Understanding Stress & Anxiety

• Understand why stress & anxiety can be so crippling

• Relationship between the nervous system, mind and body

• How to take control when we feel out of control

• Living with more freedom and happiness

Stress and anxiety are not necessarily the same. On a normal day we may experience multiple bouts of stress as our nervous system responds to the perceived experience of our circumstance or environment surrounding us. Ongoing stress over a prolong period, however, may trick our fight/flight nervous system into thinking that we are continuously ‘under threat’ and cause us to feel overwhelmed and unable to cope.

This prolonged stress and anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions facing Australians today and can assume many forms and guises. Ongoing or chronic anxiety can be caused by multiple factors, not all of which are easily identified but may include; prolonged periods of stress; uncertainty or perceived threat; biological, neurological and psychological complications; or under-developed skills in coping with anxiety; all of which are often experienced as emotionally, mentally and physically overwhelming or crippling.

Fortunately, there has been much research contributing to our understanding of ongoing and chronic anxiety. Learning to develop psychological flexibility means that we no longer need to be dominated by this crippling, uncontrollable and dominating influence in our lives. Seeking an experienced counsellor who will tailor sessions and a personal treatment plan can be the next step to a new way of living.