Pressure is something we all experience in many aspects of our life, whether this is at work, within the family or in our daily relationships with others. We worry about financial concerns and stress about health problems.
Whilst a certain amount of pressure is good for you – we all need goals and challenges – too much pressure can be damaging and can result in stress and too much stress can itself lead to illness and emotional problems causing a lack of confidence, low self esteem, social phobias and physical disorders.
In our current society, we are increasingly experiencing too much negative stress – the type that can make you feel overwhelmed and ill at ease. Stress is a well known trigger for depression and can affect your physical health. Whilst there are many such triggers for stress, some common triggers include bereavement, divorce, loss of a job, a child leaving home, moving house, a new job, work problems and money worries.
Coping with “manageable stress”
Our ability to cope with manageable levels of stress is dependent on many factors, including the stability of our lifestyle and our relationships, our self-esteem and self-confidence, even unresolved issues from our past. As long as we keep our stress levels below our individual limit, we are likely to function effectively. However, if we continually operate at, or near our limit all the time, any additional stress – even something seemingly small and trivial – may tip the balance and move us from a position of manageable stress, to a situation where we are feeling completely overwhelmed or even out of control.
The Symptoms of stress
This feeling of being overwhelmed can have such a negative and debilitating effect on our lives. Panic attacks can be common, arriving unannounced for seemingly no reason and leaving us with a general feeling of not being able to cope with life. We may feel an increased irritability with even trivial things. We become disproportionately sensitive to any criticism levelled at us. Often we have difficulty in sleeping and suffer a lack of concentration at work. We may find ourselves smoking and drinking more and feel that life lacks any direction.
Effective Stress Management
In my stress management clinic, I can tailor a programme for your individual requirements that will immediately help you deal with the current overwhelming stress levels you are experiencing. In addition I will offer a long term strategy to help you to avoid reaching high stress levels in the future, creating a long term stress management plan allowing you to live life to the full.