Stress & Anxiety Counselling
Stress & Anxiety
With the daily challenges of life in our fast-paced modern world, stress and anxiety have become an expected part of life for most of us. Even when all is going smoothly, there is still an element of stress involved. Dealing with stress is not about eliminating it from your life because that would be nearly impossible. Coping with stress is more about learning how to handle the cause of your stress in a way that doesn’t let it overwhelm you. One of the ways you can learn the techniques for coping is through counselling for stress and anxiety.
What is stress and anxiety?
Stress can be defined as, ‘a feeling of being overloaded, wound-up tight, tense and worried’.
Anxiety can be defined as, ‘a feeling of worry or fear that is out of control and interfering with your life’. The reality is, it doesn’t matter how we define it. The point is you don’t want to live with it. Sometimes medical intervention is needed but counselling with a skilled therapist is a crucial part of the journey back to a sense of peace and well-being. Stress or anxiety that gets out of control can affect more parts of your life than you care to think about. Your immune system can weaken, your digestive and reproductive systems can breakdown, your blood pressure can rise, you age faster, the likelihood of heart attack and stroke increases and you can become vulnerable to a host of other mental and physical health problems. It’s not worth ignoring stress and anxiety.
Manifestations of Stress or Anxiety
Since stress and anxiety has a physical, mental, and emotional effect, there are some obvious symptoms to be on the lookout for. Here are some of the common manifestations of someone that is stressed out or anxious:
- Insomnia
- Headache
- Acne
- Digestive problems
- Stomach cramps
- Muscle pain
- Anger
- Depression
- Irritability
- Blushing
- Sweating
- Muscle tension
- Shortness of breath
- Perceived sense of inability to socialise, interact or deal with people on a day-to-day basis.
The list can go on and on and is different from person to person. But what is common across humanity is the crippling impact living with these and other manifestations of stress and anxiety have on a person’s sense of peace, joy and well-being.
What Causes Stress
It isn’t possible to pinpoint one specific thing that causes stress or anxiety because it is a very personal experience that differs from person to person. What is stressful for one person may not cause stress in another individual. Contrary to popular belief, stress is not only caused by negative experiences. Even positive life events can affect your stress and anxiety levels. One example of a positive life event that never-the-less is often a cause for stress and anxiety is having a baby. However, we usually consider negative events to be stress or anxiety producing. Some examples could be:
- Losing a job
- Moving to a new city
- Change in financial status
- Losing a loved one/any type of loss
- Illness
- Unconscious childhood traumas
- Conflict modelled by parents
Although, we have said we can’t pin-point specific catalysts that are common to all, what can be discovered in therapy is an individual’s habitual way of viewing different life events and the common denominators that inevitable lead into feelings of stress or anxiety for you. These are the neuropathways that have been formed in your mind. With insight from a skilled counsellor you can learn to form new neuropathways which result in a more balanced and solid sense of self.
Seeking Help
It’s important that you seek help for stress and anxiety and not just try to ignore the signs. Counselling is one of the ways to get help before it’s too late. If you feel that your life and daily actions are negatively affected by the stress you face on a daily basis, it’s best to go to a professional. A therapist will be there to talk to you, listen to you, and help you develop the techniques you need to cope with stress. You will have private one-on-one sessions with a professional. The therapist will be focused on identifying the biggest stressors in your life and creating a treatment plan that will help you cope.
To learn more about counselling for depression and anxiety, and the other therapies, contact Strength & Strategies Counselling Services today.