Importance Of Recognizing Stress Symptoms
Its important to learn how to recognize when your stress levels are actually getting out of control. Stress is deceptive. It has its way of creeping up on you so you get used to it and you start to feel a certain sense of familiarity with it. If you are not mindful of your body, you may just be surprised to see that it has already taken its toll on you and has already caused a great deal of harm.
For instance, people who are constantly exposed to high levels of stress may think that they have grown accustomed to the pressure and high surge of adrenaline, but the truth is, there is no such thing as getting used to stress. When you thrive on stress, its just difficult for you to discern the symptoms of stress but this does not mean that your body is not responding to stress. Eventually, something within you will malfunction.
It is important to recognize stress before it actually develops into a serious health problem. And while stress affects different people in many different ways, there are certain factors and symptoms that are common among the general population.
You Have Digestive Issues
I cant stress enough how being under too much pressure can lead to physical discomfort. That feeling of nausea you get when you pull into your offices parking lot is a direct response to the stress youre already feeling about the day ahead of you. But its not as simple as a quick rumble in your stomach. It could cause problems with your digestive system that could lead to vomiting or other issues.
You Have Chronic Head And Body Aches
As I said before, your body puts itself into hyper mode when youre stressed out. This fatigue not only affects your focus and attention, but also puts a physical strain on your body. Your body has a natural fight or flight mechanism which stemmed from the early days of humanity in which we had to actually dodge predators on a normal basis. Nowadays, though we dont have to worry about lions and bears coming out of nowhere to attack us, our body reacts the same way to recurring stress accrued from work and other parts of life. Why do you think getting a shoulder rub feels so great after a long day? Because your bodys been tense for the past eight hours dealing with all the garbage youve had to deal with.
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How Much Stress Is Too Much: Knowing When To Seek Help
Youve likely dealt with a few stressful situations today even before stumbling upon this article. If thats the case, youre not alone. Around 60% of Americans say they become stressed or worried on a daily basis. Experiencing stressors is a normal part of living, but at what point do these feelings make up too much stress?
The answer to this question is complex, but its important that you understand these complexities. Common worries and strains could lead to stress-related disorders, and even management techniques dealing with these feelings can prove unhealthy. This guide will help you know when to seek help. If youre at that point, reach out to Transformations Treatment Center today.
Questions To Ask Yourself
Whos in my support network? Everyone should have people in their life who are positive influences, support providers, and role models for healthy living. They can be friends, family members, mentors, spiritual leaders, colleagues, and mental health professionals.
What activities do I enjoy? Your work might be enjoyable, but everyone needs hobbies that arent about competition or personal accomplishment. What helps ease your worries and makes you more mindful about your body? These activities might include reading, dancing, gardening, board games, crafts, etc.
What are my sleep habits? If youre getting roughly 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night, youll be able to think more clearly, boost your immune system, and concentrate better on work and relationships. A simple step such as turning off screens an hour before bed can make a huge difference in your sleep quality.
Am I saying no to unnecessary tasks? Ideally you should be able to pass on tasks that demand too much of you, arent your responsibility, or dont fall in line with your personal values and objectives. If youre not sure where to start, take a look at your schedule and to-do list, and see what can be delegated or removed completely.
Am I organized? Start to declutter your life. When you can manage tasks with an accurate schedule and prioritized to-do list, you reduce the unnecessary anxiety that can accompany a cluttered and confusing agenda.
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How To Deal With Prolonged Stress
If you think that you are being affected by prolonged stress, there are things that you can do to help find relief. Establishing effective stress management practices is important for maintaining good physical and mental health.
Even if you cannot always control the sources of your ongoing stress, you can manage the ways that you respond and cope. Some strategies that might help are listed below.
Is Stress Taking A Toll On Your Body And Mind Watch For These Warnings
Stress happensthere’s no way around it. It’s your body’s natural reaction to thoughts or events that make you feel threatened or in danger. And whether real or imagined, when you perceive a threat in your life, your nervous system goes into a “fight-or-flight” response, releasing stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol to help you better handle an emergency situation.
In small doses stress can be good, helping you perform like a pro under a looming deadline at work or acting as a motivator to be your best when the moment calls for it. But prolonged stress can take a toll on your body, too. Here’s how to tell if you’re suffering from too much of it.
Crying, Mood Swings and No Energy
Our modern lives are chock-full of stressful events. But when you reach your breaking point, it’s time to check in on your emotional well-being.
“Emotional signs of stress can include difficulty concentrating, frequent tearfulness and mood swings, disorganization, difficulty making decisions and a general lack of energy,” says Sudeepta Varma, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the NYU Langone Medical Center.
Keep in mind that these symptoms can also be related to other psychological problems, so it’s important to see your doctor and find out if your symptoms are, in fact, stress-related.
