Stress

What causes it?

When people hear the word "Stress" they usually associate it with being a negative or "bad" thing. In fact it's normal to feel anxious or worried at times; everybody does. A moderate amount of stress can be very good for us. It is a natural or biological feature designed to help us assess risk and cope with situations. This evolutionary idea was based on best chance of survival, to help us decide whether to challenge a situation or run away (fight or flight).

...short term counselling reduces work-related stress

However our bodies are not designed to cope with recurring or long term stress and a point can be reached when it becomes very harmful, physically, emotionally and even spiritually. Recurring stress can cause problems related to blood pressure and heart rates. For instance coronary heart disease has been identified as one of the major causes of stress-related death.

Harmful stress seems to be taking over more and more people's lives these days. The exact causes will be different for each person. For example, many people feel under tremendous pressures at work. Yet, at the same time, debt problems are starting to hit more and more of us.

A lot of people feel they have no choice but to carry on and ignore the signals by trying to repress them - not think about them.

If we are constantly anxious and worried about areas in our lives this can also lead to feelings of anger, depression, mistrust and rejection, and this then affects how we relate to others such as our partner, family and friends.

What are the symptoms?

Early signals that we are feeling stressed might be a physical tension in the neck and/or shoulders or we might experience a knot in the stomach or even an upset stomach. Headaches or tiredness, weight gain or loss can also be signs that we are feeling stressed.

Emotionally we may feel "depressed", anxious, we might forget things, lose interest in things, or find it difficult to concentrate.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms it might be worth visiting your GP just in case there is a physical cause.

What if I do have Stress?

Since stress can, at the very least, damage our physical health it makes sense not to ignore it in the hope that it will get better on its own. Many people are now opting to see a counsellor or therapist.

John McLeod, Professor of Counselling at the University of Abertay, Dundee says that short term counselling reduces work-related stress.

His report showed that levels of work-related symptoms and stress returned to the normal range for more than 50% of clients in two thirds of the studies included. Levels of sickness and absence also fell by 25-50% in trials evaluating these factors. Counselling interventions had smaller, but significant, positive effects on levels of job commitment, work functioning, job satisfaction, and substance misuse.

The study reviewed all research evaluating workplace counselling published over the past 50 years. It included more than 80 studies published between 1954 and 2000.

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