Coping and dealing with stress - the silent killer
How often do you feel stressed or overwhelmed?
Stress is one of the leading causes of both mental and physical health problems. They call it the silent killer as it seems to be a precursor to so many issues.
While a certain level of stress is normal and even necessary for survival, prolonged or chronic stress can lead to serious health problems.
CHRONIC STRESS 🤯
Chronic stress is something that can creep up on us over time. We live in a fast-paced society with a lot of expectations, things that need to be done, and habits/behaviours that stimulate the mind, triggering the stress response.
Stress can have a significant impact on our mental health, leading to a range of problems including anxiety, depression, and burnout.
Chronic stress can cause the body to release cortisol, a hormone that can cause changes in the brain's chemistry and structure, leading to mood disorders.
Believe it or not, we can even become addicted to cortisol, making it uncomfortable to relax or have nothing to do!
Over time we can create negative coping behaviours such as substance abuse (alcohol, weed, overeating) or social isolation, which can further exacerbate mental health problems.
Stress can also have a profound impact on physical health. Chronic stress can cause the body to release adrenaline and other stress hormones, leading to increased blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. Over time, this can lead to a range of physical health problems such as cardiovascular disease, digestive problems, and weakened immune systems. Chronic stress can cause muscle tension, headaches, and sleep problems.
In my profession, I’ve experienced my fair share of clients who are stressed out, overwhelmed and ready to just walk away from everything.
Some of them are truly stressed, whilst for others the perceived stress is actually them being triggered from past experiences. Their nervous system has hit overwhelm. Breaking this down further you might be externally or internally stressed.
BEING EXTERNALLY STRESSED
Now, when we talk about being "truly stressed," we’re usually referring to a current situation that’s making you feel overwhelmed, anxious, or tense. It could be your work, relationships, health, or just life, in general.
It can feel like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, and no matter how much you try to relax, you just can't seem to shake it off.
I once had a client who was truly stressed out about her job. She was working crazy hours, trying to keep up with her boss’s demands, and just couldn’t seem to catch a break. She was always on the go, always anxious, and always on the verge of a breakdown. Her external environment had to change, boundaries had to be put in place and she had to put herself first.
BEING INTERNALLY STRESSED
On the other hand, stress can come from a buildup of negative past experiences causing the mind and body to become overstimulated, triggered and sensitive to the environment.
A client came in overwhelmed, stressed, tired and not coping but actually said “Life is pretty good, I have a wonderful husband, the kids are doing ok, work is good, I don’t know why I am always feeling so stressed. Is there something wrong with me?”
She even felt like she was self sabotaging by adding more and more to her plate because she found it hard when she had time to relax. This required a bit of a deeper dive into her history, past experiences with a focus on releasing any old stuff her mind and body was holding on to.
WHAT STEPS CAN I TAKE?
Although reading this may seem a bit doom and gloom, there are easy things you can do to help your mind and body relax.
By making a choice to work on your mental and physical wellbeing, you take back control of how you are feeling which creates the perfect space for change.
The first thing to do is to notice whether you are stressed.
- Think about the last time you had nothing to do.
- How did you feel?
- Did you just relax, or did you find things that needed to be done?
- Does the idea of taking time out for yourself make you feel uncomfortable?
- Do you have moments of quietness in your mind, or is it racing with things you haven’t done yet?
As you do this exercise, if you feel a feeling of stress rise up in your body, I want you to shake it out. Stand up if you can and run on the spot/shake and as you do, imagine all that stress shaking out of your body. I imagine it as red dust leaving my body.
You will know when to stop; you may feel yourself yawn or just your body just let go.
When this happens, put your hands on your heart, breathe in, and let yourself know everything is okay.
The second thing is fresh air and grass! Take off your shoes and socks, stand in the grass, close your eyes just for a moment, and feel yourself reset and relax. Grounding has such an important role in creating a less stressful life. Try and take 5 minutes every morning standing barefoot on the grass outside, breath in the fresh air and take some moments just for you.
Then consider what type of stressed you are: realising your own mental state and and triggers is a huge step towards self healing and remember, learning way to manage your stress is crucial for your overall health and well-being.
If you feel you are externally stressed: overwhelmed from your environment, there are a few things you can do to help manage your stress and reduce your symptoms.
You can try practicing mindfulness, self hypnosis, making a to-do list, exercising regularly, having a massage or craniosacral therapy, seeking support from friends and even reaching out for a hypnotherapy session. We would work on setting boundaries, learn coping techniques and tools to help with mood and moments of overwhelm. We would address any underlying issues they may be popping up due to the environment. Hypnotherapy can also help with motivation to put yourself first and make time to head out for a walk, have a bath or do what is needed to look after you.
If you relate more to the Internal Stress scenario, feelings of stress and overwhelm that are not related to what is going on now, craniosacral therapy and hypnotherapy can be extremely helpful for you.
Our work together will be focused on calming down the nervous system, releasing any past events, beliefs, things that are causing the mind and body to stay in a state of safety and survival. This is about changing our internal environment instead of having to work so hard on making the outside world different.
By doing this, relationships improve, our mental and physical health improves, sleep is better and best of all, life becomes more enjoyable.
Who doesn’t want that!
Please reach out if you are feeling overwhelmed
Craniosacral therapy and Hypnotherapy are both very effective in helping reduce stress and improve your overall well-being. In addressing the underlying causes of stress the body can develop coping strategies, and learn how to relax and manage stress in a healthy way.
Book 15 minute free consultation for hypnotherapy
Click on the link to download your Coping Strategies for Stress