Difficulty Coping with Life
Everyday life, as we all know is a bumpy ride with never-ending ups and downs along the road. That is the way of life. However, not everyone can cope with this bitter-sweet reality. Insecurities, stress, and inferiority can lead to difficulty coping with general life.
Managing stress can be dealt with in a better way than by beating yourself up. Constant stressful situations in life can lead to burnouts which ultimately leads to health issues that can threaten your well-being.
If you’re constantly under stress, these hormones will remain in your body, leading to the symptoms of stress. Managing stress in daily life Stress is not an illness itself, but it can cause serious illness if it isn’t addressed. If your stress is causing serious health problems, such as high blood pressure, you may need to take medication or further tests.
Assisted therapy as a support group can help you deal with high pressure and keep you afloat in uncertain situations and help alleviate a depressed mood. Many people find exercises that focus on breathing and muscle relaxation to be helpful in relieving stress or you could try cognitive behavioural therapy.
Our aim is to relieve stress through our support group. Your stress levels may rise and you may feel anxious attending a stressful event. You may not get enough sleep or experience brain fog.
Left untreated this can send you spiralling, our horses can provide support for your low mood when you spend time with them and help relieve anxiety and regain focus. Relationships with horses are different, and it’s about finding different ways of dealing with depression and a bad day. The horses as a stress support group can help you feel calmer and learn how to cope with anxiety.
Depression is an illness that alters your mood, One person in your family or friends group may notice symptoms of your health and want to help you deal with it and support you in any way they can. But talking can sometimes bring pain and you need alternative support to your friends alone, which is perfectly normal.
Do you feel overwhelmed with minor changes in life?
Changes are inevitable. Highs and lows are a part of life. Every person experiences these changes at least once in their lifetime. Be it starting a new career, moving to a new place or city, ending a relationship, a serious illness, or losing a loved one, every major event in life comes with a fair share of stress and emotional pressure and it can be overwhelming in different ways.
We often experience transitions in our personal and professional life, changes in our physical and mental state of being, or new events in a close circle of friends, social ties, family members or communities. Some changes can be expected and inevitable, whilst others can happen out of the blue. Your emotional well-being is exceptionally important and needs to be looked after.
If the change is causing stress and you just can’t talk to friends or family, it can affect the mind and body through stress hormones which increase the heart rate, blood pressure, and glucose level. You might end up feeling tired more often or feel more overemotional than ever. Or you might even lose interest in things that once lit up their lives which can be a worry.
If these feelings get worse with time or if you constantly feel low and find difficulty in doing your routine work, it could be a sign that you’re experiencing adjustment disorder. It is a stress-related condition that strikes after a major life-changing event.
At times like these, one wouldn’t be very comfortable seeking help from close ones with the fear of judgment. Equine-assisted therapy can help people overcome such difficulties.
What are the signs to look for?
The way a person reacts to a change differs from person to person. It cannot be generalised. However, below are some of the signs listed when one finds difficulty coping with everyday life:
- Constantly feeling tired and lifeless
- Difficulty to think clearly
- Inability to concentrate
- Feeling restless
- Feeling emotional or breaking down often
- Avoiding people
- Alcohol or drug abuse
How does equine-assisted therapy help you cope with life?
The ability to cope with change is also called resilience and the level of resilience may differ from person to person based on their environment and life practices. However, you can always learn to deal with change and help adapt to the change or accept the unexpected events with the right guidance and influence.
More often than not, we become fixated on events and changes over which we have zero control or we might even dread people in our lives who might never change their actions. With equine-assisted therapy, you can learn to be resilient to empower yourself and work towards change in their life.
Horses have the ability to sense human emotions and react accordingly. Say for instance, if you are angry, the horse may become obstinate and react similarly. If you are nervous and uncomfortable, the horse may get skittish. Horses pick up the emotion and respond to the same.
This way, you cannot delude a horse and they help you to be yourself. The horse’s response to your emotions develops self-awareness and helps you accept reality and adapt to it.
How does equine-assisted therapy work?
Equine-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach to healing emotional and mental health problems with the help of horses as therapeutic healers.
The therapy involves engaging the client in equine activities like feeding, haltering, and grooming a horse alongside a mental health professional and an expert horse handler.
People with mental health issues are emotionally underdeveloped and might find difficulty getting close to people or communicating with them. However, establishing bonds with animals becomes easy for them. As they are non-judgemental and empathetic beings. Although horses do not speak, they are known to be excellent communicators.
In equine therapy, people share their experience with horses and talk about what they see and how they feel. The therapist guides the person to see the horse’s response and helps them recognize their perceptions.
Whatever you find works for you with the horse, talking can help and they can’t judge so it’s easy to open up your world and exercise your worries to them. The pain lifted can help you feel more normal and lift anxiety. Regular exercise reduces stress and anxiety, so being in the great outdoors with a horse can relieve symptoms and improve your health. Feeling anxious can be a thing of the past!
Coping is key to help you not feel anxious and feel calmer. Learn to manage your own world and deal with what your body is telling you using the form of horses.
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What are the benefits of equine-assisted therapy?
Practising acceptance
Equine-assisted therapy helps vulnerable people to navigate through the challenges that life throws at them and develop a sense of confidence to cope with the changes. You will learn that the sooner you accept the reality, the sooner you end the suffering. Once you decide to practice acceptance, you open yourself up to making the right changes for yourself.
Being mindful
Is the practice of paying attention to the present situation and accepting reality without judgment. This can help you accept your thoughts and work through them.
Developing self-love
The practice involves reduced screen time that might increase anxiety and stress and focus on things you love doing like reading books, being outdoors, or journaling.
Coping with feelings
Most people struggle to manage their feelings and succumb to addictions like alcohol and drugs in an attempt to numb their feelings. The therapy helps in getting in touch with a person’s thoughts and feelings.
Developing communication and interpersonal skills
Therapy helps people recognize whether their perceptions are correct or misguided and then help them discover the ways to project their issues onto others and improve their ability to interact with other people.
At Healing Hearts and Minds, the therapy session takes place in an open space on the farm surrounded by greenery, fresh air and ever-loving horses.
We understand changes in your circumstances can be frustrating and scary. With equine therapy, you will learn to incorporate strategies that can help you grow through the hard times and learn to embrace and cope with them.
