Managing Stress

STRESS IS GOOD!

But too much of it is bad.

What is Stress?

In the 1930's, two American doctors, Walter Cannon and Hans Seyle became famous for publishing precise details of how our bodies respond to stress. It was they who ensured that the term 'fight or flight' found its way into common parlance.

The Fight or Flight response is a genetically programmed survival trait dating back to the early history of mankind. The ability to react immediately to a situation by either fighting or running away from a stressor was a definite advantage. The accompanying physiological responses are aimed at increasing strength, speed and stamina, and in our caveman days were all necessary for survival.

The problem is that, although this is still the way people respond to stress, in today's environment these responses are generally no longer appropriate except in extreme situations. It is a bit like put a powerful car into neutral and flooring the accelerator. This produces plenty of potential power with the car going nowhere, while at the same time burning out the engine.

Stress is good because the increased levels of hormones flooding through the body increase performance. There is a point, however where stress levels increase beyond the body's ability to deal with it, and performance drops off very quickly and people 'burnout'.

The stress cycle shows that taking action is a crucial part of the stress process. Unfortunately it is often difficult to take action and we tend to choose not to. This results in a build up of stress hormones which causes long term physiological and psychological problems including: anxiety, depression, heart and blood pressure problems, ulcers and digestive problems.

Our approach to Stress Management

We work with clients to help you to break the stress cycle at a point which is appropriate for you.

Sensitisation

We help you to understand your perception of your life to determine what your perceived stressors are and whether this perception is appropriate. If it is not, we then help you to change your perception of the situations which are causing your stress at present. If you no longer perceive the situation as stressful, it will no longer cause you stress. Remember that the stress response is a physiological response to your perception of a situation .

Threat

This is similar to the sensitisation response. If you perceive a situation as a threat you will respond with the fight or flight response. Sometimes this is appropriate, sometimes it is not. We help you to determine which situations require the fight or flight response, and which do not.

Stress Response

Research has shown that there is an opposite physiological response to the fight or flight response and that is the relaxation response. By relaxation we do not mean sitting on the settee with a bottle of wine, but a deep relaxation response which requires specific techniques and practice. Our experience is that people who try our relaxation techniques say that they have never felt that relaxed before in their lives.

Action

Exercise is crucial to the long term well being of any individual. In stress management terms, exercise helps to meet the physiological needs of the fight or flight response.

We use a wide range of techniques to help break the stress cycle at the most appropriate place for you. These include:

• Counselling
• Hypnotherapy
• Life Coaching
• Relaxation techniques
• Assertiveness Training
• Time Management Training
• Lifestyle Reviews

How do we do this?

• We can work one-to-one with you
• We work with groups
• We help organisations develop and implement Stress Management Policies
• We work with organisations to help them develop and implement a full stress management strategy.

A Stress Management Strategy could typically include:

• Carrying out a stress audit - to measure the perceived levels of stress in the organisation
• Helping to define measurable targets based on the audit
• Helping develop a Stress Management Policy
• Design and deliver Stress Awareness Training
• Provide a one-to-one Stress Management referral service
• Provide a telephone help line
• Design and deliver complementary training and development
• Evaluation of the effectiveness of the strategy

We run Stress Buster Residentials in Cornwall - take time in one of the most beautiful parts of the country to get away from it all, recharge your batteries and take the opportunity to work with us to learn how to manage your stress when you get home.

During the weekend, you will have the opportunity time to walk on the beach, swim, eat good food, learn relaxation techniques and have one-to-sessions with our qualified experts.

For more information, contact us.