Moreover, stress can also affect other areas of your life including family, finances, relationships, and so on. Therapy for stress management is an alternative option to dealing with stress on one’s own without the help of medication.
So, is it true that therapy can help you cope with stress? Well, stress can be harmful if it grows in excess and apart from medication, therapy would boost the healing process. A therapist helps manage the situation by identifying the major stressors in your life. Additionally, the therapeutic process will also provide for releasing all emotions so that you feel safe from them after completing treatment!
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Stress Management
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a common form of therapy used to treat individuals with stress-related issues. It focuses on how your thoughts and feelings can affect the way you act. Most importantly, it helps you develop ways for coping better in stressful situations. Therefore, CBT has effectively been used in the treatment of those suffering from depression, eating disorders, anxiety problems and panic disorder.
CBT therapy typically includes a combination of different activities. This includes:
- Identifying the stressors in your life
- Finding better ways to deal with life stressors
- Dealing with negative thoughts or emotions related to stressful events, and
- Practicing relaxation techniques
How does therapy help to deal with stress?
Therapy is a place where you get to talk about what has been going on in your life. Consequently, you will get support from your therapist. You can work together to identify the patterns of thinking and behaviour that contribute to your stress. This should point to anything making you feel overwhelmed. After that, you start figuring out what works best for you in terms of stress management.
Research shows that therapy is effective for stress management because:-
- Therapy encourages you to take a step back, identify each element of what’s stressing you out and deal with it
- It helps people learn to recognize and correct their negative thinking patterns, which is one of the key causes of stress.
- CBT successfully treats chronic fatigue syndrome, which is often related to stress and anxiety.
- Using therapy helps to reduce symptoms of panic disorder when used alongside medication more than using medication alone.
- It helps with other problematic behaviors related to stress management, especially through Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
- Therapeutic treatment focuses on mindful acceptance of a single, present moment, especially through while Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
- It aims to resolve personal wounds from your past, particularly through Emotion-Focused Therapy
Where to find therapy to manage your stress
Now that therapy is proven as effective in stress management, you can go for it. Therapy is available through the following channels:
- Referrals from a primary care doctor or psychiatrist
- Through recommendations from friends
- Using online directories for professional online therapy services
- Searching the APA’s database of psychologists
- Therapy Directory, which is an independent directory made up of verified members.
Important Advice!
Find a therapist with the right personality for the best results. When you call a therapist, ask about his or her approach. Most importantly, see how it meshes with your needs. Make sure you can explain what is stressing you out. From there on, get an idea of whether that person will be able to help.
You should feel understood and respected in the interaction—not judged or hurried. Above all, check various options and pick the best especially when working with budget.
Final Thoughts
We all experience stress. However, it can become harmful if not managed properly. Fortunately, therapy provides an opportunity to manage these feelings without any risk or fear. It works for those struggling with managing their own emotions and the effects of stressful situations in life.
Therapy works by first identifying major sources that may be causing additional problems. These could be things like high-pressure jobs at work, family relationships and so on. Therapists allow client’s freedom by giving space from expectation to explore what might have caused this emotional response.
