Stress Management Counseling in Santa Fe, NM

You’re so stressed and anxious. Overthinking everything, you’re worried all the time. Sometimes you feel like a dog chasing its tail, spinning in circles, going nowhere.

And you can’t sleep.

Overthinking, ruminating, and freaking out — you’re tense at work, and stressed at home.

And while you’re a high-achiever, and your friends and family think you’ve got it all together, you’ve got a lot of problems. You’re frustrated, cranky, irritable, and overwhelmed. But even though you’re exhausted, you’re in non-stop crazy busy mode.

It’s getting too hard to avoid how you’re feeling. But you’re caught in the trap of your fears. You’re beginning to lose hope that you can deal with all the stress before it gets even worse.

You’re Worried All the Time

Always waiting for the next problem, the next bad thing, is exhausting. You know the other shoe’s gonna drop. And you don’t have the energy to deal with one more thing.

Too much worry can leave you feeling quietly afraid, dreading that next bad thing even if everything’s going pretty well, and too anxious to get a good night’s sleep.

Things you can worry about (not that you need new ideas!):

saying something wrong
doing something awkward
the past
your finances
your children
aging parents
an aging spouse or partner
the future
the climate
Covid-19
getting sick
getting old
losing someone or something you have
never having someone or something you want
not feeling safe in the world
success
failure
not reaching your full potential
wanting to make a change or take a risk or have an adventure but being too scared
the political situation
losing our democracy
the war in Ukraine
basically … anything!

Worry and stress can develop into diagnosable anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety, social anxiety, even phobias. Too much stress, especially the longer you fight with it, can compromise your physical health, relationships, work, and, of course, your happiness.

Stress management counseling with the Santa Fe Therapist will teach you how to manage stress, improve your sleep, and support your emotional health and wellbeing. Which, of course, affects everything in your life.

Is There a Connection Between Sleep & Stress?

Ummm … yes.

When you’re not sleeping well, you’ll be more stressed. And when you’re more stressed, you won’t sleep as well. Your brain and neurochemistry change when you’re either stressed or chronically sleep deprived. And when you’re both, it’s even worse.

Sleep loss triggers our body’s stress response system, leading to an elevation in stress hormones, namely cortisol, which further disrupts sleep,” Wilson explained. “Research has shown that sleep plays an important role in learning and memory. Chronic sleep deprivation also has been associated with decreased metabolism and endocrine dysfunction.

Adding to the fun, as we age, it’s common that the sleep cycles that used to be our “normal” can become disrupted, leaving us tired, if not exhausted.

No matter how young or not-so-young you are, tiredness and fatigue make stress worse. If you’re tired, you just have less energetic bandwidth available to deal with the inevitable everyday stressors. Tiny little things can seem like insurmountable obstacles.

And the significant challenges? Impossible.

I Can’t Stop Over-thinking

Overthinking, ruminating, a nervous system turned up to 11 all the time — these are ingredients to a potentially toxic soup that sits simmering on the back burner.

And it can be tricky to identify because your mind isn’t built to slow down, pause, or even stop.

Everyone has an always-on-duty monkey mind. Your monkey mind’s self-appointed job is to keep scanning the environment, constantly checking for threats and danger. And it can pretty quickly get out of control when you’re not paying attention to it.

Just as unhealthy, you can begin thinking that what your mind telling you is accurate and you’ve got to act on every catastrophizing worry right now before it’s too late. Or else. Or else something bad will definitely happen.

Your Thoughts are Stressful

Your thoughts can be make you stressful. But here’s the thing … your thoughts are just thoughts. A lot of the time, they’re not about anything real. They’re thoughts, passing through your mind as clouds in a brilliant summer sky.

And yes, there are effective techniques to learn how to slow down that monkey mind and successfully manage the internal chaos of negative self-talk, ruminating, and overthinking.

Guess what? That will help with stress management, no matter what’s going on.

The Santa Fe Therapist Approach to Managing Stress

I’m Melanie, the Santa Fe Therapist, and I teach stress management techniques to people who are struggling to reclaim health, wellbeing, and peace.

Profoundly positive things begin happening when you learn how to calm down your nervous system.

We’ll figure out what’s going on and what you need to begin feeling more in control of your life and way less stressed.

In balancing the science of therapy with the art of healing, I’ll create an innovative program for you that sets you on a path of success from the very first session.

My compassionate, creative approach weaves together my ability to hear below the surface of the words, advanced degrees, years of specialized training, and professional experience teaching stress management techniques to hundreds of people.

Neuroscience, Eastern Wisdom, & Earth-based Practices

I use the latest neuroscience findings as I combine Western systems, Eastern wisdom, Earth-based practices, as well as creative, innovative ideas to help you process what’s happening, heal old patterns, and begin building your future.

My clients usually work with me once a week for 8 to 12 months. As we work together, you’ll be getting tools for long-term success and learning and using strategies and techniques to serve you for many years.

You’ll work hard for sure. But won’t all be horrible and terrible! I love sharing ideas about good books and films and laughing together once in a while. The point is to be less stressed, right? Right.

My hope for you is that you’ll feel safe every step of the way.

Online Therapy in New Mexico

Online therapy helps busy women find the time away from day-to-day pressures to calm their nervous systems. It also makes it easy and convenient to process emotions and learn new neuroscience techniques cope with challenges, heal the past, and begin building your future.

Stress management counseling in Santa Fe, NM works really well with online therapy.

I strongly believe in the power of online counseling. Along with the research that proves its effectiveness, I see the positive benefits for clients every week. Please click here if you’ve got questions about online therapy.

Online counseling from anywhere in New Mexico, including Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Taos, Los Alamos, Pecos, Las Vegas, Tesuque and El Dorado.