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Stress Coaching

Have you been feeling stressed for a long time, and are tired of it? Stress Coaching is one of the best available tools for managing and preventing stress on the market. It works in-depth with your stress. Stress Coaching provides you with effective tools along with concrete exercises to help you de-stress. It helps you to manage your thoughts and stop overthinking as well as to identify your stressors and manage them. Also, in combination with Life Coaching, Stress Coaching helps you develop new positive habits to prevent stress in the future.

What is Stress?

Everyone can get stressed. Every day approximately 430,000 Danes have symptoms of severe stress and 35,000 Danes are on sick leave with stress.

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Stress is a completely natural reaction to perceived "challenges" or even "dangers" in life. It happens when we feel threatened - by a lion or in today's modern society - when internal or external demands exceed our own resources. Stress happens unconsciously and helps us to either fight or escape. It is the classic "flight or fight" reaction.

 

It is a biological mechanism that triggers stress hormones to encourage quick action. Adrenalin and Cortisol surge in our body. Fat and sugar content in the blood increase,  breathing intensifies, pulse and blood pressure rise​, the ​immune system is strengthened and our mind "switch to autopilot" reducing access to the intellect and reason, in favor of immediate instinctual responses. 

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In the short run, stress is positive in helping us perform effectively in all sorts of daily situations. Unfortunately, prolonged stress can have serious consequences for our health. When we do not have the opportunity to properly recover, our body and mind become overloaded,  and stress symptoms appear: 

 

Cognitive stress symptoms:

  • Racing thoughts

  • Forgetfulness and disorganization

  • Inability to concentrate

  • Difficulties to make decisions

  • Reduced performance

  • Constant worrying

  • Being pessimistic or seeing only the negative side

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Physical stress symptoms:​

  • Tiredness/exhaustion

  • Lower energy

  • Headaches or migraine

  • Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea

  • Chest pain and rapid heartbeat

  • Inner turmoil

  • Insomnia

  • Weak immune system

  • Tense muscles 

  • Loss of sexual desire and/or impotence

  • Nervousness and shaking, ringing in the ear, cold or sweaty hands and feet

  • Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing

  • Clenched jaw and grinding teeth

  • Reduced fertility

  • Exacerbation of chronic disease

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Behavioral stress symptoms:​

  • Changes in appetite - not eating or eating too much

  • Irritability/aggressiveness

  • Higher sensitivity (easier to tears)

  • Withdraw into oneself

  • Procrastinating and avoiding responsibilities

  • Increased use of alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes

  • Exhibiting more nervous behaviors, such as nail biting, fidgeting, and pacing

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Warning signals only get worse, and the consequences more serious and long-lasting if ignored. Persistent, prolonged stress is a risk factor for developing health-threatening problems such as:

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  • Depression, anxiety, and personality disorders

  • Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and stroke

  • Skin and hair problems, such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema, and permanent hair loss

  • Gastrointestinal problems, such as gastroesophageal reflux, gastritis, ulcerative colitis, and irritable colon

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In many respects, stress is completely normal and inevitable in modern lives. Everyone is subject to stress at various point in time - triggered both in our professional or personal lives.

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However,  longer term feelings of stress - such as the feeling of being overwhelmed and under significant pressure for prolonged periods of time can lead to long-lasting consequences. A stress coach can offer you personalized support to control stress-triggers in your life and better manage how you react to stress.

Hvad er stress?

Take a free stress test 

You can test your stress by taking a free stress test. The test only takes 5 minutes and gives you a good idea of ​​how stressed you are. It is free and anonymous, and it contributes to create more knowledge about stress in Denmark. Unfortunately, the test is only available in Danish for the moment.

Stress Coaching

What is Stress Coaching?

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Stress Coaching is recognized as one of the most effective methods available to reduce and manage stress. Coaching has been specifically developed to reduce and manage stress at all stages. It is a holistic approach and methodology divided into 3 phases:

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  1. The first phase focuses on relieving stress. You will get 10 useful tools to help you find peace and balance again. You will learn to manage your thoughts and stop overthinking. The purpose of this phase is to get your nervous system to relax and your stress hormones to drop so you no longer feel stressed.

  2. The second phase is about identifying and learning to deal with your stress triggers. I will help you spot your stressors and manage them. You will also have the opportunity to take a personality test and find out what are your core values so you get a better understanding of who you are and what is important for you to have, to thrive in your life.

  3. The third phase is about preventing stress from coming back in the future. In this final phase,  I will use life coaching to help you replace stressful habits with new positive ones. I usually help my clients at being better at saying no, at prioritizing themselves, or at reducing their expectations to a more realistic level.

 

According to the COPESTRESS research project, dedicated stress coaching that follows Forebyg Stress concept is far more effective than basis psychology to alleviate, manage and prevent stress as it developed to address stress.

