Stress Counselling in Newton Abbot
Stress Counselling Newton Abbot: When You're Heading For Burn Out
“I was diamond on the outside, and I would not break. Inside, though, I was already broken.— Shaun David Hutchinson
Stress isn’t a inconvenient box you can put away and ignore. It can be a constant, strung-out feeling that you’re on high alert, or a feeling of total exhaustion – it changes the colour of your day-to-day life.
Stress can affect people in different ways. For some, it builds gradually—a busy schedule that never seems to ease up, constant problem-solving at work, or the mental load of juggling too many responsibilities. For others, it can hit suddenly, triggered by a specific situation or change.
If you’re stressed, you might notice it in your body—tense shoulders, headaches, a racing heart, or that constant tiredness that doesn’t go away even after a decent sleep. It can affect you emotionally too: feeling on edge, impatient, tearful, or finding it hard to focus or commit to a decision.
Seeking counselling for stress can help you put the brakes on and figure out what the engine is doing—to recognise the specific events that set you off, understand exactly how your mind and body respond, and find small, realistic actions that can help you to feel calmer, clearer, and more solidly present again.
The impact of stress
When you’re under pressure, your body’s built-in alarm system—the fight-or-flight system—fires up, flooding you with hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. This is great for sprinting out of danger, but a disaster when it stays switched on 24/7. This state of constant, chronic alert is what truly does the damage
Long-term stress doesn’t just make you feel bad; it erodes your physical and psychological foundation.
- Physical Fallout: Persistent muscle pain, digestive chaos (like IBS or heartburn), chronic headaches, high blood pressure, and a weakened system that leaves you vulnerable to every bug going around . You might notice your heart rate is fast even when you’re resting.
- Mental Fog: You struggle to concentrate, decision-making becomes an agonizing slog, memory gets hazy, and that inner voice is constantly snapping judgments or worrying about everything.
- Behavioral Shifts: You might withdraw from friends, lash out easily, have trouble sleeping or wake up exhausted, or find yourself reaching for alcohol, caffeine, or other substances just to dull the edges .
It feels like a runaway train, but it’s a biological response that can be slowed, understood, and rerouted with some stress counselling and support.
Understanding Stress
Stress is, fundamentally, your body’s reaction to demand, whether that demand is a work deadline or a messy relationship. What one person shrugs off, another finds completely crushing—it’s about how your brain assesses the threat and your capacity to handle it.
The key distinction is between acute (short-term, event-specific) stress and chronic (long-term, unrelenting) stress. Acute stress gives you the necessary jolt to meet a challenge; chronic stress is the constant background noise that drains your resources until you feel incapable of changing anything.
Stress counselling breaks down this huge, shapeless dread into distinct, manageable parts. We look at:
- The Triggers: Pinpointing the specific people, situations, or demands that cause the immediate spike.
- The Feedback Loop: Examining the cycle of negative thinking (e.g., “I’m failing,” “I can’t cope”) that turns a manageable issue into an overwhelming one .
- The Cost: Measuring the exact price the stress is demanding from your sleep, your temper, and your physical body.
How Counselling Can Help with Stress
Counselling for stress is about giving you the levers to gain some control back. It’s not about eliminating all pressure—some stress is useful—but about teaching your system to power down and recuperate when the threat is gone.
In our sessions, we can:
- Decode the Alarm: We’ll use techniques to identify and challenge the harsh, warped thought patterns that feed your stress . By learning to spot these mental traps, you take away their power.
- Install a Brake: We’ll practice breathing and deep relaxation techniques (like Paced Breathing) that directly signal to your nervous system that the danger has passed, physically lowering your heart rate and muscle tension .
- New Ways of Responding: We’ll look at the circumstances that are driving your stress and explore new ways of responding to pressure, building coping strategies that work for you.
Taking The Next Step
If stress has left you feeling like you’re running on empty, you don’t have to work out how to manage this alone. Seeking support is a way of acknowledging that things aren’t working and have become too much. We can work to ease and understand what’s going on, and look at how to make some changes. My stress counselling work is calm and collaborative — I don’t come with a fixed plan or quick answers. Instead, I listen carefully, ask questions that could help you think differently, and support you in finding your own way forward to a calmer, more grounded place.
You’re welcome to contact me for a free initial discussion to see if my way of working with stress in Newton Abbot feels like the right fit for you.
Have a question?
You can find frequently asked questions about Counselling – visit my FAQ page
Or you can read more about how I work with clients – visit my About page