Stress Management through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Stress Management
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Stress Management
Stress refers to the inability to cope with emotional pressure. Someone feels overwhelmed and unable to deal with life challenges. Not all stress is wrong; a small amount of it can assist people in completing tasks and also feel energized. However, stress becomes an issue of it intense and lasts for a long time. When stress increases to unmanageable levels, it affects physical and mental health (Epel et al., 2018). It can either be acute, where it happens within a short time or chronic if it lasts for a more extended period or keeps coming back. There are different sources of stress since what may be stressful to someone may not be to another. Some causes include job loss, sickness, relationships and divorce, family challenges, grief, pregnancy loss, fear of something in someone’s surroundings, and job problems.
Stress can have adverse effects on someone’s well-being. For the male reproductive system, chronic stress adversely affects testosterone production, causing a decline in sex drive. Men who experience stress constantly are more vulnerable to erectile dysfunction. It also negatively impacts sperm production and maturation, making it challenging for couples to conceive (Xiong et al., 2022). Men experiencing stress are likely to have a lower percentage of sperm mobility. For the female reproductive system, it can cause absent or irregular menstrual cycles and more painful periods. It also reduces sexual desires. Chronic stress can negatively impact a woman’s ability to conceive. It is also a significant contributor to complications of pregnancy and postpartum adjustment. Other effects on both men and women include sleeping problems, elevated levels of blood pressure, headaches, and worsening the symptoms of other sicknesses.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of behaviour therapy that entails managing thought patterns to better deal with stressors. It aims to offer individuals a new perspective on a stressful situation, hence enabling them to have control of the problems. It works by minimizing intense physiological symptoms and enabling people to adopt effective strategies that assist them in dealing with stressful events. The initial phase of CBT entails thoroughly assessing a patient’s thoughts and circumstances that contribute to stress (Otte, 2022). Because of life history, people characteristically respond to issues. For individuals under stress, such interpretations entail the perception of danger which challenges their ability to handle such issues. Next, using the assessment, the therapist assists clients in developing strategic plans to help better manage stress. The plan entails developing approaches to modifying stress-producing thoughts and improving coping strategies. Here, patients learn to develop new thinking and behavior patterns (Otte, 2022). They discover how to identify stress triggers and improve their ability to handle stressful situations more effectively. The phase is instrumental in understanding factors that contribute to increased stress levels from a better perspective. Clients learn different thinking and behavior patterns that can assist them in minimizing stress and co...