A certain amount of stress is a normal, and even useful, part of life. It becomes a problem when it’s constant, when there’s little chance to recover, or when it starts affecting your health, sleep, relationships, or ability to cope. Working with a psychologist can help you understand what’s driving the stress and build more sustainable ways of managing it.
Veronica West is a registered psychologist (BPsychSc(Hons), MPH, MPsych) based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. She works with adults and adolescents across Australia via secure telehealth, including people dealing with ongoing pressure and the effects of chronic stress on daily life.
What Is Stress?
Stress is the body and mind’s response to demands or pressure. In short bursts, the stress response is helpful: it sharpens focus and mobilises energy to meet a challenge. The difficulty comes when stress is ongoing, and there’s little opportunity to recover. This is often called chronic stress.
When stress stays switched on for long periods, the body doesn’t get the chance to return to a settled state. Over time, that can affect sleep, concentration, mood, physical health, and the capacity to cope with everyday demands.
Common Signs of Chronic Stress
Chronic stress can build gradually, so it’s not always easy to notice. Common signs include:
- Feeling constantly tense, wound up, or unable to switch off
- Trouble sleeping, or waking unrefreshed
- Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Irritability, a short temper, or feeling overwhelmed by small things
- Physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle tension, or stomach problems
- Changes in appetite, or relying on food, alcohol, or other habits to cope
- Withdrawing from people or losing interest in things you usually enjoy
- Feeling like you’re running on empty
Stress, Burnout, and Anxiety
Stress, burnout, and anxiety are related but distinct. Stress is usually tied to external demands and tends to ease when those demands lift. Burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion that can develop when stress at work or in caregiving roles continues without enough recovery. Anxiety involves persistent worry or fear that can occur with or without an obvious external cause.
The three often overlap, and ongoing stress can contribute to both burnout and anxiety. If what you’re experiencing sounds more like burnout or anxiety, the burnout page or the anxiety page may be a better starting point. The differences between the two are set out in more detail in stress vs burnout.
How Psychology Can Help With Stress
Therapy for stress isn’t about removing all pressure from your life, which usually isn’t realistic. It’s about understanding what’s contributing to the stress, recognising the patterns that keep it going, and building practical, sustainable ways to manage it.
Depending on your situation, this might involve identifying the demands and expectations driving the stress, learning skills to settle the stress response, working on boundaries and priorities, and addressing thinking patterns that add to the pressure. The aim is to help you cope in a way that’s workable for your real life.
Therapeutic Approaches
The approach depends on what you’re experiencing and is decided together. It may draw on:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): clarifying what matters and acting on it, while managing pressure rather than being driven by it.
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): identifying and working with the thinking patterns and behaviours that add to stress.
- Stress management and regulation skills: practical strategies for settling the nervous system, improving sleep, and recovering between demands.
- Work on boundaries and values: looking at priorities, expectations, and boundaries that affect your day-to-day load.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is chronic stress?
Chronic stress is stress that continues over a long period with little chance to recover. Unlike short-term stress, which eases once a demand passes, chronic stress keeps the body’s stress response switched on. Over time it can affect sleep, concentration, mood, and physical health.
What’s the difference between stress and burnout?
Stress is usually linked to external demands and tends to ease when those demands lift. Burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion that can develop when stress, often at work or in caregiving, continues without enough recovery. Ongoing stress can contribute to burnout, and the two often overlap.
How do I know if my stress needs professional support?
It can be worth reaching out if stress feels constant, if it’s affecting your sleep, health, mood, or relationships, or if your usual ways of coping aren’t working. You don’t need to be at breaking point to seek support, and addressing stress earlier can make it easier to manage.
Can therapy really help with stress?
Yes. Therapy can help you understand what’s driving the stress, recognise the patterns that keep it going, and build practical, sustainable strategies to manage it. The focus is on workable change for your real circumstances, not on removing all pressure from life.
Do I need a referral to start?
No referral is needed to begin therapy. If you’d like to access a Medicare rebate, you’ll need a Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP. You can find current fee and funding information on the fees and funding page. For a fuller breakdown of what seeing a psychologist costs across Australia, see how much it costs to see a psychologist. If your stress is related to a work injury, sessions may also be funded through workers’ compensation (WorkCover Queensland and SIRA in New South Wales).
If ongoing stress is affecting your life, you’re welcome to get in touch. You can read more about how Veronica works on the therapy page, or make contact through the contact page.
If you are in crisis or need urgent support, this service is not an emergency service. Please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, or call 000 in an emergency.