Welcome to Chai-Yoel Korn Counselling, I thought it important that my first blog be launched during Mental Health Awareness Week. Mental Health Awareness was established in 2000 by the Mental Health Foundation and this year’s theme is Mindfulness. I felt it important to remember that we all have a Mental Health that we need to try and keep healthy.

Stress:

I thought it best to talk about the feeling that may bring with it the need to be more mindful whilst stress may be causing chaos around us. Stress unfortunately is a common experience in our modern world for us all. Excessive stress over a long period of time can affect our emotional well-being more seriously.

As research indicates: “1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem in any given year”.

Time to Change

Stress may be considered as any physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental unrest and that may be a factor in disease causation. Physical and chemical factors that can cause stress include trauma, infections, toxins, illnesses, and injuries of any sort.

Emotional causes of stress and tension are numerous and varied. While many people associate the term "stress" with psychological stress, scientists and physicians use this term to denote any force that impairs the stability and balance of our bodily functions.

Some ways of dealing with stress:

• Mindfulness Exercises are a way of being still when life may be becoming stressful around us.

• Take a breath

• Visualise blue for calm, or green for balance – breathe in green or blue and breathe out red

• Walk away if possible – or don’t walk towards source of stress

• Manage your time – it’s important to plan our days.

• Act positively – take a few moments to pause and relax.

• Deep breathing – the way you breathe can have a dramatic effect on your wellbeing.

• Speak to someone outside what is causing you stress to get another opinion.

• Healthy eating.

• Avoiding alcohol, drugs or caffeine.

• Doing some physical exercise.

• Find a therapist.

• Having fun!!!

Sometimes if we think differently this controls how we react to stress.

• What am I stressing about? What’s pressing my buttons?

• How important is this really?

• What would someone else say about this?

• Am I over–reacting? Is my reaction in proportion to the actual event?

• I feel like I’m being unfairly treated, but maybe it was not meant that way.

• Am I misreading things?

• What’s the best thing to do?

When times are stressful I like to think about a nice relaxing place I have been; what was around me visually; how did I feel in my body; who was around me to support me being calm; visualise stillness, silence around me and as mentioned previously get in contact with my breathing.

I am then able to deal with the stress around me in a calm manner. I know from personal experience how difficult stress can be, but trying to move away from what was causing me stress I find is the best course of action.

If you want further support around stress, perhaps contact me directly and find out more about the services at Chai-Yoel Korn Psychotherapy. I look forward to hearing to hearing from you.

Wishing you a still, calm week ahead.

Bye for now,

Chai-Yoel Korn