Stress Specialist

What is stress?

“Stress” is pressure. It’s a feeling we experience when we notice that something inside or outside of us is asking–or demanding–us to adjust something about the way we’re living. Stress is a natural part of life.

In English, we even have words to describe the impact of stress. Stress that we perceive as negative–or more challenging than we prefer on some level–leads to feelings of “distress.” Stress that we feel as the result of something we judge as largely positive or wanted is called “eustress.”

Too much “eustress” can lead to “distress.” Examples of eustress are winning the lottery, getting married, welcoming a wanted child, beginning a job that one is excited about, moving to a new community or home that one has planned for and is happy about.

Stress is a defining part of human existence. And yet, like many aspects of life, sometimes we can benefit from support with our experience.

What are the symptoms of adverse reaction to stress?

Stress that becomes overwhelming can cause a wide range of troubling issues, including:

• Nervousness
• Breathing difficulties
• Feelings of worry
• Feelings of fear or dread
• Agitation or restlessness
• Sensation of impending doom
• Feeling that there’s danger around every corner
• Headaches
• Difficulty sleeping (insomnia, nightmares or bad dreams)
• Heart racing or pounding
• Upset stomach

Your symptoms may vary with each stressful situation, and they may change even within the same situation.

For example, a stressful event may cause insomnia and general agitation for days ahead of the event, along with heart pounding and breathing difficulties in the moments just before the event. 

What causes stress?

Stress is a built in part of human existence. Otherwise, life would be boring! Can you imagine watching a movie that never had a conflict? Wouldn’t that be dull? Of course, the point of a movie is to enjoy the story. That’s why the conflicts in movies always come to a meaningful resolution at the end.

What people think of as “stress” is really “stressors”--things happening that we notice cause some unpleasant emotional or physical response in us.  What most of us want is to figure out how to respond to stressors in a way that allows our body to relax and say “yes… this is what I want. I feel strong and did a good job!” 

If you’re looking for “stress management,” you’re really looking for “stressor management” or “distress management.” And this is absolutely fine. We all need a little support sometimes!

How is adverse reaction to stress treated?

At the Midwest Center for Transformational Change, Anne uses two approaches that include the Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy (Satir Model) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR®).

This combination of approaches helps you develop highly effective and personalized ways of responding to stress. Stressors essentially stop evoking the challenging responses that they caused before.

You feel good when stress comes! Like a strong warrior! Or you begin to make choices that lead to having fewer instances of stress, such as discovering that you perhaps don’t enjoy city living as much as you once did, and decide to move to the country so you can enjoy nature more. 

Your choices naturally begin to lead to more feelings of contentment, strength, joy.

If you’re having difficulty responding to stress in healthy ways, therapy at the Midwest Center for Transformational Change can help. Learn more about how Anne’s innovative approach to mental health and overall functioning can help you by calling the office or clicking the provided scheduling link now.