There are many ways in which you can help yourself if you feel stressed. The initial stage is recognising that you are stressed, this might seem obvious but as we have stated earlier stress has a way of creeping up on you so that it appears normal to live in a state of fight or flight.
Then you can do the any or all of the following to see what works best for you:
- Look for the cause of the stress and tackle the cause directly if you can.
- Talk to someone. Even just venting can help. Plus, others may have experienced something similar and offer supportive and helpful advice.
- Eat a healthier diet.
- Exercise – the release of endorphins (mood-enhancing hormones) will help lift you, plus feeling fitter also helps lift the mood.
- Relax – it is important to take time out, me-time if you like, to recharge. Many of us see this as a waste of time, but it is vital for our bodies and minds.
- Be Mindful – learn to take control of your thoughts and live more in the present moment instead of reliving old memories or creating possible negative scenarios of what could be.
- Good restful sleep – this is like hitting the reset button on our body and mind.
- Love yourself – we are often too hard on ourselves. So learn to be more gentle on yourself and know that you are doing your best.
How to deal with stress - we teach HOW to move forward
At The Hannon Clinic, our focus is on teaching the tools and techniques on how to move forward in life to live a full and balanced life. This is done through the understanding of the different types of thought we have, why we have them, and more importantly HOW to stop them.
The Distraction Process has been developed from Dympna Hannon’s own experience (read Dympna’s story) of having suffered two years of workplace bullying. This left Dympna extremely stressed, anxious and fearful.
The Distraction Process focuses on interrupting the negative habit loops of the subconscious mind that we develop over time and that causes stress and anxiety.
Where counselling helps you to understand the causes of the stress, by you exploring and examining your own experiences, thoughts and feelings, what we do is teach you how to move on from these and to create a more balanced life.
Physical Treatment of Stress
Stress manifests physically in our bodies. The most common form is muscle strain in the upper back, neck and shoulder muscles. Other disorders include headaches, fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as the full list can be found on our Neurophysiological Disorders page.
At The Hannon Clinic, we look to find the cause of the pain and work to clear that as well as treat the physical symptoms. Our treatments may involve the gentle manipulation of the skeletal structure and the massage of muscles to free off any strain or tightness.