Stress is the physical and mental responses our body exhibits to challenges or threats to our well-being. Some signs are more commonly identified and accepted as results of being stressed. For instance, you might hear people say that their shoulders hurt from being stressed, they have a stress headache, or they feel exhausted. All of these can, in fact, be signs of stress. However, there are often other subtle indicators that we are feeling stressed that we may not connect as easily to stress.
- Physical Indicators of Stress
In addition to tense muscles and headaches, you might notice that you feel extremely fatigued regardless of how much sleep you catch. You might notice indigestion or stomach discomfort, which can also impact your bathroom needs. You might notice that you get sick easier and more often, as stress can weaken our immune systems.
- Mental Indicators of Stress
Mentally, you might find yourself having trouble remembering simple things and feeling forgetful. You might find yourself having a hard time concentrating and could even experience racing thoughts.
- Emotional Indicators of Stress
You might experience dramatic mood shifts and to extremes. Perhaps you feel yourself feeling stuck in feelings of irritability, sadness, or overwhelm more than usual. Remember that all feelings are valid, but we want to be able to move through them in healthy ways.
- Behavioral Indicators of Stress
Behavioral shifts can be the slight changes to your routines. Perhaps, we are sleeping more than we usually do and still wake up feeling not rested, or on the other hand we may notice our sleep health decline until we are restless and struggle to fall asleep at all. This can show up in our eating patterns, how we socialize, and even seek risky coping outlets through substances.
The cycle of stress on our mind, body, and spirit can be detrimental if left unaddressed. Our body tries to cue us into recognizing stress in several ways, but if we do not know the signs, we do not know to label it as stress. Therefore, it is important to recognize the signs of stress, so that when we feel them in our own bodies, we know what it is and how to handle it.