Stress Counseling Services

Stress is a very natural and important part of life.  Eustress helps keep us alert, motivates us to face challenges, and drives us to solve problems.  Distress results when our bodies over react to events, releasing powerful neurochemicals and hormones which prepare the body for fight, flight or freeze. The activation of the sympathetic nervous system in early man was useful for saving lives in the face of danger.  In modern times, however, the reaction is often out of proportion to the event that we are experiencing. These neurochemicals pile up and unnecessarily create body reactions such as diarrhea, nausea, backaches, irritability, depression, headaches, insomnia, and heart disease.  In an attempt to relieve the stress people often turn to bad habits such as smoking, overeating, drinking and drug use. These are counterproductive.

Researchers say that prolonged, uninterrupted, unexpected and unmanageable stresses are the most damaging types of stress. Here is a demonstration of that. Raise a glass of water and hold it for one minute.  Not a problem.  How about holding it for an hour—it will be hard but you could do it.  If you held it for a day—you would be incapacitate. 

The key is to change how you perceive and interpret the events of life.  Here is a list of events. Give a 1-10 rating to each of them with 1 being no stress and 10 being the most stress you can imagine.

• Driving your car in rush hour rush hour traffic
• Dealing with incompetence at work.
• Waiting in line at the store or bank
• Misplacing something
• Having to rush because you are always running late
• Being blamed for something
• Doing bills
• Misplacing your keys and needing to be somewhere
• Having 2 people for diner
• Having car trouble
• Having something break while you are using it

Now ask yourself how you much different these events will make to you one week from now?  One day from now? 

Stress can be best managed by regular exercise, meditation and other relaxation techniques, structured breaks, and leaning new coping strategies to create more predictability in our lives.  That is the short list.  You’ve heard of the song “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover”?  Well, Click Here to learn “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Stress,”

In addition here is a book:

The Relaxation and Stress Reduction workbook

And a CD:

Mindful Medications for Stress, Anxiety and Depression

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