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Dealing with Stress and Feeling Well


There are some things we can do to ease the psychological, emotional and physical symptoms of stress when we start to feel overloaded in life. Below lists some areas for attention which promote wellbeing and gives some suggestions for considerations in the wider areas of life and forward moving.


So if you are starting to feel overloaded, overwhelmed or stuck in trying to solve something then take a look at this list of ideas that are created in priority order.  Remember there are times in life where we get stuck emotionally and professional support can usually move you past the block that you can not seem to work through.

When our energy is depleted from longer term experience of stress, we can lose our zest for living. Once the above physical issues have helped ease the most serious of physical issues, we can begin to look wider to help us get the energy and enthusiasm to move forward and feel well again.

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The core question is: Are you living the life you wanted to be living at this point in time?
 

Areas of Stress to Address

1

Sleep

Sleep should always be the first thing that is attended to during times of physical or emotional stress recovery. It is vital for rebuilding the body and for psychological health.

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Some of the things to consider are:

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  • Routine, relaxing before bedtime

  • Warm milk & carb (biscuits, cereal, crackers, banana)

  • Bath, Massage

  • Avoid looking at games consoles or any screens 2-3 hours before trying to sleep.

  • Get the bedroom and quilt temperature right, we sleep badly if we are too hot or the room is too warm or stuffy.

  • Make the room dark at night and address morning sunlight entering the bedroom in the early hours.

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NOTE: screen protectors are good for eyes/brain stimulation, but do nothing for the stimulation social media and games create in the brain)If these things are not helping then more sleep focussed work can be done in therapy or with a sleep therapist.

2

Nutrition, Substances and Addictions

REDUCE: Caffeine, Cigarettes (cause anxiety), Reduce over the counter medicines, Alcohol, Salt intake, Sugar

 

INCREASE:• Vitamin B’s- either eat more foods with Vitamin B's in or take a vitamin B complex.• Eat Regular meals and if this has been difficult lately, eat little and often. Even if it is just milk, yoghurt, fruit, toast.• Fluid Intake- Drink more Water & Herbal teas

 

 

 

3

Exercise and Activity

Exercise can help balance brain chemicals / hormones and can greatly assist in reducing stress hormones. It can help release tension, irritability, improve mood and release nervous energy .

 

It is also vital for our general physical health and it is recommended that a person takes part in at leasat 20 mins of aerobic activity at least 3 times a week as bare minimum.

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It is important to do regular cardio and weight bearing activity.

 

Cardiovascular:

Walking/Rambling, Running, The gym, Swimming, Cycling, Dancing.

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Strength Building:

Gardening, The gym & Weights, Yoga, Pilates or similar.

4

Learn Effective Relaxation

Use YouTube to find guided relaxation recordings. Search for:• "Adult Bedtime Stories" to help get to sleep• "PMR meditations" -Progressive Muscle Relaxation -ideal for physical stress symptoms and Sleep• "Hypnotherapy for Stress or Anxiety or Depression (whichever you would like)These recordings are varied and there are many. Find voices you like listening to. Many people like Jason Stephenson.Using these deep relaxation techniques regularly reduces the Flight and Fight response in the body which can help ease physical stress symptoms. Using these also prevents the build-up of physical stress so as to prevent over-whelm and stress related symptoms

5

Lifestyle & Leisure

• Days out & Activities• Evenings out• Theatre, Cinema• The Arts & Cultural Events etc• Play the music you like• Movies, Drama's and Books• Nurture Something, Pets, Gardening• Put something back into your community• Creativity and / or Hobbies• Do Something new PSYCHOLOGICAL /EMOTIONAL ACTIVITY• Psychological Interests: Studying & learning, Reading• Learn Deep Physical & mental Relaxation• Massage• Visualisation Exercises• Meditation, Yoga, Thai Chi• Friends & Support network• Take part in cultural activity. Local events, personalised interests like history or dining, the arts or sporting events etc

6

Friendships & Social

Thinking about your relationships, which relationships feel good or negative?

Who do you spend the most time with, and is this too much or too little?

Are you seeing too much of the same person or people (including partner’s or children).

Do you feel pressure from friends or comfortable engagement when with them or not with them?

Who do you spend time with and what happens between you when you do?

Could there be space in your life for more people or do you have too much going on socially?

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CONSIDER BELONGING

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It is said that feeling a sense of belonging can be an important factor in our sense of wellbeing.

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Consider, who are your people?

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Do you remember belonging to a group earlier in your life, maybe University or a work-place.Maybe an activity that you identify with such as hobbies like singing groups, re-enactments, horse riding group or scene, clubbing scene, attending festivals of types with like-minded people, following football or local bands, are you a Biker, a Goth, and (hobby) Artist, a Gardener, gamer, a book worm, movie follower.

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There are various levels of this such as that which we are but do not attend events or groups with such as ‘a dog person’ or ‘avid tropical fish keeper’ and that where we can participate with others such as church going, going to football matches or grouping up with like-minded small friend group to attend a spa or a walking holiday.

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INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS

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Our intimate relationships are important for a large amount of sense of wellbeing. It is not necessary to be IN an intimate relationship to feel well in this area, sometimes during life we can feel well not being in a close intimate relationship and it is suggested that some time spent living life without being in a relationship is good for us.

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If you are in a couple consider;

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Do you still make time to have fun doing activity together?

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Has the relationship run its course or going through a difficult patch?

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Are you stuck in a rut together?

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Is life doing a significant change such as having a baby or children leaving home or a job or house move and how are you navigating this together and separately?

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Has the intimate part of the relationship faded out somewhat and is this OK for now or not OK?

 

Are you bored with each-others company?

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Is the relationship feeling unbalanced in the distribution of chores or distribution of psychological or emotional responsibilities like managing money, arranging couple or family activity, is one person looking after the other person’s emotional wellbeing but not doing the same back and how long has this been going on for.Are there resentments getting in the way of the relationship evolving into the future?

 

Can these be worked through in therapy alone or with your partner?

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THERAPY

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If the self-help changes above are not helping, this is when Therapy can assist. In therapy you can explore our thoughts and feelings at a deeper level with the professional guidance that comes from well-known and accepted approaches that help.

 

These can involve;

• Sleep Therapy

• Relationship issues

• Boundaries in relationships

• Unhealthy relationships and dysfunctional relationships• Feeling words and identifying feelings• Stress Management Skills• Psycho-education• Self-awareness Development• Meeting Emotional / psychological needs• Address perceptions and unhelpful thought patterns or belief systems• Processing of past traumas and or losses• Lifestyle adjustments• Careers, future plans and goals• Developing a new sense of self• Creating a healthy relationship with Self• Self-esteem & worth• Communication skills & Assertiveness• Building a Support Network• Boundaries• Healthy processing past traumas or bad experiences• Self-understanding & acceptance• Self-validation• Changing unhelpful thought processes• Owning of feelings, Expression• Exploring spiritual aspects of self and psyche• Psychological & Emotional development, maturing and growth• Cementing of core values• Developing true authenticity

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