Stress Management Support

Find steadiness, clarity, and breathing room again

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When Stress Starts Taking Over Your Life

Stress can build slowly or hit all at once—leaving you overwhelmed, exhausted, and unsure how to keep juggling everything. You may be feeling stuck in survival mode, running on adrenaline, or constantly bracing for the next thing to go wrong. Even when things look “fine” from the outside, internally you might feel like you’re barely keeping it together.

You might be:

  • Snapping at people you care about

  • Feeling tension in your body that never fully goes away

  • Struggling to focus or complete tasks

  • Waking up tired, no matter how much you sleep

  • Feeling like your mind is racing or foggy

  • Worrying constantly, even about small things

  • Carrying emotional load for others while ignoring your own needs

  • Feeling disconnected—from yourself, your relationships, or your joy

Stress can take over your thoughts, your body, your energy, and your ability to function. Therapy can give you a grounded place to slow down, breathe, and understand what’s happening inside your nervous system.

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What Stress Management Support Is

Together, we create space to understand your stress responses—not just cognitively, but emotionally and physically. Through a combination of nervous system education, emotional processing, coping tools, and personalized strategies, you’ll learn how to reduce overwhelm and navigate stress in a way that honours your limits and supports your well-being.

You can expect:

  • A warm, judgment-free space to talk about what feels heavy

  • A step-by-step process to explore what is contributing to your stress

  • Tools that are realistic and sustainable

  • Support creating a comprehensive self-care plan

  • Strategies tailored to your energy, capacity, and nervous system

  • Space to process the emotions underneath stress—fear, grief, guilt, shame, pressure

  • Collaborative goal setting based on what you need now

My goal is for you to walk away feeling more regulated, empowered, and grounded—not just coping, but actually living with more ease and clarity.

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How Stress Management Therapy Helps

Common Symptoms You May Be Experiencing

  • Constant overwhelm

  • Irritability or emotional outbursts

  • Difficulty sleeping

  • Muscle tension or chronic fatigue

  • Trouble concentrating

  • Racing thoughts or persistent worry

  • Feeling detached or numb

  • Trouble saying no or setting boundaries

  • Burnout symptoms

Benefits of Stress Management Support

  • More emotional stability and resilience

  • Improved focus and energy

  • Better sleep and physical regulation

  • A calmer, more grounded nervous system

  • Tools for staying steady during stressful moments

  • Greater balance between responsibilities and rest

  • More capacity to enjoy and engage in daily life

  • A self-care plan that fits your actual life

  • A stronger sense of control, clarity, and self-trust

Areas of Focus

  • Understanding Your Stress Response

    Learn how your brain and nervous system react to stress. Understanding the “why” behind your reactions builds self-compassion and reduces shame.

  • Emotional Processing & Coping Tools

    Identify the emotions beneath your stress and learn grounding, regulation, and coping strategies you can use in real moments—not just in theory.

  • Boundaries, Overcommitment & People-Pleasing

    Explore how expectations, pressures, or patterns of overextending yourself contribute to stress. Learn how to set boundaries that feel achievable and supportive.

  • Nervous System Regulation

    Practice techniques for calming your body—breathwork, somatic tools, pacing, sensory supports—tailored to your lived experience and capacity.

  • Executive Functioning & Overwhelm Support

    For clients with ADHD or ADHD traits, we can integrate structure, planning, and energy-management tools that respect how your brain works.

  • Creating a Sustainable Self-Care Plan

    Not a list of tasks to add to your plate—this is a collaborative plan that supports your rest, energy, and emotional well-being.

Headshot of Andrea Best wearing a green satin blouse

More About Andrea

I am a Registered Social Worker with a Master’s of Social Work and over fourteen years of experience supporting individuals and families. My approach is warm, collaborative, and client-centred, grounded in the belief that people deserve support that honours their experiences and unique challenges.

I have extensive training in trauma-informed care, mindfulness, strengths-based therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, and solution-focused and narrative approaches. I aim to help you feel heard, understood, and supported as you work toward greater balance and well-being.

How to Get Started

Beginning therapy can feel like a relief and a big step at the same time. Here’s what starting together can look like:

  • A 30-minute call to meet, ask questions, and explore whether this support feels right for you.

  • We’ll talk about what’s been overwhelming you, what feels most urgent right now, and what you hope to change.

  • Together, we’ll build tools, awareness, and a plan that supports your nervous system—so you can move from survival mode to something steadier and more sustainable.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • If stress is impacting your mood, energy, sleep, relationships, or daily functioning, therapy can help you regain balance.

  • Not at all. Stress shows up differently for everyone. You don’t need a diagnosis to benefit from support.

  • Both. We explore the emotional roots of your stress and build practical, tailored tools for managing it day-to-day.

  • It varies for each person. Some clients come for short-term support; others find value in longer-term care.

  • Yes, I offer virtual and phone counselling for clients across Ontario and in-person at my office in Etobicoke.

Start Your Path to Healing

A free 30-minute consultation to learn more and get the support you deserve.

Book Your Free 30-Minute Consultation