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Stress However, sometimes our levels of stress occur in an unhealthy way and we struggle to keep up with everything. We feel trapped and sometimes overwhelmed by the demands of others, unable to get off the treadmill of life. We can suffer from a number of minor, but debilitating, symptoms like headache, back ache, pains in our joints. Our sleep pattern is disturbed, we lose enthusiasm for everything, even things we once enjoyed. Our appetite changes, we either eat less and lose weight or we comfort eat and gain weight. Our stress spills on to those closest to us and we become moody and irritable, leaving them feeling ignored and unsupported as well. Many people increase their intake of alcohol during periods when they feel stressed. If these symptoms are happening to you this is an unhealthy level of stress and you could be helped by counselling. There are a number of self-help ways for containing and dealing with stress, regular relaxation, a space to be yourself, making time to do something you enjoy doing, re-prioritising the balance between your work and your home life, learning when to say 'no' and have that respected. I would be happy to discuss such strategies with you as part of counselling but I would also encourage you to look at yourself and your relationships (especially those that are contributing to your high level of stress). I would encourage you to look at ways you can be more assertive when you need to be, able to say 'No' if you need to. Together, we work to make those changes in both your work and personal life that offer you more fulfillment and satisfaction. If you would like to contact me for some counselling about managing stress, please email me using the link below. I have written an e-leaflet called Managing Stress - which has tips for managing your stress levels and for ways to relax. You can download it here - it is free of charge. I have also produced a 12-minute relaxation audio which can be played on an mp3 player or iPod. You can download it by clicking this link.
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