Stress, Anxiety, & PTSD

Stress

Some stress can indeed be beneficial, boosting productivity, engagement, and even success. Short bursts of high stress, when managed effectively and released, can be okay and even advantageous.

However, stress becomes problematic when it persists without relief or respite. Our brains often struggle to differentiate between everyday stressors and life-threatening situations, leading to a continuous heightened state.

It’s crucial to recognize the importance of managing stress levels and implementing strategies to promote relaxation and well-being. By doing so, individuals can prevent the negative impacts of chronic stress and maintain a healthier balance in their lives.

External Stress

Certainly, external sources of stress can vary widely, impacting different aspects of our lives. Here are some common external sources of stress:

1. Workplace Stress: Pressure from deadlines, workload, conflicts with colleagues, or job insecurity.
2. Family Stress: Tension within family dynamics, caregiving responsibilities, or conflicts with relatives.
3. Relationship Stress: Strain in romantic partnerships, disagreements, or communication challenges.
4. Dating Stress: Anxieties related to dating, finding a partner, or navigating new relationships.
5. Gambling Stress: Financial strain, guilt, or emotional turmoil resulting from gambling habits.
6. Credit and Debt Stress: Worries about debt repayment, credit scores, or financial stability.
7. Holiday Stress: Pressure to meet expectations, financial burdens, or managing family gatherings.
8. School Stress: Academic pressures, exams, homework, or social challenges in educational settings.
9. Mental Stress: Anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns that affect daily life.
10. Parenting Stress: Challenges related to raising children, balancing work and family life, or concerns about parenting decisions.
11. Marriage Stress: Struggles within marital relationships, conflicts, or adjustments to major life changes.
12. General Financial Stress: Worries about money, budgeting, saving, or meeting financial goals.
13. In more recent times, Lockdown and Pandemic stress.

These sources of stress can vary in intensity and duration, but acknowledging and addressing them is essential for maintaining overall well-being. Implementing stress management techniques and seeking support when needed can help individuals navigate these challenges more effectively.

Internal Stress

Internal sources of stress originate from within ourselves and can significantly impact our well-being. Here are some common internal sources of stress:

1. Chronic Worry: Persistent concerns about potential future events or outcomes, leading to ongoing anxiety.
2. Pessimism: A negative outlook on life, expecting the worst in situations and seeing challenges as insurmountable.
3. Rigid Thinking, Lack of Flexibility: Difficulty adapting to change, insisting on fixed routines or beliefs, which can lead to frustration and stress.
4. Negative Self-Talk: Critical or self-deprecating thoughts that undermine self-esteem and contribute to feelings of stress and inadequacy.
5. Unrealistic Expectations/Perfectionism: Setting excessively high standards for oneself or others, leading to constant pressure to achieve perfection and disappointment when expectations are not met.
6. All-or-Nothing Attitude: Viewing situations in extremes, where success is defined by perfection and failure is seen as catastrophic, leading to stress and avoidance of challenges.

Recognizing and addressing these internal sources of stress is crucial for promoting mental and emotional well-being. Practicing self-awareness, challenging negative thought patterns, and developing more adaptive coping strategies can help individuals effectively manage internal stressors and cultivate resilience.

The cause of stress

The cause of modern-day stress stems from a combination of factors inherent in our fast-paced, constantly connected lifestyles. In the past, our bodies had opportunities to release stress through physical activities like running, fighting, or yelling, which helped dissipate stress hormones. Additionally, people had more downtime for relaxation and recovery.

In today’s world, we lack the same opportunities for stress release, and our environment is constantly stimulating and demanding our attention. Everyday occurrences such as notifications on our phones, worries about various aspects of life, and the toxic elements in our food and surroundings trigger stress responses in our bodies as if they were threats to our survival.

This chronic exposure to stressors leads to a constant high level of stress hormones, which can weaken our immune system, cause inflammation, and contribute to the onset of diseases and illnesses.

Furthermore, ongoing stress can impair our cognitive functions, shifting our brain activity from the logical “thinking” part to the emotional part, where our reactions are subconscious and driven by early life beliefs. This can result in heightened reactivity, impaired memory, mood swings, and a sense of feeling out of control.

An analogy of stress as pressure cookers illustrates how we can manage stress up to a certain point, but if the pressure builds up without adequate release, it can lead to outbursts, health problems, and other manifestations of stress overload.

Tapping, as shown in studies, can effectively reduce cortisol levels, a stress hormone, by up to 43%.

By working with a practitioner like Barb, individuals can learn to manage their stress levels, identify the root causes of stress, and release these stress reactions through tapping, ultimately promoting overall well-being and resilience.

Totally recommend Barb! Saw her in January three times. Worked through tapping & a matrix session. Has given me freedom from long-term widespread chronic pain. To those that think EFT is a bit out there, just keep an open mind & give it a go! Thank you, Barb .

Rachel Evans

I can say seeing Barb and getting EFT sessions has been such a helpful tool for me during a tough patch in my life. I find it helps me to see situations clearer and I can manage my emotions better so that I’m not overwhelmed and letting sadness and all those other negative emotions take over the show. I’m sharing this because we are lucky to have this lady and her services here in Franklin. So if you are needing some help with any kind of emotional issue (either current or from the past) please do not overlook EFT.

Rebecka Hart

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