The Confidence Biohack Most People Miss—And Why It’s the Key to Healing and Strength

Brandy Gillmore NOV 2025

When it comes to biohacking, most people think about nutrition, supplements, light therapy, or breathwork. Increasingly, the nervous system has also become a focus. Relaxing the nervous system through meditation, mindfulness, or deep breathing is often presented as the ultimate healing strategy.

And while relaxation can help—it may lower cortisol, support healthy blood pressure, and promote parasympathetic dominance—it isn’t the full answer.

The truth is this: if deep relaxation truly healed the body, then anyone in a state of deep rest—whether bedridden, in hospice, or even in a coma—would recover. But they don’t.

And yet, the mind’s role in healing is undeniable—and the evidence is profound.

When I was working on healing myself, one of the most eye-opening realizations I discovered was research showing that people with multiple personality disorder (now called dissociative identity disorder) could experience dramatic health shifts. In one personality, a person might suffer from a medically diagnosed chronic illness. Yet in another, there was no trace of that illness—even though it was the same body. The shift didn’t come from relaxation but from a radical change in mindset.

And the exciting part is this: we can use this insight in a healthy way to understand how it’s possible to consciously create dramatic changes in our own health by working with the power of our minds.

While this may sound extraordinary, the influence of the mind is all around us—and it has been proven in medicine. Placebo treatments—fake interventions—have consistently been shown to create measurable improvements in health. Studies also show that stress, fear, and anger can slow healing, while positive expectation can help speed it up.

Taken together, this research shows that mindset—including emotions, beliefs, and perceptions—can have an immediate and measurable impact on the physical body. Yet something is missing when it comes to relaxation. While calming practices can provide health benefits, they do not create the same dramatic shifts we see with the placebo effect or in cases of multiple personality disorder.

And surprisingly, I’ve seen that when relaxation techniques are practiced without balance or intent, they can actually backfire—leaving people more deeply stuck instead of creating real change.

From Shadow to Light

Releasing fear reveals confidence, courage, and freedom.

The “Hidden” Trap with Relaxation

Throughout my years of teaching classes and workshops on mind-body healing, I’ve met countless people who, out of a genuine desire to heal, double down on relaxation techniques such as meditation, breathwork, and calming exercises. After all, they can feel expansive and soothing in the moment, so it seems like progress.

I know this firsthand. During my injury back in 2003—long before I fully healed myself—I fell into the same trap. I discovered that if I could calm my nervous system enough, I could temporarily decrease my pain. So I spent years trying to push myself into deeper and deeper states of relaxation. But what I didn’t realize was that, beneath the surface, I was becoming skilled at suppressing fear—while layering positive thinking and affirmations on top of it instead of truly transforming it.

This is the same thing I see in so many people today. In some cases, I’ve seen people program themselves into inactivity, simply waiting for life to get better. As they do, they begin to lose feelings of confidence and strength, which can inadvertently increase fear. And the surprising part is, most people don’t even realize it’s happening, because at the same time, they’ve gotten good at suppressing the fear and layering positivity on top of it.

In other cases, I’ve seen people improve their ability to control or reduce negative emotions—but not genuinely transform them. While this can be beneficial for daily functioning, it is not the same as true healing. Genuine healing requires transforming these emotions at their root so the brain and body no longer default into those states. For example, with panic attacks, the goal is not simply to manage symptoms but to prevent the episodes altogether. Similarly, deeper healing involves reprogramming emotional patterns so negative states no longer remain the baseline.

In order to heal, we need both calmness and strength. Unfortunately, focusing too much on calming in day-to-day life can create an imbalance that weakens essential ‘strength’ states—confidence, empowerment, courage, and resilience. These emotions are critical for safety, happiness, and well-being. Without them, relaxation can slip into passivity—or even insecurity—while suppressed fear continues to build in the subconscious.

Suppression Is Not Transformation

Studies on emotional suppression show that it can increase sympathetic activation. And as many people have experienced, suppressing emotions can build up and make us feel more reactive. That’s why a small trigger—like an argument or a stressful email—can suddenly spark an outburst of anger or fear.

True transformation doesn’t suppress fear; it rewires it. And as we let go of old fearful patterns and genuinely release them from the subconscious mind, it becomes easier to step into strength and confidence and allow the best version of ourselves to show up every day. This is what real healing looks like.

Love, life, healing, and success all require a certain amount of courage. Not the Hollywood version of facing down dramatic fears, but the everyday courage of stepping out of your comfort zone, taking aligned action, speaking up, and loving fully and openly.

A Simple Biohacker’s Framework for Real Change

Here’s the key takeaway: nervous system regulation can be a tool, but it’s not the finish line. The real goal is to rewire your mind at a deeper level to build lasting happiness, confidence, and empowerment. These three simple steps can help:

Rewire with Empowering States

Spend time in states of confidence and strength. This could mean going to the gym, doing things you already feel confident about, or—if you’ve lost your confidence—intentionally rebuilding it. Use visualization or memory recall exercises to elicit confidence, joy, or courage. Train your nervous system to default to these states.

Identify and Release Hidden Negative Patterns

Genuinely address subconscious fears and negative beliefs. Don’t just calm them or suppress them—transform them.

Be Present and Full of Life

So often, people live in their heads, which keeps them from being fully present. Practice being present in life. In relationships, don’t just say “I love you”—feel it when you say it. Be present when you show up for work—apply yourself fully, give your best, and let the best of you shine through. This builds even more confidence.

Alive in Every Moment

Connection and joy awaken true healing within.

Final Thoughts

While calming your nervous system may reduce fear in the moment, true healing isn’t found in relaxation alone. It requires a deeper shift—rewiring the mind, releasing old patterns, and building strength, confidence, and genuine aliveness.

Healing doesn’t thrive in stillness—it comes alive when we step fully into life with optimism, confidence, and a steady state of inner strength. Over the years, I’ve witnessed people free themselves from chronic conditions they had struggled with for years, and each one echoes the same sentiment: they’ve never felt so alive. It’s life-changing on every level.

Rewiring the mind at a deeper level takes commitment and follow-through, but from my own journey and from watching others heal, I can say this with certainty: there is nothing more valuable. Genuine transformation is the key—and it’s worth it. And most importantly, you’re worth it.

Brandy Gillmore is a best-selling author, award-winning podcast host, and internationally respected expert in mindset and mind-body healing. She is most recognized for her groundbreaking method that enables people to achieve rapid healing and profound life transformation.

Brandy’s journey began after a devastating injury left her disabled and reliant on a wheelchair, walker, and cane. Through her own discoveries, she fully healed herself. She later made history by demonstrating the power of the mind to create physical healing within minutes—results that have been scientifically validated using medical imaging.

Her pioneering work has been published in Health Medical Journal and featured in award-winning documentaries, popular docuseries, Gaia, and TEDx. Today, Brandy empowers people from all walks of life—including top celebrities, professional athletes, devoted parents, and passionate seekers of personal growth—by sharing her breakthrough insights and helping them unlock their innate ability to heal themselves and transform their lives.

Learn more at www.brandygillmore.com.

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