“It’s not the load that breaks you down, but its the way you carry it”
Various transitions or events in life bring stressors and triggers that can exceed our coping ability. Like- loss of friendships family members loved ones, marriage, being a caregiver, moving to a new place or a role of being a parent spouse or a job position.
Stress and anxiety share similar physical symptoms like sleep and appetite changes, fatigue, body pains, irritability, poor attention. The difference lies in the cause. Stress is our body’s response to a tangible, present threat whereas anxiety is a perceived threat regarding the future. Stress is usually a temporary experience and is overcome once the cause has been resolved. Anxiety can be long-lasting.
Anxiety is experienced in terms of constant, persistent, and intrusive worry. You could find yourself experiencing anxiety in response to a situation such as an interview or stage performance. Many times, you may be able to overcome the stress and tension that accompanies anxiety but when you see your relationships, work and overall functioning getting impacted is when you must seek professional help. What may be stressful for one person may not be the same for another, it has a unique presentation in every individual hence the therapy is also tailored according to your concerns.
Approach
- In Online counselling , Counselor will spend the initial part of the therapy in building a rapport with you and giving you a safe, non-judgmental atmosphere to share your concerns.
- The counselor would then be understanding the symptoms that you are exhibiting in order to clearly differentiate whether it is stress or anxiety. They will ask you relevant questions on your recent concerns and identify the triggers to these experiences. While doing this the counselor may ask you to make a journal of your triggers and your ways of coping with them. This helps in identifying the source of your stress and anxiety and get more information to help you.
- Anxiety and stress both tend to impact concentration and attention span. At times it becomes too overwhelming to focus on the task at hand. It may also be causing you to procrastinate thus creating a vicious cycle. Your counselor would then help you with challenging the procrastinating pattern, increasing your motivation, breaking the goals into small achievable ones.
- You may find noticeable changes after a few sessions where you would be able to identify triggers, implement relaxation techniques and able to challenge the unproductive thoughts.
- Many times stress and anxiety are clubbed with other issues like lack of self-confidence, self-doubt, poor decision-making skills, etc. In Online Counselling, the counselor would be taking up these concerns one at a time as you progress, bringing lifestyle changes in your routine such as improving sleep hygiene, developing an exercise routine to bring a holistic change.
- The aim of the counselor is to empower you in your journey of overcoming stress and anxiety through online Counselling.