Stress Therapy
Imagine Being Able To Slow Down And Feel Present In The Moment
Imagine that you can go to bed each night without running through all the worst-case scenarios that could happen tomorrow. Imagine that you no longer feel overwhelmed and overworked—you’re able to balance all the roles in your life and live with healthy boundaries.
Right now, this kind of life may seem out of reach. Maybe you feel like you simply have too much on your plate—you’re expected to be a diligent employee, a loving spouse, a caring parent, and supportive friend. Whenever you want to take some time for yourself, it feels as though all your demands and responsibilities prevent you from doing so. As a result, you may feel irritable, exhausted, and burnt out. For the first time, you might be wondering if a therapist can help you with your stress.
The Relentless Cycle Of Chronic Stress Can Take A Toll On Your Mental, Physical, And Emotional Health
Chronic stress disrupts your ability to regulate your emotions and form satisfying relationships. It erodes your resilience, leaving you vulnerable to depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
In many cases, chronic stress goes hand in hand with chronic pain. When you’re chronically stressed, you’re not in sync with your body. This makes it hard to pick up on your body’s warning signs or understand when you need a break. You might find yourself struggling with muscle tension, stomach aches, poor sleep, or other ailments without knowing that it’s because of stress.
If you want to learn new stress management skills and achieve a healthier sense of balance in life, I encourage you to pursue therapy with me. With my help and support, I’m confident that you can experience calmness in the midst of chaos and break free from the overwhelming weight of stress.
Stress Is The Natural Product Of A Fast-Paced, Demanding World
A staggering 77 percent of Americans suffer from stress.* Between high-pressure work environments, long working hours, and a constant need to meet demanding expectations, it’s no wonder so many of us are stressed out. Additionally, we have to navigate the realities of overcrowding, traffic congestion, environmental disaster, and skyrocketing housing expenses. All of these factors combine to make modern life incredibly stressful.
Human connection is the healing balm that soothes anxiety and stress. But in the wake of a global pandemic that forced many of us to isolate, meaningful connections are harder than ever to come by. The muscle that motivates us to reach out for support has atrophied, leaving us more alone with our own thoughts and feelings and making it harder for us to self-regulate and maintain perspective.
Stress Has A Way Of Persuading You That You Have It All Together
One of the hallmarks of stress is that it’s seductive. Since it unconsciously teaches you to actively ignore your body’s alarm signals, it’s easy to keep piling on more responsibilities and think doing so won’t harm you. You might tell yourself, “I can manage one more thing—nothing’s really out of control yet.” However, the more you keep adding to your plate and pushing yourself, the more likely you are to crash.
Therapy can help you learn to cultivate a deeper connection with your body, starting with noticing its warning signals so that you can recognize when you’ve hit your limit and know when your body needs intentional rest.
Therapy Can Help You Find Relief From Stress And Bring Stillness Back Into Your Life
Our society doesn’t exactly value stillness. Because we are always in busy mode, many people associate being still with being unproductive. Therapy provides the opportunity to grow past that mindset. I want to help you learn to mindfully slow down, create calmness in the body, and improve your ability to tolerate stress.
When you’re feeling stressed, it’s easy to feel like you’re functioning at max capacity and have no energy left. Counseling can help you develop a greater capacity for tolerating stress and its impact on the body. This way, you can respond to life’s stressors calmly and deliberately instead of just reacting instinctively. The goal is for you to increase your mind-body awareness, create healthier boundaries and thought patterns, and live a more balanced and fulfilling life.
My Approach To Stress Management Therapy
Stress shows up differently for each person, so it’s very important to create a treatment plan that’s tailored to your unique context, needs, and goals. One of the main approaches that I use with clients is called Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC). When you’re feeling stressed, it’s common to doubt yourself and worry that you’re not “good enough” or that you’re “doomed to fail.” When you’re struggling to find your center in these moments, MSC can help you develop a kinder and more compassionate way of speaking to yourself and discovering what you’re truly needing in the moment.
I also utilize Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), which looks at stress in the context of relationships and explores how your attachment needs, fears, and longings play a role in the development and continuation of stress. For instance, if you have a more anxious attachment style and struggle with control issues or people-pleasing, EFT can help you uncover how these tendencies could be exacerbating your overall stress levels in various settings.
Since the nervous system controls the body’s responses to stress, I often draw from the research and key learnings of Polyvagal Theory. For example, when you feel unsafe, your body goes into fight, flight or freeze mode. This is the nervous system’s automatic response to danger. Understanding the nervous system can help you retrain it to respond to stress differently. Together, you and I will explore how stress is activated in the brain and body and use that knowledge to promote feelings of safety, connection, and relaxation.
Ultimately, I believe you have the power to transform your relationship with stress. With my guidance and support, you can gain valuable insights, unlock your inner wisdom, and cultivate a more fulfilling and meaningful life.
You May Have Some Concerns About Stress Therapy…
I’m not sure I have the ability to change.
The brain has a remarkable ability for growth and adaptation called neuroplasticity. With the right tools and strategies, you can retrain your brain to respond to stress differently. I encourage you to trust in your own ability to learn, grow, and thrive. If you have trouble trusting in yourself, I’m here to remind you of your worth, guide you in building your own sense of trust, and help you recognize your capacity for change.
If I put a lot of effort into managing my stress, won’t I just become more stressed?
While it's natural to worry that trying to manage stress will only add more stress, my integrative approach focuses on finding balance and implementing what is doable. We'll work together to identify sustainable practices aligned with your needs. Through self-compassion and mindfulness, you'll learn to navigate stress, cultivate resilience, and make room for self-care in your life. After all, the goal is not to make you busier, but to find space for restoration within your busy schedule.
Will therapy require me to delve into the past and rehash painful memories?
You will always be in control of your own therapeutic journey. There may be times when we talk about difficult subjects, but that’s a necessary part of the growth and healing process. My approach takes your past, present, and future into account. The aim is not to dwell on the past, but to help you experience past memories in a new way and integrate learnings from them into a healthier vision for your life today.
Find Calmness In The Midst Of Chaos
If you want to learn to manage stress more effectively and balance the many roles in your life, I’m confident that therapy can help. To connect with me, you can email me or call 949-342-6672.
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