Symptoms Of Stress

There is no single symptom that can identify stress. Stressed and unstressed people may equally well have heart disease or drink to excess. A common factor in stressed individuals is the presence of several symptoms.

PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS

Some physical symptoms of stress can be life-threatening, such as high blood pressure and heart disease. Less life-threatening physical signs include insomnia, a feeling of constant fatigue, headaches, skin rashes, digestive disorders, ulcers, colitis, loss of appetite, overeating, and cramps.

Many of these occur at some point after a stressful event. Other symptoms of stress are more immediate. For example, feelings of nausea, breathlessness, or a dry mouth. All these symptoms, of course, may be caused by factors other than stress. If you or a colleague are naturally prone to headaches, for example, be wary of jumping to inaccurate conclusions about stress levels.

EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS

The emotional symptoms of stress can include general irritability, acute anxiety attacks, depression, lack of libido, the loss of sense of humour, and an inability to concentrate on the simplest of routine tasks.

Understanding unusual emotional responses and related changes in behaviour is the key to recognizing stress in yourself and others. Some of the most common indications of stress are, becoming unnecessarily aggressive or over-emotional in conflict situations, loss of interest in personal appearances, other people, social events, or previously enjoyed activities, such as a favourite sport, and poor concentration.

Other symptoms are difficulty in remembering, and an inability to make decisions, sadness, guilt, fatigue, apathy, and a pronounced feeling of helplessness and failure, as well as loss of confidence in personal ability, often coupled with a lack of self-worth.

BEHAVIOURAL SYMPTOMS

As a temporary relief from stress, many people indulge in excess eating, smoking, drinking, or spending. Stress can turn an occasional smoker into a chain-smoker, and the social drinker into an alcoholic.

Individuals may not recognize they are over-indulging; those who do may go to some lengths to keep their self-destructive behaviour from friends, family and colleagues.