Symptoms of stress

Symptoms of stress

Stress can affect your body, your thoughts & feelings and also your behaviour. Often the effects of stress mimic other health problems. Below are just a few examples of the symptoms of stress.
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Negative thinking
- Restlessness
- Loss of interest in something you used to enjoy
- irritability
- weight change or appetite change
- Loss if concentration
- Memory problems
- Moodiness
- Aches and pains
- Procrastination

Stress can affect us in many ways and the symptoms of stress are often overlooked. Stress not only affects our mind, it affects us physically as well. It can cause a whole raft of physical symptoms that can be difficult to diagnose as they mimic other problems. People have come to live with the fact that stress is a part of modern life and as such many ignore the symptoms of stress, or choose not to deal with the underlying problems that cause the stress symptoms.

The reason that so many symptoms of stress are difficult to detect is because stress affects the body in many different ways. Of course each one of us different so we all react to stress with very different symptoms as well. Some symptoms of stress are easier to detect as they are obvious, others are not detectable until the problem becomes more severe. Add to this that many symptoms of stress resemble other health problems and it can be very difficult to determine if your are suffering from symptoms of stress or just have a headache.

There are many symptoms of stress that are shared by us all, these include many common ailments such as headaches, more susceptablility to flu & colds, sleep problems, anxiety, frustration, lowered libido, poor decisions, twitching, fatigue, dizziness and a generally agitated state.

The symptoms of stress can actually lead to other health problems! One example is sleep problems, if one suffers from this long enough, it can lead to depression, or even high blood pressure. Stress can also increase pre-existing problems such as migraines, ulcers, asthma and colitis.

The symptoms of stress can be broken down into four categories:
- Physical Symptoms
- Mental Symptoms
- Emotional Symptoms
- Behavioural Symptoms

Physical Symptoms
These symptoms can include lowered immune system, muscle tension, headaches, insomia, loss of appetite, dizziness, nausea, and fatigue

Mental Symptoms
These symptoms can include loss of concentration, loss of decisiveness, confusion or forgetfulness

Emotional Symptoms
These symptoms can include, depression, anxiety, irritability, apathy, indifference, loss of motivation, pessimism, worry, nervousness and general unhappiness.

Behavioural Symptoms
These symptoms can include, compulsiveness, nail biting, foot tapping, blaming, searing, crying, yelling, weepiness, teariness, pacing and general restlessness.

If you can learn to spot these symptoms of stress early on, you stand a chance of dealing with the symptoms long before they become serious. If you feel that you are suffering from any of these symptoms of stress, then you should consult your doctor immediately.

This article has been provided for informational purposes only on the symptoms of stress. It is expected that if you think you are suffering from any of these symptoms, that you seek proper medical advice and not try to diagnose them yourself.