You can define stress as a feeling of emotional or physical tension. Multiple factors bring stress that can make you feel frustrated, emotional, and nervous. Stress is the body’s reaction to demand or challenge.
At times, stress can be positive when it helps you avoid danger and meet a deadline; however, stress causes adverse effects. Stress is a cofactor in 95% of disease processes. It is essential to know how to manage stress. The learning process begins once you identify the specific type of stress that affects you and how the stressors show up or manifest in your life.
Signs that could mean you’re stressed
Some people thrive well under pressure, for instance, if there is a deadline at work. For them, stress is part and parcel of their everyday life. However, it can negatively impact one’s life when stress is left unchecked. Stress can become chronic when you have that you’re constantly overreacting to minor stressors, which affects your emotions, physical health, and cognition.
Stress can eventually contribute to severe illnesses such as heart diseases, lowered immunity, and changes in the brain. It is pretty easy to identify stress symptoms; once you realise that you have stress, you need to find solutions. The solutions that can help you avoid serious health complications later in life.
When you have undergone stress, getting back to everyday life can be accessible only if you are willing not to put pressure on yourself. And also, stay calm no matter the life situation.
Feeling tired
Stress causes physiological effects on the body by releasing hormones into the bloodstream that accelerate the heart rate and breathing. The constant strain on the system has an exhaustive impact that leaves you constantly feeling tired all the time. The exhaustion interferes with your daily activity, and it becomes difficult for you to participate even in light duties.
Sleep difficulties
Having an occasional restless night is not necessarily a cause of alarm; stress can cause persistent sleep difficulties. As much as the body wants to sleep, the mind is racing up and down. The pressure prevents you from sleeping. You find that you constantly go through the same issue in your mind repeatedly, as the brain works overtime to try and find a solution.
Irritability
Stress affects moods in ways that you find it is not easy to control. When you’re stressed, the nervous system is hyper-responsive. The sensory receptors become more active to stimuli, which makes everything seem more intense. Tension adds to the feeling that there is perceived pressure, and that causes you to overreact.
Overeating, too little, or eating unhealthy foods
When someone gets stressed, they tend to have a poor diet, such as they either eat little, eat too much or even overeat. Another factor about stressed people is that their appetite is short-term as the brain releases hormones that suppress appetite. On the other hand, chronically stressed people release a chemical known as cortisol, increasing the need, especially in starchy and sweet foods.
Headaches
When you have stress, you get a tension headache, sometimes also known as a stress headache. The headaches last for an hour to a few hours; headaches feel like pressure on either side of the head. In addition, besides the headache, you feel tense on the neck and shoulders. If you constantly suffer from non-stop headaches, you have stress. One of the simple ways to release stress headaches is to lie down in a quiet environment.
Wanting to have some own quiet time away from everyone once in a while is normal. However, when it becomes too familiar and you constantly crave to be alone, this is a sign of stress. When you are stressed, you feel that you want to be alone. You also avoid people you feel like you constantly want to hide away from the world. Social withdrawal typically harms your life; if not dealt with, things worsen, and you realise that you cannot socialise.
Takeaway
The human body can withstand a severe amount of pain and can also heal itself. The body can produce millions of new cells every single day. In addition, it can detect when a person is in danger, particularly when a person is undergoing pressure. Stress manifests in both emotional and physical signs. It is advisable to deal with stress as soon as you feel your body communicating. Stress affects your health; even though you may not realise it, you may think illness is to blame.
Dennis Relojo-Howell is the managing director of Psychreg.
