Are you overwhelmed by stress (at work, in life)?
Stress!!
You know when you’re feeling it. It’s not pleasant.
But do you know what it really is or what it’s doing to you?
Are you just resigned living with it, or do you know how to avoid it?
Excessive Pressure
If you’re stressed right now it’s most likely because you’re under excessive pressure. This means you don’t believe you have the capacity to meet the demands you’re facing now let alone any new demands that are bound to come along.
Your brain interprets this situation of being overwhelmed as a threat and prepares your body and mind to survive the threat by either escaping, or if escape isn’t possible, fighting for your survival.
Stress
The stress – those uncomfortable perhaps painful symptoms you’re experiencing, are signs that your body is ready for action. The problem is, when the threat is excessive pressure, there’s nothing physical to escape from or fight. So, your body remains in a permanent state of readiness. Your muscles remain tensed up, your heart beats faster, your ability to concentrate is compromised.
The thing is stress is meant to be a short-lived experience. Once the threat has gone away the stress goes away. But when we remain under excessive pressure for days, weeks, and months, our body and mind continue to experience stress. Inside our body, stress hormones, like cortisol, accumulate.
Chronic Stress
This long-term experience of stress (aka chronic stress) is not good for our physical and mental health and is detrimental to our ability to perform everyday activities. Chronic stress has been linked to dysregulation of our digestive, reproductive and immune systems. In addition, our brain function is disrupted, sleep quantity and quality are harmed. Our brain’s survival system becomes more sensitive, and it can begin to identify situations as threats that aren’t threats. This adds even more stress to our stress bucket.
Many people miss the early signs of chronic stress. It’s only when a tipping point is reached, or their body responds to the constant level of stress through a physical reaction, that they realise that something is seriously wrong.
So, what can you do to reduce stress and avoid chronic stress?
Here are four key actions you need to take:
- Gain an understanding of where stress comes from. This provides the platform on which you can build your personal stress management strategy.
- Reduce the amount of pressure you are under.
- Take action to ensure all your emotional needs are being met in balance.
- Learn ways in which to switch off the stress response so you can break the cycle of ongoing stress
Where can you go for help with implementing these actions?
There are plenty of self-help books, websites and web pages devoted to stress management. But to avoid being overwhelmed (and potentially experiencing even more stress!) by all the generic advice out there it’s best to find a stress management coach. A stress management coach can help you create a plan of action that is tailored to your needs. A coach adds even more value by being there to support and motivate you and keep you accountable to yourself, as you develop the skills and habits necessary to live a life free of unnecessary stress and anxiety.
Stress won’t go away on its own
To eliminate chronic stress from your life you need to take action. It won’t go away on its own. The best way to say goodbye to stress is to tackle it at its source. For most people that is excessive pressure. The good news is there are many ways to reduce the pressure your under.
Need help managing your Stress?
If you’d like to explore how you can reduce the pressure in your life and experience less stress, then let’s have a conversation., Call/text me today on 021 056 8389 or click HERE to book a no obligation consult where we can explore how I can help you.
Here’s to a less stress life!
Go well
Tony
I’m on a mission to help as many people as possible enjoy lives free of unnecessary stress and anxiety. If you’d like my help, or you know someone who would benefit, call/text me today on 021 056 8389 or email tony@tycoaching.nz
