“Stop a minute, right where you are. Relax your shoulders, shake your head and spine like a dog shaking off cold water. Tell that imperious voice in your head to be still.”
– Barbara Kingsolver
We all experience a certain amount of stress in our lives, myself included. In fact, the American Psychological Association’s 2013 Stress in America Survey concluded that “stressed out” is the new norm for most Americans. According to the survey, only 37% of American adults said they were doing an excellent or very good job at managing stress.
Most of us know what “stressed out” feels like, and it is not pleasant. Stress can wreak havoc on our physical and mental health. During the day, stress can lead us to feel exhausted, gulp down extra cups of coffee to stay alert at work, snap at coworkers, and fantasize about the next time we can take a vacation and get away from it all. Stress can cause stomachaches, headaches, and digestive problems. At home stress may manifest as feeling irritated with family members, having angry outbursts, stress eating, or turning to drugs or alcohol for relieve. Stress can interfere with our ability to fall asleep and lead to many sleepless nights, which in turn impacts our ability to handle stress the next day. It can become a vicious cycle of increasing stress and sleep deprivation. Stress also can trigger a depressive episode in people who are already predisposed to depression, it can develop into anxiety, and it can even lead to suicidal thoughts. These are all good reasons to learn to effectively manage stress.
How can therapy help? If you feel overwhelmed by stress, I can work with you to explore how stress is affecting your mental health, your relationships, and your life. Together we will identify your most frequent stress triggers. We can talk about the difference between healthy and unhealthy coping strategies. I can teach you relaxation skills you can use at home to reduce your stress level. Some of the relaxation skills I teach clients include mindfulness, breathing exercises, mediation techniques, visualization, and progressive muscle relaxation. We will work together to figure out which techniques work best for you, and I will provide you with plenty of emotional support and encouragement along the way. Together we can develop a plan to help you eliminate some of your stress and effectively reduce the impact of the remaining stress, so you can relax and enjoy life again.