The pile of bills on your countertop is adding up. Your boss is breathing down your neck about this next project. Your family wants to hang out with you. You need to eat better, exercise more, have more hobbies…
The list never ends, does it? Our society idolizes stress. We wear our stress level like badges of honor saying “Look how hard I’m working. Look at how much I’m doing.”
And to a certain extent, stress is good. It’s what helps college students pass that exam and ER doctors perform their best. But that is when stress is healthy, a feat not many people have accomplished in today’s work-driven society.
When stress becomes unhealthy it creates mental and physical health problems that have the potential to stick with you years into the future.
Thriveworks Red Bank understands the tricky balance of stress- you can’t just stop everything and go on vacation. The key, we’ve learned, is to not learn how to escape stress but manage it. With the right tools, stress management can be your ticket to a healthy, happy future.
For more information or to schedule a virtual or in-person stress management session with Thriveworks Red Bank, call 732-606-4469.
Why Am I So Stressed?
One of the most frustrating parts of stress is that it can seem unwarranted. It’s not like you’re actually about to die when you’re overwhelmed with work. The grocery aisles at the store might be a lot to handle, but you’re not actually hunting for food. So why am I so stressed?
First, Red Banks Stress Management want to make one thing abundantly clear: struggling with unhealthy stress is never because you are weak. Our bodies are hardwired to feel stress, they have been for centuries. The problem is that our stress system hasn’t been able to tell the difference between a lion and taxes. What you’re experiencing isn’t a lack of resilience, it’s a lack of knowledge. And knowledge is attainable.
Of course, the first step is to acknowledge your difficulty managing stress. Remember- it’s not a reflection of a personal flaw! You probably are juggling a million different things. The stakes are super high! But nothing is so high that some healthy management skill can’t help.
Common symptoms of unmanaged stress are:
- Constantly avoiding confrontation (initiating the “flight” response)
- Angry outbursts or aggressive behavior (initiating the “fight” response)
- chronic headaches
- joint pain
- upset stomach
- easily triggered anger
- irritability
- panic attacks
- feeling overwhelmed
- trouble sleeping and/or nightmares
- memory loss
- impulsive behavior
You are worth so much more than the level of your stress. You have more value that your productivity could ever say. You have the right to chase your goals without being burdened by overwhelming stress. The stress management counselors in Red Bank, NJ are excited to walk with you on your journey towards health.
What Does Stress Therapy Counseling Look Like?
If stress is a natural rhythm of life, how do we get rid of it? Well, we don’t. We learn to make stress work for us, instead of us working for stress. Red Bank stress management therapy is a nonjudgmental space for you to slow down and learn how to help yourself and achieve your goals.
Every day will bring new stressors. Our goal is to equip you with tools that you can apply to any area of your life at any time. To overcome stress, you must be the source of change. (Although sometimes your environment has to change too. We can talk about that in a counseling session.)
Some tools we may teach and use during a counseling session with Red Bank Therapy include:
- Mindful and relaxation techniques to help in the moment for stress
- Create the time and space in your daily and weekly schedule to unwind
- Address any underlying issues
- Build a healthy lifestyle through the means of sleep, exercise, and nutrition
- Build a support system
- Learn how to recognize the symptoms of stress and stop it before it becomes overwhelming
- Replace negative, untrue thoughts with positive, true thoughts (a technique called cognitive behavior therapy)
Thriveworks Red Bank Stress Management counselors work to form a trusting, professional relationship between client and therapist so that you can spend your energy on personal growth. You deserve to have the room to chase your dreams again. Together, we can get there.
To schedule an appointment or talk to a counselor about stress therapy for you, call 732-606-4469.
