Is Managing Stress Different To Treating Stress?

April 5, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment 

If we want to understand the differences between treating stress and managing stress it is necessary to look at the definition of each individually.

Stress management is an overall definition which includes a wide variety of techniques that are used to treat the physical and emotional effects of stress.  Stress relief management is something that you can usually do on a daily basis and might include such things as eating correctly, exercising,  positive thinking, taking deep breaths, and so on.  These are all things you can do to help manage stress in your life.

Stress treatment usually refers to a specific therapy that helps to alleviate worry or emotional tension.  This is usually done with the help of a professional, such as a therapist or doctor.

Stress itself can be divided into two types.  Firstly, there is psychological stress which can cause worry, fear, anxiety and so on.  Secondly, there is physical stress which can be caused by lack of sleep, fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, and other physical illnesses.

The type of stress you are suffering determines how you need to treat it.  Physical stress can often be dealt with through a doctor and sometimes with medication.

Psychological stress may need more theraputic treatments, such as counselling, relaxation training or cognitive therapy techniques.  Many people do not know how to relax and need to be taught how to do this to control the stress as their levels increase.

With cognitive therapy you are taught how to examine what is important to you and manage stress to help you focus on this.

As you can see, managing stress is different to treating stress, but you may need to combine both forms in your life through daily stress management  as well as treatment via a therapist.