Stress
management
Bhavna Raithatha
BSc (Hons) MSc MBACP (Accred)
Bhavna is a
psychotherapist, coach,
supervisor, clinical
incidence debriefer, and
trainer. Find out more
by visiting counselling-
directory.org.uk
S
tress affects everyone,
from young children to
the elderly, as we live in
an increasingly stressful
world. People are expected to do,
think, and give continuously. There
is no time to stop and process how
you feel about it, no time to rest
and refuel. This perpetual motion
leads to many different types of
stress and, if left unchecked, can
cause serious ill-health.
What is stress?
Stress is defined by the Oxford
English Dictionary as “a state of
mental or emotional strain or
tension resulting from adverse
or demanding circumstances”.
According to psychologist Dr
Gillian Butler, in a paper published
28 | Issue 61 | happiful.com
in everyday life
From mounting pressures at work, to
financial worries, or concerns around
your health, there are myriad of ways
stress can build, so it’s essential to
address before things escalate. Our
expert columnist Bhavna Raithatha
explores how stress develops, and offers
practical solutions to help manage the
tensions in your life right now
by The Royal College of General
Practitioners, stress is defined in
three ways:
• Stress resulting from pressure
– the greater the pressure, the
greater the likelihood of a person
being affected.
• Stress as a response to noxious
or aversive stimuli – for example
the global response to the war in
Ukraine.
• Individual differences,
circumstances, coping
mechanisms, resilience, and
the interaction of internal and
external factors affect how
people respond to stress.
What causes stress?
Stress can be caused by a multitude
of factors on their own, or when
they interact with other factors
in a person’s life. For example,
being overstretched at work,
home, or both, or ill-health
leading to not being able to work,
financial hardship, relationships,
etc. This includes the impact
of these events on a person’s
self-confidence and self-esteem;
individual experiences and
reactions vary greatly.
Stress-reaction is also down to
how an individual has learned
to deal with stress in their lives.
Learned helplessness is a result
of defective or completely
ineffective coping strategies,
because this individual didn’t
learn how to appropriately
identify and respond to stress
at a young age. When a person

is exposed to large amounts
of stress on a regular basis,
they will experience a sense of
disempowerment and accept their
‘fate’. This is often exacerbated by
events out of the person’s control,
combined with psychological
fatigue.
How does the body respond?
The mind and body respond
differently to various types of stress.
Emotional reactions may include:
• Anger
• Withdrawal from day-to-day
activities
• Anxiety, or panic attacks
• Fear
• Shame
• Vulnerability
• Depression
• Burnout, in severe cases
Behavioural reactions may
include:
• Engaging in or increasing
addictive behaviours, such
as drinking, smoking, drugs,
or sex
• Arguments or fights
• Withdrawing from work or
relationships
• Changes in regular patterns,
e.g. eating, drinking, sleeping
• Self-harm
Cognitive reactions may include:
• Decreased attention
• Increased distractibility
• Irrational thinking
• Inabilities to function
EXPERT COLUMN
The psychological face
of stress
Endocrinologist Hans Selye
proposed a stress reaction theory
he called General Adaptation
Syndrome. This theory stated that
there are three distinct responses
to a stressor:
1. The body responds with an
alarm reaction.
2. This causes the release of
adrenaline into the body to
prepare for fight or flight.
3. If the stress continues, the
body becomes fatigued causing
exhaustion, illness, an inability
to cope.
Often, the body is able to deal
with most stresses at ‘2’ and
continues to function normally
until the next episode of stress.
Stress management
The most important approach in
stress management is perhaps the
most powerful, and that is to adopt
the right attitude. Our thoughts
create our realities, and so if we
are able to become aware of our
thoughts, we then have the power
to change them.
There are many practical things
you can do to address stress:
• Exercise
• Mindfulness
• Journaling (look out for my
article on in a future issue)
• Laughter – watch a good comedy,
or get together with friends
• Get out in nature
• Talk it through with a therapist
• Eat well – help your body
• Sex, which has innumerable
psychobiological benefits
• Try to improve your work-life
balance.
happiful.com | Issue 61 | 29