Stress and Stress Management

Stress is important. It allows us to identify what is important for us. It allows us to move towards what is valuable. Without stress, we would struggle to know what to move towards, or what to move away from. Stress can become particularly problematic when it involves a case of:

• Hyperstress: Stress becomes too much to handle and we struggle to manage the amount of stress we experience.

• Chronic stress: Chronic stress occurs when the stress we experience builds up and stays with us, which can impact our thinking, our health, and maybe even our relationships.

• Hypostress: Though less talked about, hypostress can occur when we aren’t being challenged enough by our environment, and can result in feelings of emptiness, depression, agitation, and anxiety

While stress is important in helping us identify what is important, a key component of healthy stress is being able to manage its intensity in order to help us act on it without it hurting or controlling us. Stress management techniques can come in many forms, such as changing the way we interpret stress, accepting the nature of stress, changing our environment to promote healthy stress, and introducing techniques to externalize stress differently. Because of the unique lifestyle of each person, as well as their unique experience of stress as a response to said lifestyle, therapists should work collaboratively with clients to develop a personalized stress management plan that includes both immediate coping strategies and long-term changes to reduce stress.