Coping With Stress
Online or in-person appointments available
Windsor Stress Management Counselling
“Jung has said that to be in a situation where there is no way out, or to be in a conflict where there is no solution, is the classical beginning of the process of individuation. [A conflict situation can] knock out the superiority of the ego, which always acts from the illusion that it has the responsibility of decision… if he is ethical enough to suffer to the core of his personality, then generally because of the insolubility of the conscious situation, the Self manifests.”
~ Marie Louise von Franz
How Can Counselling Help Manage Stress?
Stress is as veritable to the human condition as truth to a good joke. It is a sign that something new is trying to develop within the conscious mind of an individual. The therapeutic space offered at Windsor Counselling & Psychotherapy Services can be extremely helpful for anyone with a sense that they are beset by problems bigger than themselves, have reached or are reaching their capacity to cope, or feel torn by pressure and indecision.
Our minds and bodies are meant to respond to pressure and stress – we’d be in big trouble if they didn’t. The brain and nervous system also let us know when we are approaching burnout or overload by manifesting symptoms that interrupt us. Taken simply as cause and effect leads us to attempt to resolve the issues, apply band aids, avoid dangers, and fix problems. And why not? Indelibly this works for a time. Certainly, allying with a counsellor to develop new tools for coping, managing, and navigating life’s demands will be an invaluable resource.
Learn to Cope with Stress
You’ve tried relaxing, taking a break, avoiding stressors and other helpful advice. Maybe that’s helped a little, maybe nobody quite understands, or maybe the demands are just too relentless. It feels like a knot that can’t be undone, and by now you feel it in your body as well. Now is the time to reach out for trained help. Talking to Patrick will provide you with a safe and non-judging space where you can develop the insight needed to untangle life’s complications.
Do I Have Too Much Stress?
We all know that some stress is normal, even necessary. Stress is another way to say ‘the pressure to change.’ This pressure may be warranted or unwarranted. What we are really talking about is the strain of pressure. Too much strain, for too long, can lead to poor physical or mental health. Our mind-body response to excessive strain will be to produce symptoms and/or behaviors as a defence. Stress may begin to cause anxiety, or your response to it may look like depression.
Signs that Stress is a Problem:
- Anxiety or Depression
- Decreased energy and disturbed sleep
- Online or in-person appointments available
- Pornography addiction (fixation, excessive, risky use)
- Chronic pain
- Frequent or severe headaches
- Decreased immune system
- Changes in weight and appetite
- Digestive issues
- Compulsive or self-harming behaviours
- Drug or alcohol dependency
Stress and Sexual Functioning
Periods of excessive strain on a person may lead them to develop or exacerbate unwanted or hazardous sexual behaviors. This may be a behaviour that is a direct form of coping with stress. It could be an indirect and unintended response, either expressed as a behaviour or a physiological response of the body. It may be an innate tendency that has been exacerbated by stress and developed into a problem negatively impacting a person’s sexual functioning – intrusive thoughts that may cause harm or have legal implications if acted out on can be thought of this way. Often, a personal history of childhood abuse, adversity, or family dysfunction may furnish a pathway to a person’s current sexual problem, and this can provide a helpful context within which to address the problem. Or a way of sexual functioning may be compounded by an addiction or a concurrent mental health condition that convene in a way that is problematic
We know that stress can negatively impact the body’s nervous system and hormone response. And we also know that a person’s inability to function in a way that is satisfactory to them can negatively impact their sense of themselves. We also know that sexuality is a vital source of energy and a quintessential part of what it is to be human. Basic human sexuality is instinctual and remains essentially unchanged by time. It bonds us in commonality to our earliest and most primitive ancestors. Through sexuality we can still touch that primitive parts of ourselves. Perhaps because of that fact, it is inherently difficult to talk about sex and sexuality on a personal level – shrouded in mystery, ambiguities, rites of passage, cultural or religious taboos and injunctions.
“Shame is a soul-eating emotion.”
~ Carl Gustav Jung
I Have a Sexual Problem, What Can I Do?
If you are experiencing a sexual problem due to stress, or a sexual problem is causing you stress, there is something you can do. An experienced therapist will provide a safe, comfortable, and completely non-judging space for you to relate your experiences and unload your stress.
Windsor Counselling & Psychotherapy Services is honoured to provide a healing space for you.
Active Vs. Passive Stress
A lot depends on age and stage of life. Perhaps you have a mounting sense that some other significant change may be required. Deep down you may know this is something you’ve been avoiding or denying. Perhaps you frequently find yourself thinking “I’m too old for this!” or you feel like a pinball, being propelled from one obstacle to the next, with some invisible hands operating the flippers.
Psychotherapy for treating stress will afford you to pay close inspection to the clues from within that go by so many names – imagination, psyche/soul, conscience, calling, authentic self… or the invisible hands operating the flippers! Either way, through talking about your experiences with a therapist will help you to develop the necessary insight to enable you to actively engage with stress, to make choices, find direction, purpose, and satisfaction. Without a way to acknowledge, explore, and actively engage the demands of both the inner world and the outer world, one can tend to feel at the mercy of stress. Talking to a therapist can help you achieve a sense of agency and purpose.
“If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s.”
~ Carl Gustav Jung