Pain, Skin and Digestive Problems
Anxiety, Worry and Guilt
Irritability, Anger and Frustration
Depression or Overwhelming Sadness
Sleep Problems
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Signs And Symptoms Of Stress Overload
The most dangerous thing about stress is how easily it can creep up on you. You get used to it. It starts to feel familiar, even normal. You dont notice how much its affecting you, even as it takes a heavy toll. Thats why its important to be aware of the common warning signs and symptoms of stress overload.
Cognitive symptoms:
- Other mental or emotional health problems
Physical symptoms:
- Chest pain, rapid heart rate
- Loss of sex drive
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Withdrawing from others
- Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
- Nervous habits
First We Need To Recognize Pandemic Stress As Different From Your Everyday Stress
Pandemic stress is a beast. As many were forced into isolation for safety, the uncertainty of the future heavily weighted the stress and for many, it compounded. Those already struggling with mental health experienced agitated symptoms .
Many dont have the coping tools to handle such a crisis so, often people turn to self-medicating with alcohol or other mind-altering substances.
Each person has whats known as a surge capacity which is how much someones mental state can handle high levels of stress especially for prolonged amounts of time. Again, everyone has a mental surge capacity but Lifestance Health explains that high levels of stress cannot go on forever.
Theres a limit.
In their article 3 Ways Pandemic Stress Is Different From Other Types of Stress, they explain, In an emergency, the fight-or-flight mechanism kicks in and allows you to handle the increase of stress. When this emergency goes on for too long or it feels indefinite, there can be serious consequences for your mental health.
What can you do to help manage this stress and prevent pandemic stress from disturbing your inner peace?
Here are some ways to cope.
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Physical Symptoms Of Too Much Stress
Psychiatric symptoms and unhealthy coping mechanisms arent the only negative outcomes of untreated stress. Like many other mental health issues, stress-related disorders can cause physical symptoms as well. You may not even realize that some of these issues stem from having too much stress.
If you experience any of the following unexplained symptoms, theres a good chance that stress is the underlying cause:
- Headaches.
- Rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure or chest pain.
- Tense muscles or clenched jaw.
Just like the mental effects of too much stress, these symptoms can occur even in those without a diagnosable condition. Many individuals even develop acne and cold sores when theyre overly stressed. This is another situation when you should become concerned when the issues turn long term or start affecting your life seriously.
In An Old House In Paris That Was Covered In Vines
I had to pick a stopping point, so the Old House In Paris is it. I own one of these houses and have many of the dolls and furnishings. The book was a favorite from childhood. The movies jadore! I love that spunky sprite Madeline. So when I came across this dollhouse sitting in a consignment store, I was stunned. They do not sell these in the United States, so I had not seen or heard of them. And Im an adult and have long stopped watching Madelines adventures.
But because I had started reading the books to my daughter, I couldnt resist bringing this dollhouse into my home with as many of Madelines friends as I could find on Ebay! I think I might enjoy it more than my kid, and I do get excited when I find an item here or there. The doorbell works. The lantern lights up. I can get plenty of accessories. And I even have Miss Clavel. And one day Ill get Genevieve the dog! .FOR MY GRANDCHILDREN.of course!
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Youve Become Overly Emotional
Lucie Hemmen, Ph.D, a psychologist in Santa Cruz, CA explains, When youre super-stressed, the brain stem the primitive part of your brain takes over, and the part that anticipates outcomes goes dark. This explains why being stressed will cause you to literally cry over spilled milk, or fly into a rage if someone honks their horn at you. Remember when you were a kid and would stay up way too late, and catch a case of the giggles? Same concept. Your body was so stressed out from exhaustion that even the slightest thing set you off, albeit in a silly way. When youre an adult, and your stress causes you to flip someone off for bumping into you on the subway, its not so funny.
Managing Stress In Daily Life
Stress is not an illness itself, but it can cause serious illness if it isn’t addressed. It’s important to recognise the symptoms of stress early. Recognising the signs and symptoms of stress will help you figure out ways of coping and save you from adopting unhealthy coping methods, such as drinking or smoking.
There is little you can do to prevent stress, but there are many things you can do to manage stress more effectively, such as learning how to relax, taking regular exercise and adopting good time-management techniques.
Studies have found that mindfulness courses, where participants are taught simple meditations across a series of weeks, can also help to reduce stress and improve mood.
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How Can You Help Yourself
If you’re feeling stressed, there are some things you can try to feel less tense and overwhelmed.
1. Recognise when stress is a problem
Its important to connect the physical and emotional signs youre experiencing to the pressures you are faced with. Dont ignore physical warning signs such as tense muscles, tiredness, headaches or migraines.
Think about whats causing your stress. Sort them into issues with a practical solution, things that will get better with time and things you can’t do anything about. Take control by taking small steps towards the things you can improve.
