Managing Stress

A Mindful Approach to Relieve Stress

 
stress management

Stress is not just an inconvenience, it’s a persistent force that can significantly negatively impact daily life. * The fact that 75% of people globally in the past year are experiencing stress, highlights the widespread nature of this condition.

In the body, stress triggers a cascade of reactions. As the body prepares for a perceived threat, it releases hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. While the “fight/ flight/ freeze“ response was evolutionarily crucial, today it often manifests as increased heart rate, shallow breathing, muscle tension, and digestive issues, taking a toll on our bodies. And these physical signs can often be brought about by things that aren’t even real or true. Our thoughts.

The mind becomes a battleground during times of stress, with racing thoughts, persistent worries, and an overactive imagination can hijack our mental space. This turbulence is exhausting and over time, it contributes to a sense of mental fatigue. You just don’t feel able to manage things in your everyday life.

Stress interferes with every area of our life. It’s not bias. It even casts a shadow over the happiest of moments, obscuring joy of the present moment with worry about what ‘might’ be.

If you're struggling with this, know that you're not alone and that there is a different way to experience life.

With mindfulness coaching, you’ll learn a toolkit of practical strategies to help you navigate through stress, giving you the real possibility for a more serene and fulfilling life.

* source; WHO Global Stress Report, 2023

 

Client Experiences

 
 

Common Stressors in Daily Life: Work, Relationships, Finances

This is how stress can manifest in different aspects of daily life. You might have experienced some of these situations.

Being able to recognise the challenges you are experiencing is crucial for developing tailored strategies to cope with and manage your stress effectively.

Workload and Environment

You might have a demanding job with tight deadlines, high expectations, and an unmanageable workload. Constantly racing against the clock, juggling multiple tasks, and dealing with the pressure to perform at an unsustainable pace can significantly contribute to stress levels, which in tern affects your performance and overall wellbeing.

Difficulties in Your Relationship

Perhaps you’ve experienced conflicts in your relationship, or misunderstandings, or the fear of a relationship breakdown. These worries can intensify stress levels, making it difficult to balance connections with a loved one with other life responsibilities.

Financial Worries

Feeling a financial strain is a very common stressor that many people face. Mounting bills, debt, and uncertainties about job security can create a persistent undercurrent of stress, impacting mental wellbeing, the quality of your sleep and overall quality of life.

How Mindfulness Coaching builds Resilience for Everyday Life

Mindfulness coaching combines the art of mindfulness, centred on being present in each moment without judgment, with personalised transformational coaching strategies. 

It’s a series of tools, mindsets and techniques that when used over time, becomes your compass. It will improve your self awareness, acceptance of what you can’t change or control, and practical guidance for navigating tricky conversations and situations. 

Mindfulness for stress relief
 

The Practical use of Mindfulness 

Here are some of the ways in which mindfulness helps to create a more balanced, peaceful and enjoyable life. 

Workload and Toxic work environments 

Integrated mindfulness practices help you to stay present amidst a hectic workload. Coaching provides a tailored approach, helping set realistic goals, prioritise tasks, and navigate challenges with a clear and focused mindset, resulting in increased productivity and a sense of control over work related stressors.

Personal Relationship Strain

Mindfulness helps to approach relationship challenges with a calmer mindset. We’ve all been there when a conversation escalates and before we know it, we’re in an argument we didn’t want. 

This work helps you develop effective communication skills, understand emotional responses so you can respond with measure, and set healthy boundaries. You’ll be able to navigate conflicts with resilience and experience a more fulfilling connection with your loved one.

Social Anxiety

Social situations can be stress inducing for many people. Mindfulness coaching assists you in managing social anxiety by learning a greater sense of self compassion and enhancing present moment awareness. Personalised strategies will help you to navigate social interactions with confidence and transforming social anxiety into an opportunity for more meaningful connections.

Financial Worries

When facing financial stress, mindfulness coaching offers the combination of creating practical strategies and specific methods for managing ‘out of control’ thinking. This is when we find ourselves fearing the worst and going over and over certain thoughts and we’re stuck there. Regulating your emotions and stepping back from the situation gives you the opportunity to see things differently and create options that you didn’t see before.

The Burden of Family Responsibilities

Parenthood comes with its own set of challenges. Mindfulness allows parents to be fully present in their interactions with their children, improving your relationship. You’ll have the space in sessions to explore effective strategies, set realistic expectations, and manage the pressures of balancing work and family life. And with practice you’ll be able to cope with family life with greater calm and resilience.

Health and Wellness

Managing what you eat, exercise and taking care of your body can put us under a lot of stress. With the amount of advice that we are bombarded with on a daily basis, it’s no wonder we’re feeling the strain of perfection in these areas and confusion as to what’s the best thing to do. As you start to use mindfulness practices, you’ll feel more connected to your intuition to guide you with your own unique body with it’s own unique needs and wants. This is all about being you. And celebrating that! 

Career Transitions

Any major change in our life can be unsettling, but with work where we spend 1/3 of our life, it can be extremely stressful.  This important adjustment can go more smoothly by learning a set of applied mindfulness tools to help with decision making, strengthening your self belief, building a resilient mindset for facing uncertainties and potential set backs, and being connected to your purpose and what fires you up! 

Your Path to a More Enjoyable Life 

Whatever is causing you to feel stressed, I’m here to help and support you through a bespoke mindfulness coaching program that will give you the tools you need to change your relationship to stress, so you’ll have the freedom to respond differently to things in your life that are difficult. 

It’s a journey that takes practice and commitment. I’ve experienced this and so have my clients. If you’re ready to do the work, I’d love to help you. 

 
 
 

Why work with Kate?

Read about Kate’s certifications in both mindfulness and coaching,

her additional training and rich experience of helping others here

 
Mindfulness for Relationships, Kate Greenslade PCC