Stress Management Counseling

Is Stress Taking Over Your Life?
 

Does it feel as though there’s never enough time to complete all the tasks of the day? Perhaps you’re coming up against an important deadline or studying for a big test, and heightened stress is impacting your ability to concentrate, feel stable, make time for loved ones and maintain healthy habits, such as exercise and preparing balanced meals. Are you experiencing racing thoughts, headaches, sweating, digestive problems or chronic fatigue, and can’t seem to find any sustainable relief? Maybe you’re struggling to balance your responsibilities at work with those at home. Or, perhaps a troubling event, such as the loss of a loved one, a medical diagnosis, your child(ren) leaving the house or a change at work has you feeling uncertain and even afraid, and you don’t know how to effectively cope with or navigate these new circumstances. Do you just feel completely overwhelmed? Do you wish you could slow down and catch your breath—if even just for a moment—and learn to how to relieve stress in healthy, effective ways?

Experiencing persistent levels of high stress can be isolating, confusing and cause physical discomforts, such as such as sweating, shaking, increased heart rate, headaches and digestion issues. When you’re unable to relax, everything from work performance and relationships to self-esteem and feelings of self-worth can be impacted. Being in a state of constant stress can also fuel thoughts, emotions, behaviors and choices that keep you feeling on edge or withdrawn. It may be that you’ve started using drugs and/or alcohol more frequently to calm yourself down. You might wonder if it’s even possible to experience relief, especially if your stress has crossed the line into anxiety.  If stress is manifesting mentally, emotionally or physically, you may feel exhausted and desperately crave the ability to relax.

Stress Is Extremely Common In Our Culture
 

Both healthy and unhealthy stress is something that affects everyone. Healthy stress can motivate you to be organized and work hard, while unhealthy stress can cause you to withdraw, become irritated and avoidant and negatively impact your physical health.

A recent Gallup survey found the average American working a full-time job claimed to spend 47 hours a week on the job. Almost one in five said he or she spent more than 60 hours a week working. We live in a competitive, go-go-go society where it’s almost frowned upon to relax and take time for yourself. With the increasing expectation to blend hectic schedules with high performance, it’s not surprising that anxiety is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses in America.

Although we all have moments of worry, fear and doubt, it can be difficult to keep up with a fast-paced life if you’re stressed out all the time, experiencing physical ailments and/or stress is interrupting your relationships or ability to concentrate and function well. The good news is that help is available. A skilled and understanding stress management therapist can help you develop effective techniques to lessen physical discomforts and improve motivation, productivity and your ability to feel and function well.

Stress Management Counseling Can Provide You With Guidance And Tools That Can Relieve Stress And Lead To Sustainable Relief
 

Regardless of how stress is manifesting in your life, relief is possible. There are so many effective and empirically driven options available for people who are overwhelmed by stress. Anything from learning how to better manage your time, blow off steam in healthy ways, work within your limits, articulate your needs when you’re overwhelmed, breathing techniques and meditation, to incorporating a routine that simply allows you to eat better and exercise.

In safe, confidential stress management therapy sessions, we can work together to identify the underlying cause that’s driving your stress and develop specific methods to alleviate any uncomfortable physical and emotional sensations you’re experiencing presently. We can also collaboratively explore how to deescalate intense levels of stress moving forward. You can learn how stress acutely affects both your physical and mental health, relationships, work performance and more. As you acquire knowledge about how stress manifests in your body and brain, we’ll practice coping strategies that are carefully designed to slow down your body’s unique physiological reactions to stress. You can bring these strategies home with you (starting on day-one) so you can immediately begin to experience profound relief.

We can also explore past coping mechanisms and address how you’ve handled stress to date. Early on in life, we all develop a variety of ways to calm ourselves down as stress sets in. During our sessions together, we can identify those coping strategies that work and those that don’t. If stress has started to affect you physically or infiltrate every aspect of your life, it’s likely that some of your coping techniques are no longer effective. It may even be that your methods of coping actually add to your stress. During stress and anxiety therapy sessions, I can help you shift out of negative strategies and develop new ones that effectively bring more control and balance to your life.

I’ve been working with clients struggling with high levels of stress my entire career. Because we all experience stressors in our lives, at times becoming over-stressed is unavoidable. However, with the guidance of an empathic stress management therapist who understands what you’re going through, you can learn healthy ways to release stress from your body. I, myself, use these techniques in my own life to effectively reduce stress and know both personally and professionally that sustainable relief is possible. 

You still may have some questions or concerns about stress treatment…

If stress is something everyone experiences, shouldn’t I be able to handle this on my own?

Although we all have to navigate and manage stress, most of us are never taught in school or at work how to effectively release stress from the body. Educating yourself on the ways in which stress manifests physically and developing tailor-made tools that reduce physical ailments can improve your productivity and help you experience more ease in your ever day life. 

How long does self-care counseling take?

Therapy for stress reduction is actually one of the fastest courses of treatment available. Starting on day one, you can learn effective coping strategies and begin experiencing relief. Stress relief therapy is a minimal time commitment that provides you with tools you can use immediately and throughout your life.

I’ve heard stress management counseling can be expensive.

Although there is a cost involved with this work, stress reduction counseling is an investment that benefits you immediately and in the long run. You may find that when you’re able to restore your mind and body back to a natural calm and balanced state, that you visit the doctor less often, are able to maintain a stable work-life balance, you have more time for yourself and that you actually make more money because your performance and productivity at work improves.

You Can Experience Calm, Peace And Balance

If you’re living in Denver, Colorado struggling with work stress, work-life balance or don’t know how to cope with stress, please call 720-608-0174 for a free 30-minute phone consultation. I am happy to discuss any questions you have about my practice or how stress management counseling can address your needs.