques to calm your nervous system, shift your perspective, and support yourself—or others—through moments of overwhelm.

Whether you’re in recovery, supporting clients, or just trying to cope with the pressure of everyday life, you’ll leave with tools you can use immediately—and a new sense of what’s possible. The Knowmad Institut, a European Think & Do Tank focused on open science, ethics, and policy innovation, has worked for over eight years on drug policy reform and transnational organized crime. Drawing on its participation in the UN Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime, its global policy review aligned with the Rome Consensus 2.0, and its collaboration with public and private actors—including the Colombo Plan and C4 Recovery Foundation—the Institut brings a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective to the conversation. Participants will gain insights into how criminalization and stigma block access to essential treatment services, overload the justice system, and undermine public safety. Real-world case studies will illustrate how evidence-based and humanitarian drug policies can reduce harm, optimize institutional resources, and improve outcomes in both public and private sectors.