Understanding Stress and Its Impact on Health with Breaking Dawn Therapy
If there’s one thing everyone has in common, it’s stress. Juggling work and family responsibilities is stressful enough for most people, but adding on worries about the economy, the environment, and everything else is enough to push anyone to the brink. Add on a devasting experience, like a death or divorce, and the stress meter skyrockets.
If you’re under continual strain at home and work, understanding stress and how to manage it can help you feel better. Breaking Dawn Therapy in Plymouth, MI, teaches people how to manage their stress and live healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives.
The Biological Impact of Stress
When we face stressful situations, our bodies go into “fight or flight” mode by unleashing a surge of hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline. In addition to boosting your energy, these chemicals raise your blood pressure and heart rate, which can increase your risk for cardiovascular disease and a heart attack or stroke if they remain elevated.
However, stress-related health issues don’t always go from zero to 100. The effects accumulate over time, and you’re more likely to experience other symptoms or concerns that you might not instinctively associate with your mental state such as:
- Headaches
- Muscle tension
- Digestive issues
- Sleep disturbances
Therefore, understanding stress and what it can do to you physiologically is one of the first steps to recognizing an issue and getting it under control.
Psychological Effects of Stress
It’s probably no surprise that constant tension is not good for your mental health, either. When you’re constantly under pressure and feeling on edge, it’s tough to enjoy life and get things done. Ongoing stress can lead to:
- Anxiety and depression
- Irritability with friends and family
- Cognitive impairments such as a lack of focus and memory problems
The physical and psychological impacts of stress frequently overlap. To cope with your emotions, you might resort to other unhealthy habits, like binge eating or substance abuse. The result is a vicious cycle of physical and psychological health issues. But with help from a therapist in Plymouth, MI, you can learn to manage chronic stress.
Effective Stress Management Techniques
Working on understanding stress with a therapist can help you learn new techniques for keeping your emotions and reactions in check. For example, a therapist can help you analyze the source of stress and why you respond the way you do, ultimately helping you manage stressful situations more calmly.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Plymouth, MI, teaches you how to identify and reframe negative thought patterns so that you can respond more effectively to stressful situations. It helps you become more aware of your thoughts and emotions and develop more constructive coping skills.
Learning mindfulness and relaxation techniques is another aspect of stress and anxiety therapy in Plymouth, MI. Mindfulness means being in the present moment and aware of what’s happening in and around you. With deep breathing and focus, it’s possible to feel calmer and more in control when you experience stress.
Seeking Professional Help for Stress Management
When stress takes over your life, getting professional help can provide better coping techniques so you can regain control over your emotions and responses to challenging situations. Over time, chronic stress can be devastating to your physical and mental health so the sooner you get help from a Plymouth, MI, therapist who can develop a personalized treatment plan for stress management, the better.
Because stress and anxiety are intertwined, incorporating anxiety therapy into your treatment plan can support your mental health. Stress often triggers fear, anxiousness, nervousness, and helplessness, all of which are the hallmarks of anxiety disorder. A treatment approach that addresses both concerns can support better overall well-being and behavior management.
Contact Breaking Dawn Therapy for Stress Management Solutions
Don’t underestimate the impact that stress can have on your life and health. Understanding stress and how it can impair your physical and mental health should encourage you to seek professional help and discover new methods to cope in today’s fast-paced, always-on, and often overwhelming world.
Start your journey of well-being today. Call (734) 457-1235 to make an appointment with Breaking Dawn Therapy and take the first step toward reclaiming your life. Visit the website to learn more about virtual therapy and our treatment approaches.
