Stress Management
Stress is a fact of modern life. Unfortunately, it is rare that we are taught how to deal with it, or even that we should deal with it at all. The “stiff upper lip” mentality is still rife in our society (especially in the workplace), and while that philosophy has its place, the consequences of not dealing with stress can be catastrophic for our health and wellbeing.
What is stress?
Stress is the term we use to describe the “fight or flight” syndrome. Hormones are released which cause the body to be ready for action, which served the human race very well when we lived in a world of predators and frequently had to run for our lives or fight off an invader.
But in the modern world, the same stress response is set off by much less threatening factors, such as missing the train, heavy traffic, demands of work, family conflicts, looking after children, to name just a few.
You have probably experienced the symptoms of this, eg shaking hands, feeling nervous, stomach churning, sweating, rapid breathing, faster heart beat, and so on.
Effects of stress
In the short term, stress is normal and will not present any detrimental health effects. However, long term stress and cortisol exposure have been proved to be highly damaging to both the body and mind. Left untreated and unchecked, chronic stress can reduce your body’s ability to fight off disease and infection, it increases the likelihood of alcohol or drug dependence, and it contributes to the development of many medical conditions like Fibromyalgia, Heart Disease, and Chronic Fatigue to name a few.
Long term stress can also result in serious mental health disorders, like depression and anxiety disorder. While not always life threatening, they are certainly life changing, particularly when the impact on your personal life, your relationships, your lifestyle and ability to work is considered. It is a fact that long term stress can be extremely destructive, both to you if you experience this, and to those people closest to you.
There are a whole host of pharmaceutical treatments for stress, including beta-blockers, anti-depressants, and sleep aids which your doctor can prescribe for you. Unfortunately, these treat only the symptoms, and not the cause of your stress. Resources for counselling and other therapies are severely limited on the NHS, and not every therapist you will be referred to on the NHS will be right for you.
I lead a stressful life, how can therapy help?
While you are unlikely to be able to avoid stress entirely (and indeed, a certain amount of stress is actually beneficial), it is possible to deal with stress and anxiety in a more constructive way without prescription drugs. Importantly, you can address the root cause of your stress, as well as manage the symptoms.
Using talking therapies, Cognitive-Behavioural techniques, Clinical Hypnosis, and psycho-education, it is possible for you to take back control, to reduce the effects of stress, and learn techniques and strategies for use now and long into the future.
The aim is for you to be equipped and able to manage your stress and anxiety yourself; to achieve some peace and tranquility of mind and body, to keep the harmful effects of stress to a minimum, and to use the positive aspects of stress in a productive way.
Stress Management Workshops
In addition to treating stress and anxiety on a one to one basis, I also provide stress management workshops to groups. These are offered both to individuals who wish to sign up, and to employers or other organisations who wish to offer these in-house to their staff, with a view to improving the health, lifestyle and wellbeing of their employees.
Please see the separate page regarding these workshops.
Please note that if you believe that you might be suffering from chronic stress or an anxiety condition that is affecting your physical or mental health, I do advise most strongly that you seek medical advice immediately from your GP before engaging in personal therapy.
For more information on either one to one stress / anxiety therapy or the workshops, please contact me and I will be happy to talk more about this with you.