Stress & Anxiety Management

Stress is what our body and mind suffers as we adjust to our continually changing environment. It has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings. In many ways we need stress. It can help compel us to action, and it can help us to achieve our goals. However, it can also result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression, which in turn can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. We experience stress as we readjust our lives after the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, a job promotion, or a new relationship. In so adjusting to different circumstances, stress will help or hinder us depending on how we react to it.

Our goal is not to eliminate stress but to learn how to manage it and how to use it to help us. Insufficient stress acts as a depressant and may leave us feeling bored or dejected. On the other hand, excessive stress may leave us feeling "tied up in knots." What we need to do is find the optimal level of stress, which will individually motivate but not overwhelm.