Stress. It’s at the root of so many of life’s difficulties, not to mention its adverse impacts on physical and mental health. And in today’s fast-paced world, reigning in the amount of stress you feel in your everyday life is essential to your overall well-being.
Knowing you must learn how to deal with stress more effectively and doing it are two very different things. But there are several things you can do to avoid the psychological effects of stress.
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One important thing to understand about stress and mental health is that having a solid support system is vital. Not only should you surround yourself with as many supportive, helpful, compassionate, and understanding people as possible, but finding a quality therapist can significantly improve your chances of handling the stress life hands you now and far into the future.
How Stress Impacts Your Mental Health
When you experience stress, your body naturally reacts in several ways, negatively impacting you cognitively, physically, emotionally, behaviorally, or in a combination of ways. Your autonomic nervous system, which regulates internal organs like your stomach, intestines, and heart, takes control.
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While some stress can be helpful in certain situations by effectively preparing your body for “fight or flight” when in danger, prolonged, long-term stress can wreak havoc on your body and mind.
The psychological effects of stress can vary, depending on your coping mechanisms.
However, there are several common psychological symptoms of prolonged stress, including the following:
- depression
- anxiety
- irritability
- fatigue
- trouble sleeping
- difficulty concentrating
Left untreated, prolonged stress can also contribute to more severe mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, and substance abuse.
The Benefits of Therapy for Dealing with Stress
You may think getting professional help for handling stress isn’t warranted. But you’ll think otherwise when you realize how much stress affects your mental and physical health.
Getting support and an outside perspective on handling stress from a trained professional can benefit you immensely. Therapy can help you become more aware of your stress triggers and how it interferes with your everyday life. A therapist like our team of clinicians at BOLD Health can also help you identify potential solutions, develop healthier coping mechanisms, and guide you through helpful lifestyle changes to help you reduce stress.
We offer several scientifically proven therapy methods at BOLD Health to help you better manage your stress levels.
- Talk therapy is an excellent option to combat stress and mental health effects. Our highly trained clinicians at BOLD Health use evidence-based treatments to help you better navigate life’s challenges now and far into the future. You’ll work with your therapist to identify triggers and coping strategies that are not serving you well and replace them with healthier, more effective tools.
- Group therapy is another great therapeutic resource offered at our mental health facility in San Diego. In a welcoming, supportive, and non-judgmental atmosphere, you’ll talk with your clinician and fellow therapeutic clients about stress and mental health. Together, you’ll work through your concerns and feel comforted that you aren’t alone in your struggles.
- Family therapy is helpful when the psychological effects of stress have negatively impacted your family relationships. Sometimes, trying to work through the difficulties of stress and how it affects close relationships is best handled when you talk through it with a trained therapist who can give you insights, tips, and strategies to work through stressful times together.
- Medication management can help you better manage certain diagnosable mental health conditions you may experience due to prolonged stress. Depending on your situation and needs, our trained clinicians can determine if medication may benefit your treatment plan.
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Lifestyle Tips for Managing Stress for Better Mental Health
You can make plenty of lifestyle changes and holistic mental health treatments to help better manage stress. When combined with therapy, the two can make a significant health impact on your overall well-being.
While we don’t offer eastern-based mental health treatments at BOLD Health, we’re very supportive of doing anything healthy for your mental health, especially when combined with therapy. When you partner with us for mental health treatment in San Diego, your trained BOLD Health clinician will guide you through any lifestyle changes you can make, resulting in optimal therapeutic results.
Here are some things you can try to better support your mental health and reduce stress.
- Guided meditation: Meditation improves your mood and clarity and helps you gain better control over your emotions and how you react in stressful situations. Several excellent guided meditation apps and online resources help you refocus your mind on positive things and distract yourself from life’s stressors.
- Deep breathing techniques: Learning one or more deep breathing techniques is a simple practice you can take with you anywhere to help combat symptoms of stress. Square breathing, belly breathing, alternate nostril breathing, and more can help activate your parasympathetic nervous system, helping to calm nerves and your digestion.
- Exercise: You’ve heard it a million times: exercise is good for you. Whether you go for a walk, take up pilates, hop on an exercise bike, or turn to weightlifting, exercise is an excellent stress reliever. Incorporating exercise in your daily life is a highly effective way to help lower stress and improve mental and physical health.
- Practice good self-care: Sometimes, the stress of life can leave you feeling depleted, overwhelmed, and anxious. Regularly taking time to do things you love is a wonderful way to boost your serotonin levels and lower cortisol. Take a bath, get together with a friend, read a book, or play with a pet. Whatever you do, make sure it’s something you enjoy.
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BOLD Health: Mental Health Treatment in San Diego for Stress Leading to Mental Health Concerns
Searching for mental health facilities in San Diego shouldn’t be another source of stress for you. If you’re looking for a reputable, compassionate, high-quality mental health treatment in San Diego, look no further than BOLD Health.
We take the time to get to know you, your history, genetic makeup, and what brought you to our door so we can curate the ideal treatment program tailored specifically to you. Whether you’re looking for someone to talk to, need a professional listening and guiding ear for you and your family, or have additional stress-related mental health concerns, we’re here for you.
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Stress causes high blood pressure, headaches, muscle tension, sleep problems, and digestive issues and can lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. You don’t have to live life in a constant state of stress. We can help you identify your triggers and develop helpful tools and strategies to help you regain control of your life again.