Self-help, support and skills for recovery

Chronic Stress

Chronic stress and anxiety can be very distressing and can lead to pervasive feelings of helplessness and sometimes depression. The feeling of being 'unable to cope' is a common response to stress and anxiety, and reflects the way fear distorts our thinking - casting a fog over our normal perceptions and causing us to see things around us as more dangerous than they are and to see ourselves as much more weak and vulnerable than we are.

Recovering from anxiety conditions is a lot about rediscovering the strengths and capacities within that have become hidden by this fog of fear, and learning more rational and realistic ways of thinking and responding to those situations that trigger our fear.

A helpful way of thinking about fear is to redefine the word as an acronym that means - False Evidence Appearing Real. Think of this acronym whenever fear tries to take hold - it can help to make you more aware of what is causing your fears and help to slow down any automatic responses that make the fear stronger - such as avoidance and negative or irrational thinking.

Continual stress that is not recognised and dealt with can lower immune response, and can lead to irritability, lack of energy, insomnia, and difficulties in correctly interpreting situations and solving problems.

In general, people experience stress when a situation is perceived as potentially threatening or harmful, when the outcome of the situation is felt to be important, and when there is a strong feeling of doubt about one's capacity to successfully overcome the threat or avoid the harm.

Stress management approaches therefore focus on assisting people to fully understand the stressful situation (or condition) so that appraisals of threat and harm are realistic, and teaches strategies and techniques to build up people's skills for successfully responding to stress. These approaches over time lead to an increase in self-confidence and the knowledge that difficult situations can be managed - which in turn leads to overall reduced stress and anxiety reactions. Important stress management strategies would include education, breathing control and relaxation, dealing with negative self-talk, learning problem-solving skills, developing skills in focusing attention, and awareness of the physical symptoms and situations which trigger stress responses. Lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise and sleep will also have an impact on stress levels, as will family and social support.

Whether or not we perceive a situation to be stressful is based upon a number of factors, including: the nature of the situation (the extent of the actual potential for threat or harm); the existence of other concurrent stresses, traumatic events, grief and loss issues, or health or mental health problems; the level of support available to a person; personality factors - i.e. general patterns of emotional, mental and behavioural responses; psychological traits such as resilience and self-esteem; and the capacity to utilise coping strategies and resources.

Some people may require assistance to deal with all these factors to develop an effective response to stress, and professional help may be indicated for people whose mental health or health conditions are exacerbated by stress (for example if Christmas is an anniversary of the death of a loved one or other traumatic event, or if symptoms of an anxiety disorder - such as social anxiety disorder or panic disorder are heightened by the particular activities - such as work activities and social events).

Managing Stress

  1. Be aware of stressors and stress reactions
    Identify and write down a list of situations and events which trigger stress reactions (eg. shopping in crowded shopping centres; current financial problems; being alone and isolated; work pressures; socialising with work colleagues, family and friends, etc.); and identify and write down the mental, emotional and behavioural stress reactions that occur (eg. physical anxiety - trembling, heart racing, sweating, blushing, over-breathing; negative thinking - 'I can't cope with all I have to do', 'everyone will think I'm stupid because I never know what to say'; avoidance behaviours - turning down all invitations, sending spouse to do all the shopping, using alcohol or drugs to cope, etc).
  2. Develop capacity and skills for managing stress
    Work on learning and practicing a range of different stress management techniques that can be used at different times (including cue-controlled relaxation or other relaxation and meditation techniques, diaphragmatic breathing, coping self-statements, distraction techniques, attention training, education about stress, problem solving skills, controlling emotional reactions, communication and assertiveness skills, management of health and lifestyle factors including sleep problems, developing or maintaining social supports).
  3. Plan ways of dealing with different stressors and stress reactions with different techniques
    Practice during times of less stress - work out what works.
  4. Identify strengths
    Everyone has dealt with stresses through life and quite often very successfully - think back to these times and coping methods that were effectively used - identify aspects of personality and life situation that are important resources for dealing with stress (eg. sense of humour, enjoyment of work or creative pursuits, tolerance for other people's differences and mistakes, supportive spouse, parent, children and/or friends, generally easy going temperament etc).
  5. Avoid ineffective coping strategies
    Overuse of alcohol or prescription medication; use of illegal drugs; over-eating; expending lots of energy through constant activity; excessive time doing leisure activities to escape problems - reading, television, day-dreaming, surfing the web, computer games; or other forms of denial, inaction and avoidance (an effective coping strategy is one which protects against emotional upset and contributes to solving the problem).
  6. Evaluate progress
    Identify every small gain, and compliment and reward every success, however small.

On a more philosophical note, we probably all need to give conscious attention to focusing on the positives - the worth and value, in ourselves, our families, our friends, our community, our country and our world. It is easy once worry and negativity take hold, to filter out all the positive aspects of our relationships and life situations, and to lose focus on what is really important in life. Sometimes a reassessment of our values and priorities may help us to reinterpret the meaning of stressful situations and allow us to be in a more accepting and relaxed state of mind.

Books which may be a useful resource include:

Relaxation and meditation tapes which are popular with people suffering with anxiety and stress are 'Letting Go: Guided Meditation' and 'Letting Go of Anxiety' by Sarah Edelman. *

* Available from Open Leaves Books - phone: (03) 9347 2355 or web: www.openleaves.com.au.
** Available from The Options Project - phone (03) 9243 1032.

Top