It’s no secret that fathers experience a range of stressors. Some fathers manage to take care of children, work a full-time job, cook, and worry about finances. Other fathers are single-parent fathers, whereas others are maybe dealing with their child’s chronic childhood illness or cancer recovery. These different forms of stress, especially over time, can impact a man’s health. This blog post will explore how Burlington, Wisconsin, fathers can manage stress and build resilience through somatic experiencing therapy.
Stress in the Lives of Burlington Fathers
Our lives change every day. This means our stress levels change regularly. As mentioned above, there are many situations that create stress, especially as fathers. But it’s not just stress that gets to us. It’s the painful internal emotions and the negative thought spirals that accompany stress that wear us down, especially when stressors change or exist for long periods of time. It’s almost as if they wear out our internal ability to cope.
Common Sources of Stress for Fathers
Below are a few life domains where fathers can experience stress.
Work and Career Demands – commuting to Milwaukee/Kenosha or running a local business.
Family Responsibilities – parenting, providing, and relationship challenges.
Financial Pressures – cost of living, raising kids, and planning for the future.
Social Expectations – pressure to “be strong” and hide emotions.
The Impact of Unmanaged Stress
The impact of unmanaged stress can be significant on the body. Fathers with various forms of stress, especially over prolonged periods, can experience mind-body disconnection, nervous system dysregulation, and expose their bodies to numerous hormones. This can create health issues down the road. You can read more about prolonged exposure to stress by following this link. Despite the stress in life, you can learn how to help regulate your body.
Practical Stress-Management Strategies for Burlington Dads
Every father will be different in how they learn to manage stress. The key here is to try and stick with stress management strategies. Oftentimes, fathers default to activities that are low energy because they’re exhausted in life. Find what works best for you. Here are some questions to ask yourself if you are looking to find meaningful activities.
Questions to ask yourself
One – what brings me the most joy in life?
Two – what hobbies have I not done for a long time?
Three – is there anyone I could do something new with, a friend or someone from work?
Below are some activities that can help regulate the mind-body connection and the nervous system.
Spending time in nature or by water
Going for a walk
Physical workouts, up to your body’s ability
Slowing down
Building a Support Network
Having love and support from those around you is a crucial component of building a healthy, well-balanced life. Sometimes, because of stress, our lives start to shrink, and we might feel like it’s us against the world. By bringing other people into your life, you can expand social connections and relationships. A support network during times of stress can be a significant buffer to how you manage and endure periods of stress.
Professional Support for Fathers Near Burlington, WI
Stress gets too hard sometimes. This is where working with a therapist near you can be very beneficial. It’s not always the stress that we struggle with. It’s the emotional stuff, our critical thoughts, that exacerbate the level of stress we experience. Individual somatic experiencing therapy can help resolve these issues. As these issues are resolved, some of the level of stress will also decrease. Additionally, by learning how men can manage stress in healthy ways, you can increase your emotional resilience. This means that when future stressors arise, you can take these in stride, versus becoming bogged down and negatively impacted by these experiences.
Encouragement and Next Steps
Being a father can make it difficult to ask for help. We want to look strong for others, even though we may be struggling. Working with a somatic experiencing therapist can help you fix the internal world so that you can feel strong on the inside, as well as on the outside.
I’m currently accepting new clients at my Kenosha-based office. I have found that in-person therapy sessions work best for those who live near Burlington, Union Grove, Lake, Geneva, and Delafield, Wisconsin. Online somatic experiencing therapy sessions are also offered for those who live throughout Wisconsin and Colorado.
Take the jump and see how somatic experiencing therapy near you can help benefit your life. If you would like to schedule a free 15-minute phone call, please call 720.295.6703 or submit an online form by clicking here. I greatly look forward to hearing from you.
