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Integrated Health Coaching: Stress
Stress Coaching from Brighton with therapist, instructor, author and coach Laurel Alexander
The right levels of stress can motivate you to action. Too much stress and you start to feel overwhelmed, irritable or anxious; you may experience health problems; and don’t function as well as you might. In short - life becomes difficult – and not much fun.
Personal problems that can cause stress include:
- Your health, especially if you have a chronic illness such as diabetes or heart disease. These conditions may have stress as a contributory cause: hypertension, migraine, digestive problems or sleep disorders.
- Emotional problems, such as anger or low self-esteem.
- Your relationships, such as having relationship issues or feeling a lack of support in your life.
- Major life changes, such as dealing with bereavement, pregnancy, retirement or relocation.
- Stress in your family, such as having a family member who is under pressure, or being a caregiver to a family member.
- Conflicts with your beliefs and values. For example, you may value family life, but you may not be able to spend as much time with your family as you want.
Work issues that can cause stress include:
- Your job. Being unhappy with your work or finding your job too demanding can lead to chronic stress.
- Unemployment. Losing your job or not being able to find work can also add to your stress level.
Do you have any of these signs of stress overload?
Behavioural: disorganisation, increased smoking/drinking/drug abuse, withdrawal
Emotional: irritability, increased emotionalism, loss of confidence
Cognitive: confusion, forgetfulness, indecision
Physiological: headaches, fatigue, frequent infections, sleep disorders
HOW CAN INTEGRATED HEALTH COACHING HELP STRESS?
Integrated health coaching is a process where you take an active role in defining and setting goals related to managing your stress. Your goals might include:
- reducing muscular tension
- feeling more energetic
- raising self-esteem
- sleeping better
- feeling calmer
- improving health
- becoming more assertive
- increasing motivation
- a stronger self-image
- increasing resilience
- a more positive attitude
- enjoying a greater sense of control
- getting a better job
- managing a chronic health condition
If you’re not dealing with stress well, your personal and professional life can suffer. Integrated health coaching can help you regain a sense of control and balance. Once you have the inspiration, you can then work to implement changes with confidence.
I have an eclectic approach to integrated health coaching and offer a variety of techniques including:
- Guided imagery - helpful for visualising what you what (and not what you don’t want)
- Cognitive interventions - helpful for identifying faulty thinking and reframing the negative to positive
- Behavioural interventions - helpful for body relaxation when you are fit to bust a gut with tension
- Meditation & mindfulness - helpful for getting you grounded in the present moment and out of the guilt-ridden past and panic-ridden future
- Creative journaling - helpful for venting your spleen when you seriously want to let rip but don’t want anyone else to know how shit you’re feeling
- Stress resilience - helpful for improving your staying power
As an experienced health coach and stress manager, I can keep you motivated by working alongside you in a supportive and collaborative relationship to help you gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to become an active participant in your self-care.
| ABOUT YOUR HEALTH COACH
Complementary therapist and health coach with over 25 years’ experience. |
STEVE’S STORY
Steve is 55 and runs his own company. He came to me having a history of sleep problems, partially exacerbated by a wakeful child. He had been on the sleeping tablet zolpidem and diazepam for a while and was having distressing anxiety attacks as well as unpleasant physiological symptoms. Following a crisis, Steve’s medication was changed to mirtazapine (anti-depressant) and zopiclone. Steve wasn’t happy with being on medication and wanted to come off the tablets. We agreed (with the consent of his GP) that the best way of achieving this was to take both sleeping tablet and anti-depressant for a while. Over the next few months, we worked on a nutritional plan and cognitive behavioural interventions to help manage Steve’s anxiety and improve his sleeping patterns. The aim was for Steve to stabilise, using his “toolbox” of interventions and at an agreed point in time and with his GP’s knowledge, he would gradually come off the sleeping tablets. With regular support, Steve stabilized and was able to stop the sleeping tablets while still maintaining a good sleeping pattern. After a further period of stabilisation, Steve was able to stop the anti-depressants (with his GP’s knowledge) with little or no side-effects. He is now medication free, in control of his sleep patterns and has a greater self-awareness which he uses on a daily basis.
STRESS REDUCTION BUNDLE
My Relaxation CD for MindBody Healing. Over 60 minutes of chill-out time with easy to follow exercises you can do anywhere.
PLUS
My book Everyday Calm: 365 Ways to a Better You (published by Octopus)
