Recognising work related stress:
- Stress is always accompanied by a change in the way we breathe. We take shorter breaths and breathe more quickly. This increases our heart rate, which in turn raises our blood pressure.
- Our energy shifts upward and we live in our heads, disconnected from the earth and unaware of what is happening in or bodies.
- Responding to the message ‘we are under attack’, the subsystems of our body step into action and we begin to produce two of the leading stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol.
- We experience tension in our minds and bodies and lose concentration. We focus on the past and future and develop knots in our shoulders, tension headaches and pain in our neck and lower back. Operating on automatic pilot, we taste, hear, see, smell and feel less.
- In relationships we react by withdrawing and not speaking our truth or getting angry and saying things we don’t really mean. We feel less connected to ourselves, and the world around us
- Our immunity decreases and we fall sick more easily. Every aspect of our wellbeing falls out of synch.
How can counselling help?
Counselling with the therapists at Castle Counselling Services can provide you with the space to consider what stressors you are experiencing through work, and how you can learn to minimise these in your day to day work. We can also provide you with support in terms of relaxation techniques and also allow you to consider the issue(s) in cognitive terms through the lens of CBT. We can also assist you in making practical steps to assist in your recovery including consideration of self care and practical ways to manage your stress better.
