Stress Management

Our first instinct with stress is to try and make it stop. That’s perfectly understandable, but not always possible. That’s usually when we turn to coping mechanisms to try and manage stress. Some of these are healthy options like playing sports or spending time in nature. Then there are coping mechanisms that can take a toll on our health and relationships: alcohol, drugs, binge-eating, and overworking to name just a few. 

You may have so many stressors in your life that it may be hard to know where to start. This is where we like to help you tune into what your body is telling you. That “pain in your neck” could very well be your boss, or maybe you “can’t stomach” another financial setback. 

There’s no better way to understand the mind-body connection than learning how to scan your body for stress. It’s well documented that stress hormones can send heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol and inflammatory cytokines through the roof, leading to heart disease, stroke and immune disorders. Chronic stress hormones can alter functional systems and neural pathways in your brain, causing panic, anxiety and depression.  

Here’s a short list of some techniques that we can help you learn:

• Mindfulness Meditation

• Progressive Muscle Relaxation

• Role Modeling

• Visualization

• Storytelling

How to use awareness. We can help you learn how to tune into how stress manifests in your body, bringing it from a state of unawareness to awareness. This is the important, first step in being able to manage stress. If stressors can’t be eliminated, we can look at ways to change the way you respond to stressful situation. We will work with you to identify which tools work best for you.

Listening to your gut. While we may not like it, going through stressful periods is a tremendous learning opportunity. You can train yourself to become a highly accurate, early-detection system for stress, even learning how to use somatic experience to make better decisions. In time, you may be able to look back on highly stressful times in your life, as your most precious learning experiences.

We always favor treatment options that consider the whole person, and especially when managing stress. We will ask you for the results of your most recent physical, plus look at your overall lifestyle, diet, spiritual and emotional support systems.