Chester Counselling offers relationship counselling, psychotherapy and family counselling throughout Chester and Cheshire

Claire McCluskey
M.Sc. B.A. Relate Cert C.C.
Registered Counsellor BACP & UKRC


07551 529 386
info@chestercounselling.com
Weston Grove, Upton
Chester CH2 1QH



Stress

Stress is a force which can work to our benefit or detriment depending on the quantity and duration of stress and also our coping or resilience.

Without a certain amount of stress we would not perform well.

Stress gives us energy and motivates us.

This can be really helpful in short bursts but if stress is prolonged and of high quantity it can affect us negatively and leave us feeling "stressed".

Modern life has become more speeded up in recent decades and people feel pressure to rush to keep up.

Being a high achieving person keeps stress high.

The current recession adds to the pressure to keep working and people may feel they have no option but to stay in high stress situations to keep paying bills etc.

Feeling under or over challenged in or by work will each bring stress.

People feel more stressed when they:

Holmes and Rahe (1967) devised a stress inventory which shows how stress accumulates and can leave you vulnerable to stress related problems if you are trying to manage a lot of stress over a short time period. Over 300 life units means a person has an 80% chance of developing a stress related illness.

Life eventLife change units
Death of a spouse 100
Divorce 73
Marital separation 65
Imprisonment 63
Death of a close family member 63
Personal injury or illness 53
Marriage 50
Dismissal from work 47
Marital reconciliation 45
Retirement 45
Change in health of family member 44
Pregnancy 40
Sexual difficulties 39
Gain a new family member 39
Business readjustment 39
Change in financial state 38
Death of a close friend 37
Change to different line of work 36
Change in frequency of arguments 35
Major mortgage 32
Foreclosure of mortgage or loan 30
Change in responsibilities at work 29
Child leaving home 29
Trouble with in-laws 29
Outstanding personal achievement 28
Spouse starts or stops work 26
Begin or end school 26
Change in living conditions 25
Revision of personal habits 24
Trouble with boss 23
Change in working hours or conditions 20
Change in residence 20
Change in schools 20
Change in recreation 19
Change in church activities 19
Change in social activities 18
Minor mortgage or loan 17
Change in sleeping habits 16
Change in number of family reunions 15
Change in eating habits 15
Vacation 13
Christmas 12
Minor violation of law 11

Consequences to stress can be:

These can result in increased sick time from work, difficult communication in work or even home life and can result in poor job satisfaction or poor performance at work.

Counselling can help you understand the sources of stress and work to change and reduce your stress.

Counselling might involve working on relaxation, goal setting/planning/ time management and learning to delegate, stop procrastinating, become more assertive or other interpersonal or communication work.

Claire McCluskey has experience working with stress related issues and has worked with employee assistance programmes to help people manage work stress.

As work stress colours home life too sometimes this stress will bring a couple to counselling as it may begin to affect the relationship.

Get in touch today...

Contacting a counsellor can be a step towards change but it may feel daunting, particularly if you don't know what to expect. Click here for more information about the counselling process.

Or simply contact Chester Counselling now by whichever route you prefer:

Phone: 07551 529 386

Email: info@chestercounselling.com

Or simply fill in the enquiry form:

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