Are you having difficulty dealing with life issues?
Do you feel overwhelmed by stress at times?
Talking to a therapist and learning stress management techniques can help you to cope better.

Stress results from a build-up of mental and/or physical pressures to a level that you find overwhelming, and the amount and type that can be tolerated varies from one individual to another. We all go through different stresses in our lifetime, involving various changes in our life circumstances. We have to cope with changes such as leaving home for the first time, taking on new responsibilities at work, settling down with a new partner or bereavement. Even though some of these life changes are pleasant developments, they can still take a mental and physical toll on us. When lots of little stresses and some big ones happen in a short period of time, you may lose your ability to cope well, feel defeated by all we have to do, and lack drive and energy.

Stress is the modern-day effect of an evolutionary mechanism known as ‘fight or flight’, designed to save our distant ancestors from dangers in the wild. When feeling threatened in some way, the ‘fight or flight’ is fired off and psychologically this causes muscles to tense, blood pressure to soar, the heart race, breathing to becomes shallow and rapid, saliva to dry up, perspiration and trembling. When these physiological changes took place for our ancestors, it was because they faced a major threat, such as a wild boar attack, and they needed to gear up to run for it or to fight for their lives. Once they had taken action, and survived, all the physiological arousal would quickly subside.

But in modern times, although the stressors that fire off the ‘fight or flight’ are different, the physiological changes are the same. You may be stressed because of having an over-demanding boss or not having enough control over your work (stress is now the most common cause of long-term sickness absence) or because of family demands. And if the stress is continuous, the physiological effects don’t ebb. That’s why we get physical symptoms from severe stress, such as disturbed sleep and ailments such as frequent migraines, backache, angina, skin eruptions, bowel problems, stomach cramps or high blood pressure. And we commonly feel highly anxious or depressed.

All stress symptoms are warnings that important emotional needs are not being met (maybe our lives feel lonely, too demanding or meaningless) and that something has to change, to bring the harmful stress levels down.

Stress Management – Professional Help

Here at Carbury Clinic we can give you support and help you to find ways to deal with life issues and difficulties. We can help you to relax, to be calm and to access your coping skills and change how you react to things. We can teach you techniques that you can use to help yourself build up your resilience to stress. And we can help you to find ways to get your emotional needs met in balance, which has a positive effect on your emotional health, your mentfal health and your physical health and is an important part of building your resilience.