Anxiety and Stress

Stress is something we all have experienced and is sometimes a part of our lives. How stress affects us, and how we are able to deal with it, is the difference between whether it is a problem for us or not. A little ‘stress’ can be healthy, like a deadline to finish a task, as it focuses and drives us to get it done. Sometimes being put under a little pressure or stepping outside of our comfort zone, enables our ability to problem solve and find creative solutions. When stress gets out of hand, is when we feel overwhelmed and so under pressure with what is going on, feeling like we can not cope, or deliver what is expected of us, feeling unable to achieve deadlines that have been set. We can feel totally overloaded with what issues need dealing with, we can become emotional, frustrated, agitated, even angry, with everyday routine things becoming an issue and difficult to do, which in turn compounds our stress levels. We can normally identify the cause of our external stressors and if these are resolved the stress usually will be too, like pressure at work, traumas in our personal lives etc… Sometimes our stress is internal, like putting unrealistic expectations on ourselves, over promising and trying too hard to please others, with low self esteem leading us to doubt ourselves and our abilities, and a negative inner voice that criticises all we do, how we look, or what other people may think of us.