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Stress Coaching is a sequence of 5 to 10 sessions where the focus is first on reducing stress, then preventing the return of stress and (when relevant) on getting back to work again, in a timely manner. Stress coaching involves a mixture of stress coaching and life coaching and is based on practical exercises intended to help alleviate stress and better handle professional or private situations that create stress.

 

Successful stress coaching requires that:

  • You get a handle on your feelings of stress as quickly as possible

  • We hold a regular session every week for the first month, and every second week thereafter

  • You are committed, meaning you complete the assigned exercises for each session

  • You are ready to work both on reducing your stress along with your own routines and beliefs that may contribute to it, in one way or another

 

You are welcome to book a free intro session to hear more about what stress coaching can do for you.

Stress Development

 

Our body tells us that we are stressed by sending us warning signals. This is what we call stress symptoms. Stress symptoms are very important, especially if they do not fade-out and have been recurrent for a long time. They tell us that we are overwhelmed and some adjustments are needed in our lives so we can feel better. The symptoms only get worse, and the consequences more severe and long lasting if ignored.

 Here you can see an example of how stress symptoms can develop to become severe.

Regular
stress symptoms

  • Rapid heartbeat

  • Temporary shaking or tics

  • Sweating

  • Dryness in the mouth and difficulty swallowing

  • “Butterflies in the stomach” 

  • Stomach knot

  • Tense muscles

Moderate
stress symptoms

  • Tiredness

  • Insomnia

  • Racing thoughts 

  • Inner resistance/ reluctance

  • Irritability

  • Higher sensitivity (easier to tears)

  • Withdraw into oneself

Severe
stress symptoms

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  • Low energy

  • Forgetfulness

  • Weak immune system

  • Eczema 

  • Unexplained pain (headaches, stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea)

  • Greater use of alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes

  • Aggressiveness

 
Burnout

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  • Nervous break down

  • Nausea / fainting

  • Memory failure

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Other mental and physical disorders

Become stress-free in 12 weeks

Our stress coaching course is an in-depth process that helps you reduce, manage and prevent stress so that you will never suffer from stress again. The course is divided into three phases.

Bliv stressfri på 12 uger

1. Stress reduction

You will gain an understanding of what stress really is, as well as 10 effective tools to find peace and balance again - both physically and mentally.

Session 1:The first session focuses on giving you some concrete and useful tools to reduce your stress symptoms and get your nervous system to calm down. I will also start the session by telling you what stress is and what happens physically and mentally when you feel stressed 

 

Session 2:In the second session, you will be presented with a method to reduce mental overload. You learn to manage your thoughts and worries so that you can turn off the little engine that is constantly running in the back of your head and free up some mental space.

2. Stress management

We look at which specific things or situations trigger stress in you and how you can better handle it. You get the opportunity to get to know yourself better with the help of a personality test and by identifying  your core values. In this way, you will be better able to live a life in accordance with the person you are.

Session 3: In this session, we will identify what triggers stress in you and talk about how you can specifically handle your stress factors going forward. 

 

Session 4: In the fourth session, you will gain a deeper understanding of what can lead to stress. We will talk about how important it is for us humans to be part of the community and to be accepted and recognized by others, which ultimately put pressure on us.

 

Session 5: We work on finding out what is important for you to thrive in your life and thereby identifying  your core values. It is a great tool to help you make difficult decisions and to get back to Your Core when you experience doubt or stress.

 

Session 6:You will be given the opportunity to take a personality test that will help you understand yourself better. You find out why you act the way you do, what your strengths and weaknesses are, as well as what you need to focus on to regain balance in difficult times. 

3. Stress prevention

We work with the help of life coaching to change the patterns that contribute to triggering stress in you. Through open questions, I help you transform negative habits into positive ones so you remain stress-free going forward. This phase is adapted specifically to you and your needs.

Wrap-up session

We define your goals together depending on your needs. Here are 3 examples of what we could focus on.

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Session 7: Learn to speak up and to say no

 

Session 8: Learn to listen to yourself and to prioritize yourself

 

Session 9: Learn to have realistic expectations for yourself

 

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Session 10: We summarise what we have learnt and look at how you can successfully get back to work if you have been on sick leave due to stress.

With our stress coaching package
you get:

  • Tools to find peace and balance again

  • Methods to manage your thoughts and worries

  • 10 1-on-1 sessions where your recovery is in focus

  • To transform your limiting patterns into positive one so you can withstand stress

  • A personality test so you understand yourself better and know what you need to focus on to regain balance in difficult times. 

  • Your core values so you know what is important for you to thrive

  • Help to successfully get back to work after a sick leave related to stress

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