Stress Therapy

About Stress Therapy

Are you stressed out, overwhelmed, or just plain over it? Stress Therapy with Cheri Flake teaches you proven stress management techniques and meditation for beginners that fit into real life. Licensed mental health counselor Cheri Flake brings 25+ years of clinical experience to help you master stress relief through accessible meditation, mindfulness practices, and anxiety management strategies. Whether you're dealing with work stress, sleep trouble, emotional eating, or attention problems, you'll learn practical stress therapy methods that work for busy people living in the real world. Cheri is absolutely unlike any therapist, meditation teacher or hypnotherapist you have ever encountered. Known as "Dolly Parton meets the Dalai Lama," Cheri makes meditation simple and stress management doable - even if you think you can't meditate or have tried everything before. Each episode delivers actionable stress relief techniques from thousands of therapy sessions, workshops, and meditation retreats. Perfect for anyone seeking anxiety relief, better stress management, or beginner-friendly meditation that actually sticks. This isn't just head-nodding platitudes - it's real guidance with real results for real people ready to start living NOW. Topics include meditation for stress, anxiety management, mindfulness for busy schedules, stress-related health issues, sleep improvement, emotional eating solutions, and building lasting healthy habits. Your stress therapy session begins right NOW. 🧡 www.thestresstherapist.com (https://www.thestresstherapist.com/)

Publisher

Meditation Teacher & Mental Health Counselor, Cheri Augustine Flake, LCSW: Meditation, Stress Relief, Healthy Habits, Spirituality, Mental Health, Self-Care, Self-Help, Happiness, Mindfulness

Category

education · health & fitness · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

28 Sept 2021

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

163 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   How I Cured My Insomnia

   Hey beautiful people. Last week I just threw it out there: if you’re tired, go to sleep. And I know for some of you that landed like a joke, because going to sleep is the whole problem. I get it. I was a chronic insomniac for years. Years. And it’s gone now. Completely cured. So today it’s sleep hygiene day on Stress Therapy, and I’m giving you the old faithfuls you’ve heard a million times, plus the stuff that actually worked for me and for my clients, which is not what everybody else is saying. Key Takeaways You can’t force sleep. Outside of anesthesia, nothing puts you to sleep. Pills create an environment for it, but the more you chase it, the further it goes. Your bed is for sleep and sex. That’s it. No TV, no phone, no meditating in it either. When you wake up at 3 a.m., do not talk to yourself about it. Get out of your head and into your body. Once you get riled up and release cortisol, you’ve got about 90 minutes before it clears, and that’s your hour and a half of staring at the ceiling. Episode Highlights The old faithfuls you’ve heard forever and quietly stopped doing: napping, working out too late, eating right before bed Why 68 degrees is the number, and what happens when it gets menopausal in your room My eye cover obsession, and why the one the airline hands you is not getting the job done Beditation, and why I almost never meditate in my own bed Why alcohol has you wide awake and spiraling at 3 a.m., and why morning is technically the best time to drink it How to move your bedtime without a fight: 20 minutes at a time over three to five days The old iPod trick that cured my insomnia, with nothing on it but books, music and binaural beats Why a pad of paper and a pen beside your bed beats reaching for your phone Why you need to stop calling it my insomnia, and start talking about yourself like a good sleeper A short nervous system reset you can do lying right there in bed Mentions and References Binaural beats apps: Brainwave for Apple, Brain Waves or Atmosphere for Android My favorite eye covers, including the Bluetooth ones with the timer My friend Ann Dupree, who teaches resilience, on why your prefrontal cortex is the wrong part of your brain to be chatting with at 3 a.m. Libby, Kindle, Apple Books and Spotify, the only apps allowed on the little iPod Magnesium, which I think is one of the most important supplements we can take. Melatonin I save for jet lag. Ask your doctor. My Tom Petty Full Moon Fever t-shirt, because we’re not having night sweats around here Try This Week Pick one thing from the list and change it tonight. Turn the thermostat down. Put a pad of paper and a pen next to the bed and leave your phone in another room. Buy the paper book. And when you wake up in the middle of the night, don’t look at the clock and don’t do the math. Come into your body instead. How does your arm feel against the pillowcase? How does your knee feel under the sheets. That’s the whole trick, and it works. Connect With Me Instagram: @thestresstherapist Twitter: @stresstherapy Meditation and yoga retreats and other offerings: ilovetherapy.com Live in Georgia and ready to work together? Visit the website to set up a free face-to-face consultation. Join my mailer so you don’t miss a thing. Edited and produced by Owen Flake

2. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Stop Thinking About It and Just Do It (Here's How)

   Hey beautiful people. I've got a little cold and my hair is not cooperating, but I showed up anyway, because I didn't want to procrastinate on talking to you about procrastination. My mom Lois has never put anything off a day in her life, and she genuinely doesn't understand why the rest of us do. This one's for everybody else. Here's the truth: procrastination has nothing to do with how badly you want something. It's an emotional problem, not a productivity problem. You're not avoiding the task. You're avoiding the feeling attached to the task. Once you understand what your brain is doing, you can get the upper hand, and I've seen this work over and over with my clients. Key Takeaways Your brain can't tell the difference between thinking about something and doing it. Every time you think about that thing you're putting off, your brain believes you're working on it and getting nowhere, so it starts to feel huge. Don't think about it unless you're working on it. Put it in your calendar in small chunks, set a reminder, and let it go until then. Motivation comes after action, not before. Start small, and the good feelings follow. Episode Highlights A quick lemon exercise that proves your brain reacts to your thoughts like they're real Why creative people are especially prone to procrastination, and the "perfect problem" that keeps them from starting The five-minute timer trick I used with a painter client, who showed up with a canvas way bigger than I expected Why it takes longer to complain about emptying the dishwasher than to actually empty it (about three minutes, kids) Why your to-do list needs fun things on it too, even Halloween costumes in December A guided meditation where you picture your task already done and feel what that's like, followed by silent repetition of the mantra Om Mentions and References My book, Honey Do to Honey DONE!, on using reminders and task lists so households can stop arguing about kitty litter and start actually talking to each other The "little by little" technique from last season My "It's All in Your Head" T-shirt Pickleball players and CrossFit folks, who are proof that feeling good fuels follow-through Try This Week Pick one thing you've been putting off. Instead of thinking about it all week, put it in your calendar as a short block, even five minutes. When the time comes, get yourself somewhere that feels good: your favorite spot, a candle, your favorite drink. Then just start. And add one fun thing to your to-do list while you're at it. Connect With Me Instagram: @thestresstherapist Twitter: @stresstherapy Meditation and yoga retreats and other offerings: ilovetherapy.com Live in Georgia and ready to work together? Visit the website to set up a free face-to-face consultation. Join my mailer so you don't miss a thing. Edited and produced by Owen Flake

3. 

   21 Aug 2026

   Back to School? I CAN Believe It!

   Every August the same emails start rolling in. I can't believe it's back to school. I can't believe summer's over. I can't believe it's fall already. And I always think, why can't anybody believe it? Back to school comes after summer every single year. What's not to believe? In this episode I talk about time delusion, which is real, and why it hits differently for people who meditate. When my kids were little, everyone told me it would fly by. It didn't. Now I've got a senior on my hands and everyone is telling me this year will be a blink, and I still don't think it will be. Not because I'm special, but because I've been practicing being here. You get better at what you practice. If you practice stillness, you get good at stillness. If you practice scrolling, well, you get good at that too, which is probably why everybody walking into my office lately is telling me they have attention problems. I believe them. There's a rant about email in here. Fair warning. I stand by it. We also meditate together, so find a comfortable seat before you press play if you can. It's a simple belly breath practice, nothing fancy, just you and your breath and the moment you're in. Your breath is always your way back. The retreat sponsorship Something happened this month that has never happened in nineteen retreats. A past retreat attendee put down a deposit for our September 2026 mountain retreat and then couldn't make it. Her deposit was fully refundable, and instead of taking it back she asked me to give it to someone who wants to come but is balking at the price. So there's a $250 sponsorship sitting here. And there's already a sale on the website, $100 or $150 off depending on which room you pick. Stack them and you're looking at up to $400 off. You don't have to prove anything. There's no application, no criteria, no explaining yourself to me. New roof, bad timing, tight month, whatever it is, I don't need to know. You just have to want to come. If you want it, you got it. Just let me know. Connect with me Instagram: @thestresstherapist Twitter: @stresstherapy Website: ilovetherapy.com for retreats, meditation, yoga, and everything else If you live in Georgia and you're thinking about becoming a client, head to the website to sign up for a free face to face consultation. And at the very least, get on the mailer so you don't miss a thing. Until next time, have a lovely, lovely day. Produced and edited by Owen Flake.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

12,194

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

18 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

12 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 76 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

87

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

85

Contact Stress Therapy

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Stress Therapy