Stress: Therapy

General measures

• Time management at work and at home – Conscious and sufficient time off helps regenerate body and mind.
• Regulated daily routines provide routine and create mental relief.
• Pay attention to sufficient sleep – During sleep, the events of the day are processed and stress hormones are reduced. The ideal length of sleep depends on age. Adults should sleep between 7 and 9 hours.
• Leisure and hobbies: sports, music, art, cinema, reading, cooking – hobbies enrich life and distract from everyday stress. They bring joy and provide relaxation.
• Attitude changes: Mindfulness (Langer, 2002) and serenity (Heidegger, 1959; Neuen, C. 2004).
  • Take responsibility: tackle the things you can accomplish and leave behind what is beyond your strength.
  • Have realistic goals and expectations for yourself: It is important that you understand that you can not be 100% successful in everything.
• Positive thinking and regular laughter can reduce stress.
• Nicotine restriction (abstaining from tobacco use).
• Limited alcohol consumption (men: max. 25 g alcohol per day; women: max. 12 g alcohol per day).
• Review of permanent medication due topossible effect on the existing disease.
• Avoidance of psychosocial stress:
  • Acute and chronic stress (at work, family).
    • High sense of entitlement builds stress.
    • Long commute to work increases dissatisfaction and stress levels.
    • A high workload at work can make you sick in the long term.
  • Anxiety
  • Bullying
  • Mental conflicts
  • Social isolation
• Avoidance of environmental pollution:
  • Noise – for example, at work and sleep – triggers stress responses in the body.

Regular checkups

• Regular medical checkups

Nutritional medicine

• Nutritional counseling based on nutritional analysis
• Nutritional recommendations according to a mixed diet taking into account the disease at hand. This means, among other things:
  • A total of 5 servings of fresh vegetables and fruit daily (≥ 400 g; 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit).
  • Once or twice a week fresh sea fish, i.e. fatty marine fish (omega-3 fatty acids) such as salmon, herring, mackerel.
  • High-fiber diet (whole grain products).
  • Diet rich in:
    • Vitamins (vitamin A (retinol), thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin (vitamin B3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), folic acid, vitamin E (tocopherols), cobalamin (vitamin B12), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin D (calciferols), biotin, vitamin K (phylloquinone)).
    • Minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium)
    • Trace elements (chromium, copper, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, zinc).
    • Fatty acids (omega-3 fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)).
    • Other vital substances (phosphatidyl serine, probiotics, rose root extract).
• Selection of appropriate food based on the nutritional analysis
• See also under “Therapy with micronutrients (vital substances)” – if necessary, taking a suitable dietary supplement.
• Detailed information on nutritional medicine you will receive from us.

Sports Medicine

• Sports promote performance and support coordination processes in the brain. In addition, it helps to transform stress and other negative emotions into good mood.
• Endurance training (cardio training) and strength training (muscle training).
• Preparation of a fitness or training plan with appropriate sports disciplines based on a medical check (health check or athlete check).
• Detailed information on sports medicine you will receive from us.

Psychotherapy

• Therapy for long-term stress requires time for discussion, possibly in the context of a special stress management program. The background of problem solving for stress management is detailed in the section “Stress management”.The knowledge of the often negative processing strategies and the analysis of the questioned subject areas in the “stress diagnostics” are a decisive help for the treating physician. The physician obtains clarity about the following key areas through knowledge of the results in the written “assessment” of the “stress diagnostics” and through the subsequent discussion with the patient:
  • Positive and negative resources
  • Strengths and weaknesses of the personality
  • Feelings and expectations
  • Self-esteem assessment
  • Performance and entitlement behavior
  • Assessment of social support (friendship, partnership)
  • Sexuality
  • Dealing with aggression
• Other therapy components include psychoeducation (systematic didactic-psychotherapeutic interventions summarized, which serve to inform patients and their relatives about the disease and its treatment, to promote the understanding of the disease and the self-responsible handling of the disease and to support them in coping with the disease)/coaching (professional counseling or guidance of people who want to increase their performance in the professional or private environment), relaxation techniques (see below) and physical training (see below sports medicine).
• In addition, it is crucial for both therapeutic and preventive measures to promote the patient’s own initiative. The approaches to this must be discussed together; guidebooks can be taken to help.
• Relaxation phases must not be missing in everyday life! Helpful can be relaxation procedures / relaxation exercises such as meditation, yoga or chi gong.
• Detailed information on psychosomatics (including stress management) you will receive from us.

Complementary treatment methods

• Aromatherapy