Stress Management
Everyone feels stressed from time to time, but what is stress? How does it affect your overall health? And what can you do to manage your stress?
Stress is how the brain and body respond to a demand or signal something to be concerned about. Any type of challenge—such as the pandemic, uncertainty, performance at work or school, a significant life change, or a traumatic event—can be stressful.
Stress can affect your health and over all well being. Counseling can help you relate to stress in healthy ways. Counseling can help reduce the negative effects of stress, learn different ways to relieve the distress you are experiencing and feel like you have a partner in health.
Anger and Feelings Management
Feelings, including anger are healthy responses to situations. Anger in particular can signal something is wrong. My work focuses on supporting the development of mindfulness about what feelings are happening in any given moment and why. This process is separate from the actions you choose to take, including a decision of inaction. Separating feelings, thoughts and actions help people make more skill full choices about addressing situations.
LGBTQ
People in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning communities often experience oppression, isolation and the effects of internalized homophobia which is when people internalize the negative things other people say about them. My work centers around helping people understand the negative effects of oppression, separate from these negative ways of thinking about themselves and step more deeply into who they are with pride. I also support people through the coming out process.
Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Psychological trauma is a response involving complex debilitation of adaptive abilities—emotional, cognitive, physical, spiritual and social—following an event that was perceived by our nervous system as life-threatening to oneself or others (especially loves ones).
Trauma can be a one-time event, a prolonged event or a series of events. Trauma that affects a community or a country is called collective trauma.
Traumatic injury shocks and changes all of our systems. These include:
- Cognitive: The trauma affects the ability to process thoughts and make good judgments
- Emotional: Looping with emotions of shame, guilt, fear, anger and pain
- Physical: It affects muscles, joints, digestion and metabolism, temperature, sleep, immune system, etc.
- Spiritual: The trauma affects our worldview, the lenses with which we see reality (typically so we see it as unsafe), our understanding and meaning of life, society, and the world
- Social: The trauma affects relationships with partners, family, friends, colleagues, and strangers (because it affects so many so deeply, it affects structures of societies)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a set of alarm responses that occur when a survivor’s nervous system remains on high alert after trauma in order to protect against further harm. The survivor’s alert systems respond to reminders of the traumatic memories as a threat. Responses may include difficulty sleeping, flashbacks, reoccurring thoughts or feelings, or avoidance of reminders of the event or dissociation.
If you’ve experienced a traumatic event, take this screener: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/screens/pc-ptsd.asp
(activate this link)
Grief and Loss
People seek support when they have trouble dealing with loss. There are many kinds of loss. Loss of people, death, mobility, freedom, love, family, health. When people have difficulty functioning at work, sleeping or in relationships, it could mean they are having difficulty dealing with grief that often accompanies loss.
Anxiety
People normally experience fear, worry or overwhelm. Anxiety is a word used to describe when these feelings stop us from living our lives. Anxiety is when these feelings interfere with our social interactions, school, and work.
Signs and Symptoms
- Feeling restless, wound-up, or on-edge
- Being easily fatigued
- Having difficulty concentrating; mind going blank
- Being irritable
- Having muscle tension
- Difficulty controlling feelings of worry
- Having sleep problems, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, restlessness, or unsatisfying sleep
Not everyone who experiences anxiety has every symptom. Some people experience only a few symptoms while others may experience many.
Depression
Depression (major depressive disorder or clinical depression) is a common but serious mood disorder. It causes severe symptoms that affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working. To be diagnosed with depression, the symptoms must be present for at least two weeks.
Signs and Symptoms
If you have been experiencing some of the following signs and symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks, you may be suffering from depression:
- Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood
- Feelings of hopelessness, or pessimism
- Irritability
- Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
- Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities
- Decreased energy or fatigue
- Moving or talking more slowly
- Feeling restless or having trouble sitting still
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
- Difficulty sleeping, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
- Appetite and/or weight changes
- Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
- Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems without a clear physical cause and/or that do not ease even with treatment
Not everyone who is depressed experiences every symptom. Some people experience only a few symptoms while others may experience many.