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Professional counseling can often help people deal with stress in their lives. Seeking assistance from a certified social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist is not a sign of weakness or ineptitude. Instead, it suggests that you are willing and able to get the help you need to live the richest and happiest life possible. Make a special effort to find a therapist who is right for you. Ask your friends or your doctors for recommendations and don't be afraid to interview several therapists before settling on one.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy, which combines talking with practical, behavior-changing techniques, can be quite successful. The purpose is to alter the negative thoughts ("I'm not smart enough" or "That's too difficult for me") that keep you from handling stressful situations.
If you are terrified of public speaking, for example, try imagining the audience all naked. You may laugh, but once you have changed how you see that audience, it becomes less fearsome.
Another example of a successful cognitive-behavioral therapy technique urges you to think of tense situations as "hooks." Imagine you are a fish swimming in a lake. Now and then a hook drops. The hook may be a traffic jam, a challenge from an argumentative spouse, or a rude clerk. Each day 30 or more hooks may come your way. You can decide whether to bite or not. When you bite, you react to the provocation with anger, aggravation, or impatience. When you don't bite, you swim around the hook, doing what you must without letting it get the better of you.
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