Stress and Anxiety
Stress
It’s normal to experience stress from time to time, though if stress is chronic, it can become overwhelming and can take a toll on your health and well-being.
Symptoms of Stress can vary depending on the nature and severity of your stress, however some common signs or symptoms of chronic stress include:
- Panic or anxiety attacks
- Headaches
- Anger and irritability
- Lack of interest in activities you previously enjoyed
- Sleep disturbances
- Memory impairment
- Rapid heart rate and chest pains
- High blood pressure
- Social withdrawal
If you have reached a point where stress is causing physical symptoms or emotional exhaustion, you may benefit from therapy to help you reduce your symptoms, improve your well-being and develop coping strategies to help you manage your stress more effectively.
Anxiety
Everyone worries or feels nervous once in a while and anxiety is a typical human reaction to stressful situations. However, for some people, anxiety can be persistent and can negatively affect their ability to function in different areas of their lives, such as at work or in relationships.
While each anxiety condition has its own unique features, there are common physical, psychological and behavioural symptoms you can look at for including:
- Physical - panic attacks, racing heart, quick breathing, restlessness or feeling tense.
- Psychological - excessive fear, worry, catastrophizing (imagining worst case scenarios) or obsessive thinking.
- Behavioural - avoidance of situations that make you feel anxious that impacts your work, relationships or other significant areas of your life.
Therapy can help you to reduce the likelihood and intensity of anxiety symptoms, improve your quality of life and help to make life more manageable.