Creating your Powerhouse Stress Support Team

‍

Stephanie Papadakis, WellTheory Health Coach

‍

Creating Your Stress Support Team

Managing stress isn’t easy and you don’t have to do it alone. While it’s normal to feel stressed every once in a while, the longer stress continues, the greater the toll it takes on our physical and emotional health. If you have tried to manage stress through the many ways we’ve presented and still aren’t finding relief, it’s okay to reach out for help! We encourage you to find deeper mental health support at any point during this program.

Symptoms that indicate a chronic stress response and excess pressure on the body and mind:

• feeling sad or depressed
• anxiety or panic attacks
• chest pain or racing heart
• feeling alone or lonely
• headaches
• difficulty breathing
• exhaustion and sleep disturbances
• isolation

In addition to keeping an eye out for the symptoms above, another indicator that it’s time to reach out for deeper support is if you’ve been utilizing stress management tools and you don’t feel as if you’re making progress.

These are just some of the ways that chronic stress might show up. It’s also possible that your unique symptoms are completely different! This is one reason why knowing yourself, your triggers, and your coping mechanisms is very important. We want to empower you to recognize when you’re no longer able to cope well and need extra support.

What Does It Look Like to Reach Out for Help?

As mentioned previously, it’s much better to get ahead of further stress symptoms because the longer they go on, the longer healing can take! Please remember that we are not licensed medical or mental health providers at WellTheory. We cannot take the place of qualified mental health care.

There are many different ways to reach out for further support, such as:

• Reach out to friends and family, even just for a catch up session over tea. Socialization can greatly help stress symptoms.
• Professional counseling may be a good choice for you if you have a history of trauma, challenging relationships, or difficulty maintaining stability in life. Professional counseling can also be a great choice for those who struggle with high levels of anxiety or have physical symptoms of stress. We can hold stressors in our bodies, and professional counselors are able to support the release of these stressors to allow us to heal at a deeper level. There are several sources for finding professional counseling.
• Psychology Today Directory lists therapists in your area. You can also filter results to find therapists who offer telehealth options.
• Better Help or Ginger.com are online directories for licensed therapists who do telehealth.
• Local support groups may be an option for you. You can call local mental health offices and see if they offer support groups.
• Psychiatrists can offer medication options. Talk to your primary care provider about a referral to a psychiatrist.
• Physical health supports
• acupuncture
• massage
• sound therapy
• If you’re a WellTheory member, you can also speak with your care team and they can help you find resources in your area.

‍

{{story}}

Take Action

Whether or not you’ve identified that you can benefit from extra support, it’s time to make a commitment to how you will continue to support yourself. If you’ve decided to reach out for help, take some time to consider the options above and anything else that comes to mind. Then find a blank piece of paper and write down your commitment to the type of support you’re going to utilize. If you’ve decided that your coping strategies are working well for you, write down how you’re going to continue to maintain them.

Example: I commit to reaching out to at least three therapists from the Psychology Today Directory to see if they are accepting new clients.