Stress often walks into the therapy room. It is most palpable during the initial part of a first client session until we both establish that the other is ‘ok’ and we are ‘ok’ and willing to work together. It is on my shoulder right now, as I am writing, motivating me to fact check what I am about to type and to do a good enough job and it is with each of us across the day throughout our lives. In brief, stress can be traced back to ordinary life events or significant traumas.
Often associated with the body’s fight-or-flight responses, stress is what happens to us when we are overwhelmed, or when we perceive the risk of a threat and judge it as greater than our perceived capacity to cope. For instance, I might perceive the risk of you, the reader, judging me on the basis of my writing. In my case, the stress is low and positive, because I feel able to cope and I am motivated by it. However, if I had an impending deadline and a demanding boss on my case or I felt ill-equipped or doubted my ability to do my work (as well as other people), the stress would be negative and over time it would leave an imprint on my body.
Although everyone experiences and responds to stress differently, there is enough research to show that at physical level, the brain under stress tells the body to release cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine.
Cortisol increases the sugar in your bloodstream and slows down digestion and the reproductive system and immune function, to help you remain alert and ready to fight or flee. Adrenaline increases your heart rate and blood pressure, also keeping you alert. Norepinephrine pumps blood into your skeletal muscles preparing you for action.
While the hormones return to normal levels after a brief bout of stress, with a low impact on the body, like headaches or stomach pains, long term exposure also leads to more serious imbalances. Have you heard of Bessel van der Kolk’s book The Body Keeps the Score? That is exactly what happens with chronic stress: the body stores stress hoping for a release until it eventually gets your attention through apparently unrelated health issues.
All of these potential physical symptoms are relevant to the issue you arrive to counselling with. In a first counselling session I am likely to ask you about your appetite, sleep patterns and existing medical conditions as well as significant life changes in the last couple of years (marriage, divorce, bereavement, relationship issues, new babies, new job, redundancy, financial concerns, health concerns, house move etc.) as I am trying to understand the sources and enduring impact of stress on your wellbeing. They are also the reason why, alongside traditional talking therapy, I take a holistic interest in you and may invite you to try out meditation, breathing exercises and certain types of meditative movement and creative outlets, like working with clay, shown to help relieve stress.
The Eaves Counselling and Psychology Ltd is a select professional body of Counsellors, Psychotherapists and Psychologists, providing high quality psychological care Monday to Saturday between 9am and 9pm from our practices in Guildford, Godalming, Farnham, Haslemere and online.
Are you a business owner or would like more support from your job? The Eaves’ own Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) service for small to medium businesses is easy, affordable and gives staff instant access to our large team of in-house Counsellors and Psychologists at a time and date to suit them. Contact us to find out more about our EAP service
If you need immediate support please find our list of useful contacts