We all feel stressed at times, and there are numerous triggers. Work, social, financial, health, or lifestyle difficulties can all contribute to stress. Becoming a parent, moving house, starting a new job, or taking on new duties are all stressful situations.

Long-Standing Stress Can Impact Your Life

Stress for a short amount of time is not a problem, but if not managed properly, it can have a big impact on your life and well-being. However, people frequently fail to recognise that they are stressed, viewing the symptoms in isolation. Recognizing that you are stressed can allow you to address the underlying causes and return to a healthy, happier you.

10 Signs that You Are Stressed

Feeling exhausted

Stress causes your body to release hormones into your bloodstream, which raises your heart rate and causes you to breathe faster. This constant demand on your system can be tiring, leaving you fatigued at all times. In a terrible twist, worry can also keep you from sleeping. Stress has been shown to activate the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in the brain, which aids in sleep-wake regulation (1). You may lose sleep and find yourself repeatedly replaying the same situation in your brain. This is your brain working overtime to figure out a solution.

Teeth grinding

Teeth grinding is a stress symptom that is intimately linked to a lack of sleep, as your subconscious is overactive, and this manifests itself in your mouth. Grinding your teeth can lead to dental issues as well as a painful jaw, exacerbating your discomfort.

Headaches

Tension headaches, often known as stress headaches, are commonly caused by stress (2). These headaches can last anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours and feel like pressure on either side of the head. They may also be accompanied by stiff neck and shoulders. If you have these headaches frequently, you are likely stressed.

Feeling irritable

Stress can have an unpredictable impact on our mood. When we are anxious, our neurological system becomes hyper-responsive, and our sensory receptors are more sensitive to stimuli, making everything appear more intense. This can heighten our perception of pressure and increase our reactivity. When you’re stressed, some physiological side effects, such as a lack of sleep or a hurting head, might exacerbate the influence on your mood.

Becoming more emotional than normal

For others, these emotional responses can result in tears, in addition to or instead of anger. Tears, however, are more than just a symptom of stress; they also have a purpose in helping you cope with stress (3). When you weep, your tears act as a safety valve, releasing excess stress hormones such as cortisol. So, feeling better after a good weep is not a myth; it is due to hormonal release.

Loss of libido

For your libido (sexual desire) to function effectively, your hormonal balance and brain circuits must be in harmony. When you are anxious, your body produces stress hormones, which disrupt this equilibrium and can cause libido loss (4).

Eating excessively or insufficiently

People who are stressed are more likely to eat poorly or excessively (5). One aspect is that anxious people are often pressed for time and turn to harmful fast food options. Short-term stress can cause people to lose their appetite because the hypothalamus, a region of the brain, releases a corticotropin-releasing hormone that suppresses appetite. People who are persistently stressed (over an extended length of time) produce cortisol, which stimulates hunger, particularly for sweet and starchy meals. This is where the term ‘stress eating’ originated.

Becoming less social

Everyone has periods in their lives when they just want to be alone and rest, but if this happens too frequently, it could indicate that you are stressed. When everything feels too much, it’s normal to want to hide away, especially if the stressor you are dealing with is social. However, social disengagement normally has a bad impact on your life, which might exacerbate the situation overall.

Getting sick easily

Stress has a real impact on our overall health by weakening the immune system (6). This is because when we are stressed, we release cortisol into our bloodstream, which interferes with the release of the immune-supporting hormone DHEA, causing our immune system to suffer. So, if you develop colds easily or can’t get rid of them, you may have a weakened immune system, which can be caused by stress.

Feeling panicky

When you are stressed, chemicals are released into your system that cause your heart rate and respiration to speed up. This can be quite stressful, and if severe enough, it can lead to feelings of panic, including panic attacks. You may have shortness of breath or begin to panic as you hyperventilate. Hyperventilation is directly related to anxiety and can typically be treated by removing yourself from the situation and deliberately attempting to regulate your breathing.

Any of these symptoms may be related to stress, and if you are experiencing them, you should not suffer in silence. Inform a healthcare expert, who can advise on a course of action to lower your stress levels, and get back to feeling normal.

References:

1. Regulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Stress Response
   (Herman JP, McKlveen JM, Ghosal S, Kopp B, Wulsin A, Makinson R, Scheimann J, Myers B. Regulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Stress Response. Compr Physiol. 2016 Mar 15;6(2):603-21. doi: 10.1002/cphy.c150015. PMID: 27065163; PMCID: PMC4867107.)




2. Tension type headache
   (Chowdhury D. Tension type headache. Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2012 Aug;15(Suppl 1):S83-8. doi: 10.4103/0972-2327.100023. PMID: 23024570; PMCID: PMC3444224.)




3. Using crying to cope: Physiological responses to stress following tears of sadness
   (Sharman LS, Dingle GA, Vingerhoets AJJM, Vanman EJ. Using crying to cope: Physiological responses to stress following tears of sadness. Emotion. 2020 Oct;20(7):1279-1291. doi: 10.1037/emo0000633. Epub 2019 Jul 8. PMID: 31282699.)




4. The relationship between daily hassles and sexual function in men and women
   (Hamilton LD, Julian AM. The relationship between daily hassles and sexual function in men and women. J Sex Marital Ther. 2014;40(5):379-95. doi: 10.1080/0092623X.2013.864364. Epub 2014 Mar 20. PMID: 24313631.)




5. Stress and eating behaviours in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
   (Hill D, Conner M, Clancy F, Moss R, Wilding S, Bristow M, O’Connor DB. Stress and eating behaviours in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Psychol Rev. 2022 Jun;16(2):280-304. doi: 10.1080/17437199.2021.1923406. Epub 2021 May 24. PMID: 33913377.)




6. Effects of stress on immune function: the good, the bad, and the beautiful
   (Dhabhar FS. Effects of stress on immune function: the good, the bad, and the beautiful. Immunol Res. 2014 May;58(2-3):193-210. doi: 10.1007/s12026-014-8517-0. PMID: 24798553.)

Source-Medindia