Why You Need a Stress Management Plan
Why You Need A Stress Management Plan In Place
Last week in my blog about stress vs anxiety, I shared April is National Stress Awareness Month, so I think it is important to follow up and talk about the importance of building skills for stress management and developing a stress management plan.
Everyone experiences stress throughout their life to some degree and each person is different in how they are able to manage their stress levels.
Some of the ways people respond to stress can be more helpful than others.
I know there are moments in my life where I wish I could have a do-over and I also know the universe will give me the chance for a second try because I’m not outsmarting stress.
In this blog, I’m sharing with you skills for stress management and how you can lower your stress. Also available is a free downloadable worksheet for your own stress management plan!
I am a therapist Wilmington, NC, and specialize in therapy for stressed out and anxious high-achieving women. I provide anxiety treatment, treatment for perfectionism, and burnout counseling.
I provide online anxiety therapy for high achievers living in North Carolina and Maryland.
Take the first step to get started in your own therapy journey. Click the button below to online schedule and reserve your free 15-minute consultation for the date and time of your choice.
Keep reading to figure out your stress management plan and why you need stress management skills.
What are stress warning signs?
Stress warning signs show up when we are in distress. They may gradually build over time or you could experience these warning signs right away.
Sometimes you have a pretty clear idea that you are in the midst of a stressful situation and other times it may not be so obvious.
Not all stress is bad, so even when we experience things that are exciting or make us happy, these can still be stressful and we can still experience these stress warning signs.
The warning signs of stress can look different for each person, and listed below are some of the most common stress warning signs:
Tension in your body or increased aches and pains
Feelings exhausted and tired
Experiencing headaches or more frequent headaches
Tightness in your jaw from clenching or grinding your teeth at night
Stomach problems
Increased blood pressure
Disinterest in sex or trouble having sex
Increase in irritability
Depression
Sadness
Why is it important to know about stress warning signs?
It is important to know what your stress warning signs are so that you can then start to take better care of yourself.
As I talked about previously, sometimes we don’t always recognize that we are carrying around a lot of stress until we start to put together the pieces of the puzzle.
Being able to tune into your body and notice differences, is a really helpful way to take action and get back on track to lowering your stress levels.
What are stress management skills?
Let’s start with a definition of stress management skills.
Stress management skills are those things that are helpful to reduce the effects of stress you are experiencing and bring stress relief.
The aim is to find the skills and activities that will promote healthy wellbeing.
Listed below are some examples of healthy stress management skills.
Talk with supportive friends and family about what you are experiencing
Know and understand how stress shows up for you
Identify possible triggers
Take care of your body with exercise
Develop healthy sleep hygiene
Incorporating some calming or relaxation activities
Assess your work-life balance
The skills you use for stress management may be very similar or the same skills when practicing healthy self-care.
Practicing good self-care is a great way to take a preventative measure to address stress.
What should be on your stress management plan
When developing a stress management plan, it’s important to be able to identify some of the items listed above such as stress warning signs and triggers.
It is also really important to know what skills are helpful for you so that you can easily choose your go-to ones and begin to implement them.
If you are physically creating a stress management plan, such as with the free downloadable worksheet below, make sure this plan is easily accessible (aka don’t stick it in a random drawer you’ll never open again). Maybe even provide a copy to a trusted family member or friend.
Check out this free downloadable worksheet created to help you set up your stress management plan.
Types of Therapy for Stress
Another part of your stress management plan may also include starting therapy. Seeking therapy to help address stress, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms of stress can be really beneficial.
There are many different types of therapy that are helpful when treating stress and symptoms of stress.
At Calm Waters Counseling, acceptance and commitment therapy is the therapy model I primarily use and have the most success with for stress and anxiety treatment.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Wilmington, NC
ACT is helpful in changing the relationship you have with unwanted feelings. Most often these are the kinds of feelings we tend to avoid experiencing because they don’t feel good and are painful. Acceptance and commitment therapy focuses on increasing flexibility and being open, self-compassion, present, and living in your values.
To learn more about ACT, check out these helpful blog posts on acceptance and commitment therapy.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Wilmington, NC
CBT has been around for a long time and is probably one of the most known types of therapy. CBT helps to reframe and challenge thoughts, as well as dig a little deeper into your core beliefs about self, others, and the world around you.
To learn more about CBT, check out these helpful blog posts on cognitive behavioral therapy.
Mindfulness in Wilmington, NC
Mindfulness is all about being present, being focused, and accepting. Mindfulness can be practiced on its own or integrated into other therapy models.
In fact, mindfulness plays a huge part in acceptance and commitment therapy and is one of the basic foundational parts of ACT.
There are many ways to incorporate mindful moments into your day without having any formal mindfulness practices.
To learn more about mindfulness, check out these helpful blog posts.
Begin Anxiety Therapy in Wilmington, NC at Calm Waters Counseling
Learning about how stress affects you is really important. It is also important to know what you can do to reduce stress too and put a plan together.
Get started in therapy at Calm Waters Counseling by following these 4 simple steps:
Click the button below to schedule your free 15-minute consultation
Complete the brief questionnaire sent to your email before the consultation
Meet with your anxiety therapist
Start living your life and gain control of your stress
therapy for High Achieving Woman in Wilmington, NC at Calm Waters Counseling
At Calm Waters Counseling, I specialize in addressing some of the challenges experienced by anxious high-achieving women including perfectionism and burnout.
Check out the additional services provided below.
Anxiety therapy in Wilmington, NC
Treatment for Perfectionism in Maryland
Burnout Counseling in Wilmington, NC
Therapy for Imposter Syndrome in Wilmington, NC
Online Therapy for Anxiety in North Carolina
When you are a high-achiever and go-getter, you’ve got a lot going on in your world.
Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy may be a great way for you to be able to take care of yourself by getting some help and allowing for less disruption in your schedule.
Online therapy is proven to be effective and online therapy has a lot of benefits.
Therapy occurs over a video safe platform where the therapist and client can both see and hear each other. This makes it possible to provide the same therapy services as you would receive in the therapy office.
Check out some helpful blog posts about online therapy below.
ACT for Anxiety with Online Therapy
CBT with Online Therapy
To learn more about beginning online therapy at Calm Waters Counseling in your state, click the links below.
online therapy for anxiety in North Carolina
online anxiety therapy in Maryland
Still, have questions? Click the buttons below to learn even more!
Written by: Laura Rippeon, LCSW, LCSW-C
Updated 3/16/23