Therapy and Coaching for Professionals Coping with Stress

Dr. Carolina Raeburn helps professionals who are coping with stress from their work or personal lives. She works with professionals in all fields, including but not limited to health, law, human services, architecture, finance, arts, information technology, communications, business, management, marketing, sales, science and engineering, and so on. She understands that being successful does not make people immune from experiencing life’s difficulties. Professionals may still experience relationship problems, anxiety, worry, depression, sadness, overwhelm, or other emotional wellness concerns. Moreover, professionals have their own set of unique challenges and it becomes increasingly important to implement stress management strategies and prioritize emotional wellness.

Are you coping with stress? Professionals often experience a significant amount of pressure from work. For example, recent studies state that approx. 42% of doctors have faced burnout, and approx. 15% have experienced depressive symptoms. Furthermore, other leadership roles have a tremendous amount of responsibility and deal with constant pressure —working long hours, managing employees, meeting deadlines, and making important decisions while balancing their personal lives. Performance expectations may make it difficult to wind down after work and reduce stress. The higher you make it up the ladder, the more pressure you face.

Usually, a busy work schedule can leave us with little time for self-care activities like good nutrition, exercise, fostering friendships, enjoying family life, or simply relaxing. Furthermore, lack of self-care can lead to chronic stress and emotional distress. It can cause problems in our relationships, social lives, and even affect our work.

Coping with Stress

Many professionals find themselves coping with stress. They face many uniques challenges that may lead to chronic stress—from high pressure at work to unique problems at home. These are a few common challenges professionals encounter:

Pressure From Work

• You face pressure to perform. More often than not, you live up to the performance expectation only to find that a new level of expectations awaits. The more success you gain at work, and the better you perform, the more the pressure builds and responsibilities increase. Stress management is critical in these situations. Dr. Raeburn can provide you with stress management techniques and help you reduce feelings of overwhelm.

Impostor Syndrome

• Impostor syndrome does not appear in the DSM, but it’s something many professionals experience. You know you have impostor syndrome when you see yourself at your place of employment or in your career surrounded by your colleagues, and you say to yourself, “what am I doing here? I don’t belong here” — It’s that feeling of not being good enough. Impostor syndrome can cause people to feel like they don’t deserve their success and experience feelings of inadequacy. It breeds self-doubt. Dr. Raeburn helps those experiencing impostor syndrome to have a deep understanding of their value and challenge irrational thoughts.

Fear of losing success

• It’s common for professionals and successful individuals to fear they may lose what they’ve worked so hard to attain. They work very hard to make things happen —they put in the long hours, take necessary risks, sacrifice personal time. However, this fear can trigger unhealthy behaviors that prevent continued growth. Having an awareness of this fear and working through it is very important for development and emotional wellness. Dr, Carolina Raeburn can help you manage these thoughts and provide you with strategies to neutralize your fear and worry.

Coping with Stress while Navigating Different Communication Styles

• Not everybody communicates in the same manner, but communication must stay efficient. Poor communication in the workplace may hinder a team’s performance and efficiency. Dr. Raeburn can help you engage in proper communication skills and to understand the perspectives of others.

Coping with Stress while Navigating Change

• Change is never easy, and sometimes we may need extra help to process the amount of pressure and responsibilities associated with it. Change can consist of several different things like employee transitions, changes in clients, procedural changes, or changes in your personal life that affect your work performance. Dr. Raeburn can guide you to navigate better the changes that present themselves in your life.

Coping with Stress while Navigating Difficult Personality Types

• People are different. We have different views, different lives, and various personal perspectives. These differences are seen in those we work with, clients, patrons, or those in our personal lives. Differences make life great and exciting, but when those differences become challenging to deal with, It’s essential to apply skills to manage communication and work towards having a healthy work and personal environment. Dr. Raeburn can help you with this.

Problem Solving

• Professionals often face circumstances that require problem-solving. Being able to think outside the box, open your eyes to new perspectives, organization, and increased focus may help problem-solving. Often we can problem solve alone, but there are times that we get “stuck” or become demotivated. Dr. Raeburn can help you shift your mindset, increase focus, improve organizational skills, and face any problem-solving situation with a new perspective.

Work-Life Balance

• When work becomes challenging, or you have to dedicate more time to your tasks or projects, other essential things like personal time and self-care fall to the wayside and lead to self-neglect and isolation. Dr. Raeburn understands that there is no perfect work-life balance model — it means different things to different people. She helps you find your individualized “work-life balance” or navigate any personal problems you may face.

Entering retirement

• Retirement is a phase of life transition that may be expected to be joyful but may bring dysphoria feelings. People entering retirement may find that they don’t know what to do with their free time. They always dreamed of retiring and spending their days playing golf or relaxing, but they also miss the work environment. Many individuals may even feel as if they have nothing to do. It can be a difficult transition, but Dr. Raeburn can help you find joy and purpose in this new phase of life.

Looking for Other Work

• Professionals may look for other careers because they want to experience something new or follow a passion. However, sometimes, it may be because they are experiencing burnout, overwhelm, boredom, or that feeling of being stuck. It’s necessary to determine the underlying reasons for a career change or seeking new employment. Dr. Raeburn will help pinpoint your reasons for change, help you develop a career change strategy, or teach you skills to resolve burnout, boredom, or overwhelm.

Coping with Stress and Mental Health

When stress becomes chronic, it can begin to affect our physical health, mental health, and emotional wellness. Sometimes, if stress is not properly managed it may lead to mental health concerns such as anxiety or depression.

Depression at Work

Depression can affect every aspect of your life, including your career. A survey that consisted of a nationally represented sample stated that approx. 6% of employees endure symptoms of depression in a given year, impacting productivity and increasing sick days. Depression is a mental disease that may be caused by multiple factors – emotional, medical, environmental, and genetic. At work, signs of depression may include difficulties concentrating, missing workdays for personal time, missing deadlines, feelings of sadness when you’re at work, and fatigue. Dr. Raeburn provides treatment to those who’re experiencing symptoms of depression.

Anxiety at Work

Anxiety affects approx—6% of the general population. In the workplace may manifest as fatigue, difficulty concentration, restlessness, and excessive worry. Other situations to watch out for are taking more days off, overreacting at your workplace, constantly focusing on your job or career’s negative parts, and missing deadlines. Dr. Carolina Raeburn works with individuals experiencing feelings of anxiety and can provide you with adequate coping strategies to help mage your symptoms.

Redefine Coping with Stress

Working with Dr. Carolina Raeburn can help you redefine coping with stress and provide beneficial coping strategies. She can help you with your work and life struggles. Shifting your mindset can, managing external problems, or working through feelings of depression or anxiety can change your life.

Schedule an appointment today.