National Stress Awareness Day: Understanding and Managing Stress Through Therapy

Every year, National Stress Awareness Day offers an important reminder to pause and reflect on how stress affects our lives — and what we can do to manage it more effectively. In a fast-paced world where constant demands and responsibilities often take their toll, understanding stress and learning how to respond to it is essential for maintaining both mental and physical wellbeing.

What is Stress?

Stress is a natural response to pressure. It can be triggered by work, relationships, health worries, financial difficulties, or even positive changes like moving home or starting a new job. A certain amount of stress can be motivating, but when it becomes chronic or overwhelming, it can impact our mood, concentration, sleep, and overall health.

The Role of Therapy in Managing Stress

Therapy offers practical and emotional tools to help people manage stress more effectively. There are several therapeutic approaches that can be particularly helpful, each grounded in different psychological theories.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT is one of the most widely used and researched approaches for stress management. It’s based on the idea that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are interconnected. When we experience stress, we often fall into unhelpful thinking patterns such as catastrophising (“I’ll never cope”) or all-or-nothing thinking.

Through CBT, individuals learn to identify and challenge negative thought patterns, replacing them with more balanced and realistic perspectives. By changing the way we think, we can change how we feel and behave — ultimately reducing the intensity of our stress responses.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

Originally developed to support people with emotional regulation difficulties, DBT combines cognitive-behavioural techniques with mindfulness and acceptance strategies. It encourages individuals to find balance — to accept their current situation while also working towards positive change.

For those dealing with high levels of stress, DBT offers practical tools such as:

• Distress tolerance – learning to cope with intense emotions in healthy ways.

• Mindfulness – staying present and grounded, rather than becoming lost in worry or rumination.

• Emotion regulation – recognising and managing feelings before they become overwhelming.

These skills can make day-to-day challenges feel more manageable and help reduce emotional burnout.

Person-Centred Therapy (PCT)

Developed by Carl Rogers, Person-Centred Therapy takes a more humanistic approach. It emphasises empathy, unconditional positive regard, and genuine understanding from the therapist. The idea is that people have within themselves the capacity for growth and self-healing — they just need the right supportive environment.

In the context of stress, PCT helps individuals explore their experiences without judgement, gain self-awareness, and build confidence in their own coping abilities. It’s a gentle yet powerful way to reconnect with oneself and rediscover balance.

Taking the First Step

Recognising when stress is becoming unmanageable is an important step towards wellbeing. Therapy can provide a safe, confidential space to explore your feelings and develop tools to cope more effectively. Whether through CBT, DBT, PCT, or a combination of approaches, support is available to help you navigate life’s pressures with resilience and compassion.

This National Stress Awareness Day, take a moment to check in with yourself — and remember, seeking support is not a sign of weakness, but of strength and self-care.