Stress Management Counseling in Toms River, NJ (Ocean County)
We all know the feeling- it’s Thursday afternoon and you realize you still have a mountain of paperwork to do, your kids birthday is on Saturday, that friend still wants to catch up, you’re halfway through a donut even though you’re on a diet, and what time was that doctors appointment supposed to be at?
Stress is everywhere. Our society practically wears it like a gold medal, proof of our hard work and success.
But is it success? Stress is cited as one of the biggest killers of Americans, with its correlation to heart disease and shorter life spans. To some extent, stress can be good for you. It pushes you to reach your dreams and perform at your best. But that’s only when it is healthy stress. Most of us have stress of the unhealthy kind- unmanaged, rampant stress. This kind of stress doesn’t create success- it creates mental and physical health problems that stretch far into the future.
Thriveworks Toms River understands how tricky balancing stress is. On one hand, you can’t just drop everything and do whatever you want. Instead, we have to learn how to manage stress, not escape it. With the right tools, this is more than possible.
For more information or to schedule a virtual or in-person stress management session with Thriveworks Toms River, call 732-852-4977.
Why Am I So Stressed?
The funny thing about stress is that it hasn’t changed throughout the millennium humans have walked the earth. Of course, it’s been fine-honed and is different for every person, but at the end of the day, your ingrained stress system has one goal: keep you alive. It just can’t tell the difference between a lion and taxes.
Really, this is good news. It means that your struggle with stress is entirely valid and is never a symptom of weakness. High levels of unmanaged stress aren’t a lack of resilience, it’s a lack of knowledge. Thriveworks Toms River stress management wants to give you the knowledge to manage your stress and take back your future.
The first thing to learn are the different symptoms of stress. Remember, everyone will manifest stress differently in their lives so this is not an exhaustive list.
- Constantly avoiding confrontation (initiating the “flight” response)
- Angry outbursts or aggressive behavior (initiating the “fight” response)
- chronic headaches
- joint pain
- upset stomach
- easily triggered anger
- irritability
- panic attacks
- feeling overwhelmed
- trouble sleeping and/or nightmares
- memory loss
- impulsive behavior
Remember that your stress levels are not reflective of your personal worth. You really do have a lot going on! You’re juggling a million things and it’s normal to feel stressed. Toms River stress Management counselors are not here to judge you, we’re here to take the skills and value you already possess and put them to work for you.
What Does Stress Therapy Counseling Look Like?
“Great,” you might be thinking, “I’m ready to get rid of stress!”
Well, let’s slow down. Our goal isn’t to get rid of stress- that’s impossible. Toms River counseling is here to make stress work for you, instead of you always working for stress. It’s a nonjudgmental, safe space for you to come and slow down and learn how to create that space of peace and control in your own life.
Because the truth is that every day will bring new, unforeseen stressors. So, searching for a way to get rid of stress is a useless endeavor- there will always be something else to get rid of! Instead, teaching you the tools of stress management and working through any lasting pain of the stress will bring sustainable peace to you and your life.
Some tools we may teach and use during a counseling session with Toms River stress management include:
- Mindful and relaxation techniques to help in the moment for stress
- Create the time and space in your daily and weekly schedule to unwind
- Address any underlying issues
- Build a healthy lifestyle through the means of sleep, exercise, and nutrition
- Build a support system
- Learn how to recognize the symptoms of stress and stop it before it becomes overwhelming
- Replace negative, untrue thoughts with positive, true thoughts (a technique called cognitive behavior therapy)
Thriveworks Toms River stress management believes in a client-first mentality. This means that the center of every counseling session will always be you. You deserve to have the peace of mind and energy to chase your dreams again. Together, we can build a way there.
To schedule an appointment or talk to a counselor about stress therapy for you, call 732-852-4977.
