I love busy, stressed-out people. In some ways, they are the most fun clients with whom I get to work. This is true for many reasons, but the most important one is that they are my own ghosts of workdays past.
Not long enough ago, I realized I was one French fry on the run away from not liking my life very much anymore. It was then I decided to make some changes. Of course, it wasn’t until about 3 months later that I implemented them, (I was too busy to not be busy) but I made the darn resolution. Do you recognize yourself yet?
Lots of my clients are like I was then. They insist they don’t have the time to devote to exercising, meditating, praying, journaling, art, music, or some other relaxing activity every day. However, they often come to therapy when exhaustion and panic attacks have forced them to skip important meetings, take time off of work, or simply avoid situations that would advance their careers. Somehow, the 20 minutes each day I recommend seems frivolous. But think of it this way instead: if you miss one 8-hour work day due to stress-related issues, that’s really 24 days you could have kept going strong if you had built 20-minute stress-management purposefully into your life every day. How do you like them apples? That’s to say nothing of the greater sense of direction, well-being, and general good health.
If you go to therapy to address this issue, your therapist might help you tackle your concerns in several ways. First, he or she will try to understand what your drive to achieve means to you, and what parts of your past and present belief system it reflects. Then, you two will talk about what specific things will be different when your life feels more in balance. Last, he or she will recommend some specific techniques to help you address these issues. If your therapist is trained in hypnotherapy as well, the two of you might do some guided relaxation or light hypnosis to address the physical symptoms of stress-related exhaustion. I know it sounds new-agey, but hypnosis and guided relaxation are good for helping your body to “remember” what it feels like to access a calm state. If you have been training it for the panicked American triathlon, it might be helpful to give it a head start in that regard.
Your Partner in Healing, Holly
If you would like to schedule an appointment or a free 15-minute phone consultation, please contact me at 407.913.4988 or holly@lotustherapycenter.com
