When stress becomes unhealthy

Stress is very normal and helps your body adapt to new situations. But when stress persists for a longer period, it can become unhealthy and play a major role in your mental and physical well-being.

HEALTHY VERSUS UNHEALTHY STRESS

Healthy stress, or positive stress, exists. It's the tension you feel leading up to an exciting event like an exam or a job interview. This stress is a way your body provides more focus and better performance under pressure. As soon as the exciting event is over, the tension subsides again.

We can all tolerate some tension. But when there's no balance between tension and relaxation, we speak of unhealthy stress, and physical and mental complaints can gradually arise. These include concentration problems, anxiety and panic complaints, memory problems, mood swings, worrying, insomnia, headaches, and digestive problems.

When you suffer from excessive exposure to unhealthy stress, the first reaction is often irritability. You can tolerate less, are less flexible, and get upset easily, making it harder to see both sides of a story. Furthermore, you feel more fatigued, and getting out of bed in the morning can already be a challenge.

Your traffic light is on amber.

STRAINED

When this unhealthy stress persists, you become overstrained. This can manifest primarily in physical complaints such as headaches, a stiff neck or shoulders, dizziness, heart palpitations, and stomach or abdominal pain. Additionally, you may also experience tension-related complaints such as feeling overwhelmed, crying spells, restless sleep, no more energy, and excessive worrying.



Your traffic light is now on dark amber.

BURNOUT

When you continue to ignore stress signals, you ultimately become physically, psychologically, and emotionally exhausted. You are overly sensitive to stimuli from your environment and you feel that you are not good enough. Sometimes you even become so exhausted that you can barely get out of bed.

Your traffic light is now on red.

The healing power of horses

Coaching with horses offers a unique and powerful way to manage stress and strengthen your resilience. Horses live completely in the moment and react purely to what they sense in the other, without judgment or hidden agenda. This makes them honest mirrors: they immediately show what is happening in your inner world, often even before you can put words to it yourself.

In a session with a horse, stress patterns become visible – such as tension in the body, suppressed emotions, or avoidance behavior. The horse reacts to your inner state and helps you become aware of what you feel and how you are present. Through this direct feedback, you are invited to calm down, regulate yourself, and reconnect with your body and your feelings.

Unlike a conversation at a table, horse coaching allows you to experience rather than merely analyze. In that experience, space emerges for new insights, letting go of control, and practicing different behavior. You learn to recognize, set, and restore boundaries. You learn to trust your intuition again. And you practice being present in the here and now – a fundamental skill to master stress.

Resilience grows when you can practice in safety. Contact with the horse offers precisely that safe foundation, where you are mirrored without judgment. This experiential form of coaching touches deeply, works through both body and mind, and supports sustainable change.

Curious about what coaching with horses can mean for you? Feel free to contact us for more information or an appointment. You are always welcome for an introductory meeting.