Don’t Ignore These 4 Signs of Stress

Are you aware of how easily life’s challenges can harm your entire well-being? You’ve surely had an experience or two where rough times have come upon you, and at the end of the road, you feel like you’ve conquered the situation. Even if you were successful at handling the situation, there may be some very real side effects that you overlooked as “things that happen” in life. Some of those very things may be signs of stress which, if left unattended, can lead to further challenges down the road. 

Ask yourself if the following behaviors or states of mind have been prevalent at any stage of your life. If you’re able to identify with them, chances are that unrecognized stress is manifesting and it’s important to eliminate it right away. Stress reduction methods like exercise and meditation can bring immense relief and restore your well-being.  

Physical and Mental Signs of Stress 

1. Change in sleep habits. 
Nobody knows your body better than you do. You know how much sleep you usually get on a good night, and if you find yourself sleeping either significantly more or less than normal, chances are something is keeping you in an unsettled state.

• Try to engage in relaxing activities at the end of each day that can help put you in a restful frame of mind. Meditation, a soothing bath, and even laughter are good ideas.
• If your sleep issues persist, see your doctor for further guidance.

2. Frequent mood swings. 
Take a moment to think back over the last few days and how you handled each situation that confronted you. Did you handle everything in a calm, controlled, effective manner? If not, you may be dealing with stress. If your mood has swung from frustration, anger, and irritability to defensiveness, impatience, and overreaction, this may point to stress. Look out for these states of mind in particular: 

• feeling depressed 
• helplessness with things you can normally accomplish on your own 
• irrationality when dealing with decision making 
• restlessness and anxiety

3. Nervous behavior. 
When you start to show physical signs of nervous behavior, it’s a likely sign that something is stressing you out. Here are some indicators:  

• twitching 
• fiddling 
• excessive talkativeness 
• teeth grinding 
• nail biting 
• pacing 

4. Indecisiveness and confusion. 
If you’re usually able to think things through with a clear head and now you can’t, it’s likely that you’re struggling with stress. Stress results in feeling out of control and overwhelmed, even with things that you can normally handle with confidence. 

Ill health isn’t always about feeling aches and pains. The domino effect of stress can result in serious health challenges. For your own benefit, it’s important to pay attention to yourself and ensure you do whatever’s necessary to reduce your stress.