What is stress?
Positive stress can keep us motivated, interested and working towards the
goals we set. We call this ‘eustress’.
However, when stress becomes too great it tends to be de-motivating and
causes us to become unproductive and unhappy.
We call this ‘distress’.
Symptoms of negative stress
Negative stress can manifest itself in a variety of ways. Some signs
that you might be stressed include:
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Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
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Irritability or “snappiness” with others
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Over-reacting to situations
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Feeling tense, wound-up or unable to relax
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Becoming intolerant of your loved ones, work colleagues or of “life” interrupting you
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Difficulty concentrating
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Feeling overwhelmed
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Noticing that your life has become unbalanced; that there seems to be no time for fun, frivolity or enjoyment or no space for happiness.
Causes of stress
Stress may be due to:
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Excessive work demands or unhappy work environment
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Relationship difficulties
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Family problems and “crazy-making environments”
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Interpersonal difficulties or conflicts with friends
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Balancing all of these demands with your own wants, needs and priorities.
How we can help with stress management
We can help you to work out how to balance demands from the environment with your own needs and wants.
We can help you to come up with a plan for yourself that is considerate of your boundaries and personal limits.
Using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (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.
