How Stress and Anxiety Coaching Can Be More Effective

The Relationship Between Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety are often interconnected, but they are not the same thing. Stress is a natural response to perceived demands or changes in the environment, and it can be helpful in short bursts by enabling humans to deal with threatening situations. Anxiety is often a response to future, or perceived threats, involving worry and unease about what might happen. While stress can be triggered by external events, anxiety may be more internally focused, involving excessive worry and fear. Anxiety is marked by “what-if” worries, while stress is often a reaction to a current situation.

Similarities

Both stress and anxiety can cause similar physical and emotional symptoms, including:

• Muscle tension
• Heart palpitations
• Sweating
• Dizziness
• Shortness of breath
• Restlessness
• Sense of impending doom
• Difficulty sleeping
• Changes in appetite

Both can also lead to avoidance behaviors, where a person tries to avoid the situations or thoughts that trigger their feelings. Both can also impact a person’s immune system and lead to long-term health issues.

Differences

The main difference lies in the focus of the response. Stress is a reaction to an existing pressure, while anxiety is a response to a potential, or future, threat.

• Stress is often linked to an identifiable cause or trigger, whereas anxiety may have a less clear origin.
• Anxiety often involves persistent and excessive worry that can be difficult to control, even when the person knows it’s irrational. Anxious people can have a tendency for obsessive actions as a way to cope.
• Stress is often temporary, and usually resolves once the situation passes, but anxiety can be a long-term condition that continues without an obvious trigger.

Impact of Similarities and Differences on Coaching Approaches

A coach recognises that the source of the stress and anxiety can be as unique as the individual. The similarities mean that interventions for either stress or anxiety can have positive effects on the other and that often an individual is experiencing both at the same time. The differences in focus (present vs future), cause (clear vs less clear) and duration (temporary vs long-term) mean that a coach will tailor their techniques and approaches according to the individual’s unique needs.

• Understanding the source: As a first step, the coach explores the specific situations, triggers and underlying thought patterns that cause anxiety and stress. A coach focuses on addressing the triggers rather than focusing on the symptoms.
• Identifying Patterns: They will work with the client to understand their individual patterns of reactions to stress and anxiety, helping them to identify their own unique indicators of stress.
• Setting Goals: The coach helps the client to define their personal goals for reducing their stress and anxiety as well as help identify what they want to achieve in life. This is not necessarily about reducing anxiety, but about living a rich and meaningful life.
• Skill Building: Coaches may use a range of approaches, tailored to the individual, which include:
  • Boundary Setting: They can help clients identify their boundaries and set them in order to create a life that is less stressful.
  • Relaxation techniques: They teach methods for switching off the stress response such as breathing exercises and encourage relaxation practices.
  • Values Clarification: Coaches assist clients in identifying and aligning with their values, guiding them to make choices that are based on what they find meaningful.
  • Practical Tools: They teach concrete methods to use in the moment to reduce stress.
  • Acceptance: They might incorporate methods that encourage acceptance of thoughts and feelings as well as promoting resilience.
  • Assertiveness: Coaches teach communication skills to help clients deal with conflict and express their needs clearly.
• Focusing on the future: Coaches focus on the future, helping people to take steps toward what they want, rather than focusing on what they don’t want, or are afraid of. This helps the client to feel empowered, building self-efficacy and hope.
• Promoting Action: Coaches aim to move clients toward practical solutions, and focus on action, helping people to manage their challenges effectively. A coach never enables avoidance.
• Empowerment: Coaching aims to empower clients so they become self-reliant, and manage their stress by building self-awareness and self-management skills.
• Holistic approach: The coach will be aware of the client as a whole and will help them to take all areas of their lives into consideration.

Summary

Stress and anxiety, while interconnected, have key differences in their focus, triggers, and duration. Stress coaching can be effective because it takes a tailored approach that recognizes these nuances and focuses on what is controllable. The coach helps the client to identify what is causing their anxiety and/or stress and then teaches practical tools and skills to empower them to live a more meaningful, less stressful and less anxious life. By focusing on a client’s personal goals and values, coaching supports lasting change, promoting self-reliance and well-being.

If your life is being restricted by stress and anxiety and you think coaching could be the way forward, then get in contact and find out how you can be helped.