Chris & Elizabeth Clarke
Personal and Professional Development
Est (1995)

Corporate and Personal Psychotherapeutic solutions

01179692281

Stress Management

What is Stress?

Our modern lifestyle has resulted in many people experiencing increasing amounts of pressure in their lives. This life pressure can come from many sources however it is both the aggregate of this life pressure and the endurance which are significant in affecting our well being.

Whilst some life pressure is essential to motivate us and give us a purpose in life, above a certain point that pressure turns into an oppressive force (STRESS) that starts to take control of our life away from us. 
There are people who do not experience sufficient life pressure; people who are under motivated, under achieving, under productive, under stimulated. The effect of feeling under valued can be just as damaging for our health as being over pressured.

In 2001, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defined Stress as:

“The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demands placed on them.”

How would I know if I had Stress?

The point at which the life pressure becomes Stress varies from person to person, and varies according to our lifestyle, our expectation of pressure, and our level of motivation.  While one person will cope easily with a particular level of pressure and simply be “busy”, others may find that same level of pressure overwhelming and could be in need of assistance to learn to manage the stress in their life. 

Just think about the traumatic situations experienced by Firefighters, Paramedics, Police and the Armed Forces.  The armed and emergency services personnel are trained for, and have an expectation of traumatic events and can therefore cope much better in those situations.  However they may not cope so well in a long term caring situation for instance.   

The Symptoms of Stress include:

Constantly feeling overloaded.
Alternatively, feeling bored.
Always tired.
Tense.
Aggressive.
Angry.
Worried.
On edge.
Deteriorating performance.
Relationship problems.
Exhausted.
A feeling of a loss of control.
Perception of being unable to cope.
Increased incidence of minor ailments (colds and coughs).
Backache.
Loss of short term memory.
Irritability.
Sleeplessness.
Over/Under eating.
Being unusually emotional.
Resorting to negative coping props (Tobacco, Alcohol, prescription or other drugs).

We are all able to absorb stress for a short period of time. It is when that stress is continuous and the person starts to experience psychological and physiological symptoms that their health begins to deteriorate and action has to be taken to recover.

If experienced for some time, these symptoms can lead to:

absenteeism.
increased staff turnover.
loss of performance.
increased levels of sickness.
panic attacks
phobic responses.
depression.
suicide.

The effects of Stress are being increasingly recognised by employers.  The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimated that stress related conditions caused the loss of 13,800,000 million working days in 2006/7 with an everage of 30.8 working days lost per case per year.  Overall, it was estimated that 530,000 people (13.8% of the workforce) reported that stress was adversely affecting their health.  13.6% of all workers reported that their job was very or extremely stressful. 

Chris and Elizabeth Clarke are qualified Stress Managers having qualified with Lambourn Court International Stress Management in 1995.  They both hold a Diploma in Personal Development, Mentoring and Stress Management accredited by Anglia Polytechnic University.

They are founder members of Stressmanagers (SM), an organisation which provides Training for Stress Managers, and Continuous Professional Development, Supervision and mutual support for a nationwide network of highly qualified independent practitioners working in the field of Stress Management, Coaching, and Personal Development. 

Chris is a member of the International Stress Management Association (ISMA).

Chris and Elizabeth are also associates of AMC Mentoring (AMC), an organisation which provides total stress solutions for business.

For more information, click here to contact Chris and Elizabeth.

Please click on the appropriate logo for more information.

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Stress Management Training

Stressmanagers is a membership organisation which provides professional training, Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training, supervision and membership services for it’s members.

Stressmanagers run the following courses:

Quarterly Continuous Professional Development (CPD)workshops:

Run over a weekend in March, June, September and December. The June weekend usually includes some elements of relaxation and reflection and is usually held at a quiet location in the countryside. These events are included in Stressmanagers membership and are open to non members and guests when space permits.  For further details, check the Stressmanagers website (www.stressmanagers.co.uk) or phone 0870 747 4022.

Certificate in Stress Management Coaching.

A 12 day course, comprising of one study weekend per month for 6 months, plus assignments to train students coaching skills and to be effective in helping individual clients to manage their stress levels effectively.

Certificate in Organisational Stress Management.

A 3 day course following which graduates will be able to:

• Present stress awareness workshops/seminars
• Present stress management workshops
• Project manage a risk assessment for workplace stress
• Have knowledge of the current stress audits available

Practice Marketing Certificate

An intensive course 2 day course to help new practitioners effectively market their practice, including advertising strategies, area management, insurance, development of a business plan and pricing.

Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy.

A 24 day course comprising of one study weekend every month for 12 months (150 hours), plus assignments which take approximately 300 hours. The course is based on the National Occupational Standards for Hypnotherapists and Graduates will be able to practice as Hypnotherapists and apply for membership of the General Hypnotherapy Register (GHR) and The Hypnotherapy Association (HA).

Diploma in Holistic Stress Management (Dip HSM)

The Dip HSM is awarded to those students who have graduated from the courses mentioned previously.  The Dip HSM is the gateway to higher qualification including points towards a Masters degree.

All Stressmanagers students are provided with a supervisor for the duration of the course until qualification. Included in the course fee is membership of Stressmanagers for a stated period.  Following qualification, graduates will be allocated a mentor and can also enjoy the support of the membership for continuous peer supervision.

To obtain any information, please check out Stressmanagers website (www.stressmanagers.co.uk), email Stressmanagers by clicking here, or telephone 0870 747 4022