Positive stress can keep us motivated, interested and working towards the

goals we set. We call this ‘eustress’.

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However, when stress becomes too great it tends to be de-motivating and

causes us to become unproductive and unhappy.

We call this ‘distress’.

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Negative stress can manifest itself in a variety of ways. Some signs

that you might be stressed include:

• Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep

• Irritability or “snappiness” with others

• Over-reacting to situations

• Feeling tense, wound-up or unable to relax

• Becoming intolerant of your loved ones, work colleagues or of “life” interrupting you

• Difficulty concentrating

• Feeling overwhelmed

• Noticing that your life has become unbalanced; that there seems to be no time for fun, frivolity or enjoyment or no space for happiness.

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Stress may be due to:

• Excessive work demands or unhappy work environment

• Relationship difficulties

• Family problems and “crazy-making environments”

• Interpersonal difficulties or conflicts with friends

• Balancing all of these demands with your own wants, needs and priorities

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We can help you to work out how to balance demands from the environment with your own needs and wants.

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We can help you to come up with a plan for yourself that is considerate of your boundaries and personal limits.

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Using CBT we can help you to problem-solve, to build skills such as assertiveness to gain better control of your environment, teach you effective relaxation exercises, and to build resilience to those stressors which are not immediately changeable.

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