How do I find professional help? | How can you improve your stress resistance?

How do I find professional help?

If you feel particularly sensitive to stress or are physically and mentally limited by it, it is a good idea to seek professional help. This is best found at a psychotherapist. Psychotherapists have the most extensive training in stress management strategies.

Therapists can be found either on the Internet or you can ask the nearest family doctor or outpatient psychiatrist. They may even be able to report on their experiences with the therapists and make a recommendation. Some patients also find help from alternative medical service providers. Pay attention here however always to seriosity and authority of the offerers.

Which doctor is responsible for this?

In principle, the increase of stress resistance is not one of the medical tasks. Only when there is a real depression can the family doctor and psychiatrist help. Nevertheless, advice can always be obtained from these doctors and, if necessary, mediated.

Relaxation techniques

Some relaxation techniques have already been mentioned. In the following two of them are highlighted as examples. Progressive muscle relaxation: The basic principle of progressive muscle relaxation according to Jacobson is the conscious tensing and relaxing of individual muscle parts.

This strengthens body awareness and relieves tension.The technique can be used both lying down and sitting and is therefore also suitable for stressful situations at the workplace or for people who have trouble falling asleep. It starts with the feet and lower legs. These should be tensed one after the other for a few seconds.

Then the muscles should be actively relaxed. In this way you continue with the individual muscle groups in ascending order until you reach the head. This takes some time, but often leads to a quick relief in stressful situations.

Autogenic training: Autogenic training focuses on the conscious control of bodily functions. This technique requires some practice before it can be applied successfully, but then leads quickly to success. However, it has limitations in that it is difficult to implement in acute stress situations, for example at work.

Autogenic training works as follows: In the beginning, the user must actively become aware of stress and tension in the body and localize the affected body regions. Now, after sufficient training, the tension can be relieved by the power of thought and imagination alone. Autogenic training promises a reduction of stress and sleep disturbances, especially with long-term use. Corresponding courses are offered, for example, in yoga groups or with outpatient psychotherapists.