We Can Help With… Stress
Stress is a normal part of life. It has many causes and can occur within our work life, when we are studying, as a result of troubled relationships, during times of change – such as moving house, changing jobs, marriage, starting a family, divorce or retiring, also when coping with an illness or even when daily tasks build up.
We generally use the word “stress” when we feel that everything is just too much – we may feel overloaded or overwhelmed, and wonder whether we can cope with the pressures we are facing. Some stressors are good for us because they motivate us to take action and can spur us on to achieve our goals. However, when stress undermines both your mental and physical health, it can cause significant distress and interfere with you living your everyday life.
Symptoms of Stress
As mentioned above, stress is a normal part of life and everybody experiences stress on occasion. However, there are a number of signs and symptoms that your stress may be unhealthy, they include:
- Feelings of nervousness or anxiety
- Physical reactions – such as chest pains or an upset stomach
- Muscle tension and headaches
- Difficulty concentrating
- Fatigue
- Mood changes – such as irritability, anger, or depression
- Difficulty sleeping (constantly feeling alert)
- An increase or decrease in appetite
- Increase in blood pressure
- Major health problems – due to a decrease in general immune system functioning
People under stress also have a greater tendency to engage in unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, such as excessive use of alcohol, cigarette smoking, and making poor exercise and nutritional choices.
Managing and Coping with Stress
The experience of stress is highly individualised – everybody has a different ability to cope with stress, and what might be highly stressful for one person may not stressful for another. Accordingly, people manage and deal with their stress in a variety of different ways. Some try to block it out, some find relief from stress through physical exercise, and others by talking it through with a trusted friend.
If stress in your life is causing you to feel anxious and unable to manage a situation, counselling can help you develop extensive strategies for effectively managing and coping with stress.
At Vitalise, our psychologists can work with you and help you to understand and manage your symptoms of stress, develop and implement effective coping strategies, and lead a happy and fulfilling life. Contact us today to make an appointment with one of our registered psychologists.