All of us experience stress in some form and at varied levels. There are many ways to deal with stress, and we’ve talked about some of these ways in our previous blogs.

1. Get Rid Of Stress. Here’s How You Do It. 

2. Ten Games to Help You De-stress.

3. Four Kinds of Music to Help you De-stress.

4. Is Stress Killing Your Relationship?

5. These Tips Will Help You Fight Stress Away.

When stress turns into chronic stress, it begins to have a negative ripple effect on your life – this means that the chronic stress will affect every aspect of your life.

To get through this kind of stress, we often need external help like psychotherapy. This is a great form of therapy but, unfortunately, it has a widespread stigma attached to it. Psychologist Daniel J. Reidenberg said, “There is still an unjustified stigma around mental illnesses, but we’re not even talking about mental illness. We’re just talking about life and how hard life can be. The benefits of psychotherapy [can be viewed] more like stress-relievers like exercising and eating right — just strategies that help make life easier and help to remove stressors.”

Here are five signs that you need to talk to someone:

1. Extreme Feelings

When you deal with chronic stress on a daily basis, your ability to function is impaired. When you are under extreme stress, it gets hard to focus on what you are doing, let alone make good decisions. Eventually, you may reach a point where you are tired of facing the stress, and you resort to suppressing everything you feel. Make a conscious effort to recognize that you are in this place and you need help.

2. Tried and Tested Methods Fail

Have you tried all kinds of stress busters to help deal with stress but nothing seems to work? That is because, under constant stress, our coping skills fail us. In such a scenario, an expert can help.

3. Substance High

Many people turn to mood-altering substances to help them get through the stress. Vices like smoking, drinking, and drugs are addictive and are harmful when overused.  It’s not just drugs that people abuse to help alleviate stress symptoms. Even spending all your free time engaging in pornography, gambling, or even constantly checking social media are ways to avoid dealing with stress. If you are dealing with an addiction, talk to someone who can help you out.

4. People’s Observations

If your friends, colleagues, or family members notice that you are not okay or that you seem to be struggling, it’s a sign that your behavior is affecting others and that the stress may be too much for you to handle. The advantage of talking to an expert is that you can be open and honest about how you feel without worrying about confidentiality or judgment.

5. Strained Relationships

Do you have trouble communicating how you really feel? It’s our natural tendency to unleash pent-up stress and anger on our loved ones. Over time, this puts a strain on your relationships, which then leads to fights and misunderstandings and eventual alienation. Talking to an expert will help you deal with stress and mend your relationships.

We at Ergos Mind have developed a special collaborative program called Emotional Engineering. This program enables you to have one-on-one counseling with a qualified expert psychologist. Through this program, you will learn to identify goals, gain insight, learn skills, and use tools to help you cope with life’s difficulties and improve your overall well-being