Counselling for Stress Relief

Stress can best be described as a physical, emotional, and psychological strain caused by our body’s response to pressures inflicted on it from the outside world. This strain varies in terms of severity and impact from person to person, as everyone has different stress triggers and can handle different degrees of pressure. The medical definition of stress:

“A physiological reaction by an organism to an uncomfortable or unfamiliar physical or psychological stimulus. Biological changes result from stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, including a heightened state of alertness, anxiety, increased heart rate and sweating.”

Stress is a unique and personal experience. No two people will experience stress in the same way as another.
One thing is for certain,  stress  is a very common issue among all individuals regardless of age and social status.

Different things trigger stress in different people and this can be: time pressure; deadlines; volume of work; demanding lifestyles; unpleasant tasks; money issues; problematic relationships etc. Also, our bodies respond in different ways to different types of stress namely: survival stress, internal (psychological) stress, environmental stress, and stress caused by fatigue and overwork.  When we feel “stressed out” our bodies release chemicals into the blood stream, and sometimes this has a positive effect, and provides us with more strength and energy; but other times the bad stress can have the opposite effect, and the chemicals released can cause us to feel sad or depressed.

Just as the primitive “fight or flight” adrenaline response was the physical reaction to stress –  a natural defence mechanism  to deal with the threat of predators and aggressors – today there are “psychological threats” to deal with, for example: moving house, divorce, challenges at work, difficult economic climate, exams at school, making ends meet, taking care of sick parents or children etc. All these situations strip away a person’s sense of control; and the less control you have over any of these or similar events, and the more uncertainty they create, the more likely you are to feel stressed. So, Stress is natural and even beneficial at times.  However, too much over a long period of time will have serious negative impacts on your physical, emotional and mental health.