
Getting help for stress
Whai āwhina mō te pōkaikaha
The following people and organisations may be able to help you with stress.
Friends, whānau (family) and others
Start talking to the people around you. You may be surprised at how they can help.
New Zealanders often feel that stress is a sign of weakness, and they are the only ones struggling. But mostly this is not true.
Talk to your friends, whānau (family), sporting coaches and the leaders in your faith community. Also, your workmates and your spouse. Everyone finds life challenging at times. The more you talk to others, the more you will realise this.
Try to choose people who are supportive, kind and non-judgemental. They might be able to offer some insights. This might make it easier for you to manage. Take a risk with the people in your life and open up.
General practice team
Your general practice team can offer support and advice with managing stress. They can help you work out if the self-care tips in this section can help. They can also tell you if you need some help from mental health professionals or medication.
Counsellor or psychologist
Despite making changes, you may still be finding it difficult to cope. If so, you might consider paying to see a private counsellor or psychologist. You can find a counsellor or therapist through the Family Services Directory. Or your general practice team might be able to help you find options that suit your budget.
Other health professionals
Some other health professionals have an interest in helping with stress management. These include physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians and chiropractors.
Online help
- Managing stress, anxiety and depression has instructions and audio clips to help with dealing with stress. This is from the University of Auckland's CALM (Computer Assisted Learning for the Mind) website.
- Skylight has information about coping with anxiety.
- Just a Thought has free online courses for people with anxiety and depression. The courses take six to eight weeks to complete.
- Small Steps is a set of tools to help with feelings of anxiety, stress, or low mood.
Phone helplines
- 1737, need to talk? – Phone 1737 or 0800-1737-1737 or txt 1737 (available 24/7). Trained counsellors who use proven behavioural support techniques.
- Depression Helpline – Phone 0800-111-757 or txt 4202 (available 24/7). Trained counsellors who can talk you through your problems and suggest help in your area.
- Lifeline – Phone 0800-543-354 (available 24/7). Free confidential professional counselling service.
- OutLine – Phone the support line on 0800-688-5463 or chat online from 6 pm to 9 pm any evening. Trained volunteers from the LGBTIQ+ communities answer calls. OutLine also offers face-to-face or video counselling. There is a charge for the counselling.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed December 2023.
Sources
The information in this section comes from the following sources, some of which may be clinically complex or not available to the general public
Centre for Clinical Intervention.
Mental Health Foundation – How to manage and reduce stress.
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust – Stress: a self help guide.
Depression.org.nz – Stress, relaxation and sleep, http://www.depression.org.nz/contentfiles/media/pdf/stress_relaxation_and_sleep.pdf, retrieved July 2014.
StressBusting.
Image and embedded video sources
Image of a man in front of a laptop with his hand on his face from Shutterstock (image ID 345950645). August 2019.
Image of a man walking a dog on the beach from Shutterstock (image ID 19644490). September 2020.
Image of a stressed young person from Shutterstock (image ID 90697366). December 2015.
Image of a woman unpacking boxes from Shutterstock (image ID 1235545897). May 2019.
Image of 2 women talking in a kitchen from Shutterstock (image ID 117719470). October 2020.
Page reference: 111608
Review key: HISTS-111503