190 Harwood Avenue S, Ajax, ON L1S 2H6

Stress Management

Is Your Career Or The Expectation To Succeed Making It Difficult For You To Find Peace?

Are you a college student or young professional who is so stressed out that you’re having difficulty changing or improving your situation on your own? Do you ever feel like you’re a stranger navigating a foreign world of new responsibilities, experiences, and expectations?

Perhaps you’re in college and feel overwhelmed by the pressure to make new friends, succeed academically, and simply manage the changing landscape of your life. Or maybe you’ve recently started your career, but you are having trouble adjusting to your new role or the dynamics of your workplace.

Unchecked Stress Can Create A Host Of Problematic Symptoms

For instance, you may spend so much time and energy just keeping your head above water that you’re noticing health issues you didn’t have before—like high blood pressure or elevated blood sugar. You might be gaining weight even though your diet hasn’t changed. Or maybe sleeping has become difficult, leaving you burnt out and unable to focus or even stay awake during meetings.

Prolonged stress can induce physical health problems even if you don’t have visible symptoms. If your heart races every time you see a message from your boss or you dread getting your assignments for your new classes each semester, your body can hold onto that stress until it grows into something larger—even anxiety or depression.

But the pressures of life don’t have to hold you back. Stress management counselling can show you how to speak your mind, manage your time, and get back to doing the things you enjoy.

Most People Aren’t Taught How To Cope With Stress

Small amounts of stress can be an ordinary and necessary part of our development. When we encounter something threatening, our body reacts with a rush of hormones, producing what’s known as the “fight or flight” response. This natural survival mechanism can be beneficial in small doses when we encounter something dangerous or need to react quickly. However, prolonged stress can lock that fight or flight response into place, creating fear, anxiety, and a number of other challenges.

So many of us lose ourselves in the revolving door of stress because we aren’t equipped with the skills we need to do well in environments that emphasize success and productivity. When we don’t understand what’s expected of us, stress surges to help with the challenge, but it can become our constant companion if we aren’t careful.

Stress Can Interfere With Work-Life Balance

When obligations burden you, stress can sneak in and upend your work-life balance. As a student, you may be having trouble meeting expectations in your classes as well as struggling to maintain friendships since everyone around you is busy trying to keep up with their own academic responsibilities.

If you’re a young professional, you may find yourself employed in an environment where bonding over stress and working unusually long hours is the expected norm. Unfortunately, if you’re like many high-achievers and goal-oriented individuals, reaching out for help can feel like a weakness.

However, asking for support is a sign of strength and, ultimately, wisdom. So if you’re willing and ready to improve your life, counseling can offer you compassionate guidance and practical stress management strategies for getting your work-life balance back again.

Counselling Can Help You Manage Stress And Burnout

Many individuals, young people in particular, feel like they have to be perfect, so the idea of seeking help only creates more distress. However, therapy can offer you powerful insight and tools you can use on your own to find relief from the overwhelming effects of stress.

With counselling, you will have the space to identify your core values around performance and achievement and how these values inform your sense of identity. Using that understanding, we can then show you how to communicate your needs, thoughts, and desires in healthier ways while developing strategies for creating a life that aligns with your values.

Life is full of transitions, and we will be here to help with managing your stress so you can enjoy every opportunity for both happiness and success. We want to support you in discovering solutions to regain a sense of control over your academics, your career, and your relationships so you can take advantage of each first experience and new transition with confidence.

What To Expect In Stress Management Counselling

In each session, we will meet you with warmth, empathy, and validation in a non-judgmental space. We will invite you to discuss your situation so we can gain a better understanding of the internal and external factors that contribute to your stress. This will help you discover what you can do to put yourself back in control and make your situation less overwhelming.

Therapy will also give you the opportunity to explore the parts of you that may be holding on to fears and worries and contributing to your distress. Our counsellors will teach you how to compassionately, calmly, and curiously get to know these parts. At the same time, we’ll help you build confidence in your ability to navigate any new stressors in the future on your own.

Therapy Can Help You Customize A Plan For Sustainable Stress Relief

Everyone has a different way of responding to stress, so we want to personalize a treatment strategy that’s right for you. Counselling can support you in discovering and creating solutions to help you manage your time, incorporate self-care, and make decisions that can decrease your stress.

We will also show you how to advocate for yourself, communicate your needs, and set healthy boundaries—whether in school, at work, or in your relationships. And we can help you develop a greater sense of who you are, and in the process, show you how to cultivate self-compassion and trust in your abilities.

Most of the skills you will develop will be experiential. That is, we want to help you build a better relationship with yourself—to teach you how to recognize and pay attention to unhealthy interactional patterns in your life and develop healthier habits and routines that will decrease your stress.

All of these strategies work together to enable you to feel free, more in control, and more confident so you can change the situations that cause you stress and live the life you’ve always envisioned.

But You May Still Have Questions About Stress Management Counselling…

I should be able to handle this on my own.

Because being overwhelmed is so common, I’m sure you’ve learned how to cope with stress in some ways on your own. Dealing with stress is like learning how to swim. Some people learn to tread water fast, while others need to hang onto the edge for a while. But no matter where you are in the pool, coming to therapy will help you get to the next level. So instead of just staying above water you can learn to swim and control your ability to get out of the deep end of stress.

I can barely make it through my week because of stress, so I don’t have time for therapy.

When you’re trying to keep up with everything that’s happening, it can be hard to see and prioritize what you need. If you’re overwhelmed, stress can continue to dig in and take up all of your time. Asking yourself, “How am I in this situation again?” is a sign that what you’re doing now might be leading you into an unhealthy pattern. Carving out time to deal with the root of the problem can help save you time and lessen your stress in the long run.

Therapy is for people with anxiety and depression, but I’m just stressed out.

It’s true that many people seek ‌therapy because they’re dealing with mental health problems that are affecting their daily functioning. But that’s not the only reason people benefit from therapy.

Most of our clients are people who are experiencing new life transitions and situational stress that’s overwhelming them. If you’re struggling under the burden of everything coming your way, stress management counselling can be beneficial for you as well. Our goal is to help you navigate life and find solutions before your mental health ever becomes an issue.

Let Us Help You Learn How To Cope With Stress Effectively

Stress management counseling can give you the freedom to do the things you love. Contact us to schedule your free, 15-minute consultation and start learning how to take back control of your time.