Stress Management

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There are many ways in which we can coach you to begin to reduce your stress levels such as making lifestyle changes, introducing relaxation techniques, addressing unhelpful thought patterns and beliefs, removing negative self-talk, developing an understanding of what your core values are, and living a life in which you pursue fulfilling goals in alignment with those core values. In doing so, we'll not only tackle your symptoms, but you'll be creating the kind of life that prevents excessive and prolonged stress affecting you in the future.

First of all, it's important to recognise the stage of stress you're in, so that we can take the right steps to begin to alleviate your stress levels as quickly as possible.

1. We refer to the first stage as Stressed and Wired. Symptoms of being stressed and wired include feeling overwhelmed, out of control, experiencing fear and panic but not knowing why, having paranoia, low self-esteem, low confidence, feeling useless, anxious, fidgety, irritable, nervous, suffering with migraines, digestive problems, and acute allergies.

2.  We refer to the second stage of stress as being Wired and Tired. Symptoms of being wired and tired can include long-term, prolonged stress, weight gain or loss, insomnia, increased comfort eating and/or excessive use of alcohol, a sense of unhappiness, ‘surviving but not thriving’, high blood pressure, increased sexual drive, addictions, OCD, diabetes, hyper-thyroid syndrome, feelings of being ‘hyper and wired’ but frazzled and shattered at the same time.

3.  The third stage of stress is what we refer to as being Stressed and Tired. Symptoms at this stage include ‘burnout’, feeling like ‘enough is enough’, feeling fatigued all the time, struggling to cope, feeling depressed, suffering chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, low blood pressure, low tolerance to cold, low immunity, and low sex drive. At this stage you may have been signed off work for a period.

Depression, anxiety and stress are mental health conditions that can all be measured on the same scale.

If you're concerned about your current stress levels and how stress might be affecting you then completing the DASS Questionnaire is a good place to start. Half the battle to overcoming any problem, and creating positive change is to understand where you're starting from. We've provided a free DASS Questionnaire so you can do exactly that.

You may find you're experiencing mild symptoms, in which case a number of quick lifestyle changes may have a huge benefit and prevent your symptoms from worsening. If your symptoms are extremely severe then I would recommend telling someone and getting in touch with your GP asap.