Make a plan to address the things that you can. This might involve setting yourself realistic expectations and prioritising essential commitments. If you feel overwhelmed, ask for help and say no to things you cant take on.
2. Think about where you can make changes
Are you taking on too much? Could you hand over some things to someone else? Can you do things in a more leisurely way? You may need to prioritise things and reorganise your life so youre not trying to do everything at once.
3. Build supportive relationships
Find close friends or family who can offer help and practical advice can support you in managing stress. Joining a club or a course can help to expand your social network and encourage you to do something different. Activities like volunteering can change your perspective and have a beneficial impact on your mood.
4. Eat healthily
5. Be aware of your smoking and drinking
8. Be mindful
Breathing And Relaxation Exercises
Many people find exercises that focus on breathing and muscle relaxation to be helpful in relieving stress. The playlist below will help you to understand how stress works and start feeling better. These exercises can be done anywhere and are designed to help you feel more relaxed in general, as well as helping you feel calmer if you are becoming stressed.
This playlist is free to download, and you can also stream it using the Soundcloud website or app. You can download and listen to individual tracks if there are particular exercises that work best for you. If you’re listening to it for the first time, it’s best to start from the beginning.
To access a BSL version of this playlist, .
Find out more by checking out these 10 stress busters.
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How Long Should You Hold Stretches
Thirty seconds is the recommended maximum amount of time to hold a particular stretch position. An excess of this could start the process of a muscle tear or damage your tendons and ligaments. The minimum length for holding a stretch is 15 seconds. Anything less, specialists say, will not result in the structural changes needed to effect tissue elongation.
Dynamic stretches are recommended as warm-up sessions before an exercise such as strength training. Static stretches serve as cool-downs to prevent injury. There are subtle differences between these two types of stretching and the amount of time for holding each one.
Dynamic stretching involves movements intending to improve your blood flow and ready your muscles for the following activity. The stretching routines in this case are shorter , and you do not push your muscular tissues to that end position where elongation occurs.
Static stretching is when you hold a position at your very extreme range of motion without feeling pain or experiencing muscle and ligament tears. This is where you hold that position for between 15 and 30 seconds.
In static stretches, it is critical to allow yourself time to relax into the position. That is how you activate CNS adaptation so that the brain learns that it needs to allow a broader range of motion when you do the same movement next time. At the same time, you must know your limits. Whenever you experience pain after a given stretching exercise, it means that you held it for too long.
Warning Signs You’re Under Too Much Stress
Sneaky, isn’t it?
The way life can creep up on you. One minute everything is going well, and it’s all under control.
The next you realize you’ve got a bit too much going on.
How did that happen?
You thought you had balance but now you find yourself constantly busy. Constantly trying to jam it all in. Constantly moving faster, racing from one thing to the next.
Some days you still feel in control, but on others, you’re not so sure. And those other days seem to be becoming more frequent.
In fact, you’re starting to wonder if you’re losing your tiny mind.
So,how do you know when you’re under too much stress?
Well, it’s an individual thing. But if you’re experiencing many of the following symptoms on a regular basis, you need to make some changes.
You’re more pessimistic than you used to be, and negative self-talk seems to be taking over. You feel a little like you’ve lost your “old self”, who used to see things more positively.
That sense of overwhelm you used to get from time to time is becoming constant. Everything seems too much.
The mental list of things that need doing each morning just to get out the door is exhausting.
It’s harder and harder to make decisions. You find yourself neglecting your responsibilities and procrastinating more than usual because you just can’t make a choice.
You’re agitated all the time. You can’t concentrate properly, you can’t relax, and your mind is constantly racing.
It has to be everything or nothing at all.
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Executives Look At Stress
In our interviews, we discussed the Yerkes-Dodson law with the six chief executives and asked for their thoughts. Peter McColough agreed about the positive effects of stress represented by the upside of the curve. He said: There is no question that a certain amount of stress is good. If I have a particularly easy week, I can feel an ache or a pain, but if I get really busy, I feel really much better.
But he added a sobering thought about the downside: My judgment is that when people get up here , not only will they burn out in time, but they get erratic and their judgment goes all to hell.
Albert Casey quickly saw a problem in trying to live by the curve. He doubted that a supervisor could apply it readilyas when, let us say, a subordinate he called Joe is under great stress. Casey said: In the first place, I wouldnt really agree that its the supervisors job to act in a little more reserved fashion for a while so Joe will be able to perform at a higher level for a longer period. That would be too much its attributing an awful lot of insight to ordinary management.
I really think thats asking too much because, meanwhile, the supervisor has all sorts of pressures on himself for performance, so he has to divide those pressures and goals with the people who work for him. Ill be honest with you, if the supervisor can see that Joe can contribute more in the near term, hes probably going to take advantage of that.
