By Elyse Allen M.F.T.
There’s no such thing as a stress-free life. A certain amount of stress is normal and necessary to life as we know it. Nonetheless, stress can quickly reach levels unhealthy to mind, body and spirit. When this happens, it’s crucial that one recognize the signs and be willing to take some concrete steps to get stress under control.
Living with high stress levels has consequences and most of them aren’t good. Here are some ways that a stressful lifestyle can negatively impact you and those around you:
Health problems
Depression and/or anxiety
Feeling hopeless and/or powerless to change things
Suicidal thoughts or attempts
Wanting to be alone, withdrawing from others
Thinking negative thoughts and/or feeling seriously discouraged
Feeling overwhelmed by stress is one of the top 3 reasons clients seek my help. Teaming up with a skillful and experienced therapist who can help you get busy tackling your stressors is one of the smartest and healthiest things you can do for yourself. I work with my clients to:
1. Identify current sources of stress. Sources of stress include circumstances and people who routinely create stress for you. Negative thought patterns, depression or other internal upset can be sources of stress as well.
2. Eliminate those stressors that can be released from your life and manage the ones that cannot be entirely eliminated for now. Maybe your job is stressing you out but you need your job to survive. Working with a business coach could provide additional support in the current job and support exploration towards a more satisfying job outlook for the future.
On the other hand, managing your stress sometimes means eliminating sources of stress that can’t be managed or just don’t make sense any more. For example, choosing to let go of a relationship that you have outgrown could be a huge step toward lightening your stress load.
Therapy can help you sort out what to eliminate and what simply requires effective management. For most of us, change isn’t the easiest thing in the world. I teach my clients valuable tools for managing stress, making necessary changes and moving closer to the goals that really matter to them!
For Elyse’s help managing stress, call (916) 349-8783
mailto:admin@sacramentotherapy.com
© 2010 by Elyse M. Allen LMFT
5777 Madison Ave. Ste. #1110
Sacramento, CA 95841
Telephone: (916) 349-8783
Fax: (916) 349-8788