What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of Stress?

Stress is our body’s physiological response to a certain threat or demanding situation. When stress is within normal levels, it can help you stay focused and alert so you successfully manage challenges in daily life.

However, elevated levels of stress can be very damaging to your physical health and wellbeing. Long-term chronic stress can negatively affect different aspects of your life, such as work performance, relationships and your health.

Signs & Symptoms Of Stress

Stress can have an impact on several aspects of your life. Here are some of the common physical, emotional and behavioral signs and symptoms of stress:

Emotional symptoms

• Feelings of unhappiness
• Signs of depression and anxiety
• Feeling angry and irritated most of the time
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Loneliness and Isolation
• Focusing on the negative

Physical Symptoms

• Stomach pains
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Nausea
• Heart palpitations
• Poor immune system

Behavioral Symptoms

• Perpetual worrying
• Reduced or increased appetite for food
• Trouble sleeping at night or sleeping too much
• Social withdrawal
• Signs of procrastination, avoiding responsibilities
• Using alcohol, drugs or smoking to soothe your anxiety
• Memory problems
• Unable to concentrate
• Developing nervous habits, such as nail biting

Self-Help Tools For Managing Stress

• Take breaks! Breaks are important for recharging your mind. If you work in an office, use your break time to take a walk around the block. If you work at home, try standing and stretching every hour and focus on your breathing.
• Exercise! Exercise is an excellent way to boost your endorphins and make you feel happier and healthier. Additionally, scheduling time to work out establishes a set schedule which can help you better manage your time.
• Keep a list of manageable tasks. This list will help you stay organized so you do not have to fret about meeting deadlines. Additionally, crossing items off of the list following completion will help you feel more accomplished.
• Find a form of social support. This can be in the form of close friends, family, or people you feel comfortable talking to. In times of stress it can be helpful to vocalize your feelings and get feedback from those who have an outsider’s perspective.
• Rather than viewing your stressors as overwhelming, view them as challenges which can be overcome!

At EmotionMatters we have multidisciplinary team who can offer interventions to rebalance your life and help you manage stress.

Psychotherapists – talking therapy to help you manage and reduce stress via mindfulness, relaxation and breathing techniques

Nutritional Therapy – diet, lifestyle and health interventions to balance your body chemistry