How to spot the signs of stress
Don't ignore your body when it shows signs of stress. If left to fester, stress can cause physical and mental illness.
12 million people in the UK suffer from mental health problems; including anxiety and depression, and for many of these sufferers the illness is often stress related.
Worry
Jenny Edwards is a psychotherapist who runs solutions4stress. She says recognising the symptoms of stress when they first materialise.
What are the tell tale signs of stress?
The physical symptoms
The physical symptoms of stress include a headache which is repetitive in nature and distinct from the variety which all of us experience every now and then: ‘most of us will have a headache occasionally, that’s fine but if we’re getting headaches most days it’s something to really take notice of.’ Stress might manifest physically in other ways; such as in skin problems, muscle and back problems, and general aches and pains. Weight gain could also be a warning sign: ‘we’ll often over endulge in things when we get stressed to compensate to make us feel good, which is when people start to drink too much, smoke more, eat inappropriate foods, quick fixes, sugar fixes, the cakes, the biscuits, the chocolate, the things that will pile on the pounds.’
The emotional symptoms
Emotionally, stress might present itself in the form of irritability, heightened sensitivity which may lead to tears more easily than usual, and general grumpiness. In some people stress might cause them to withdraw from their usual social circle, make less of an effort in keeping up friendships and become more reluctant to go out. Less of an effort might also be made with regards to looking smart and tidy, because people are suddenly less bothered.
The behavioural symptoms
The final type of stress symptoms are behavioural. According to Jenny, sufferers of stress are more likely to notice this last group because they are more obvious: ‘a lot of the more physical symptoms that we’re perhaps experiencing earlier on we’ll choose to ignore...trivialise and say well, doesn’t everybody have that...'
Learning to spot these early warning signs is key to dealing with stress if and when it might present itself. However, most importantly, Jenny reiterates that every person has a different threshold for stress which they should be aware of: ‘Each of us will have our own cut off point, I think the key is learning about yourself, what you can manage, what you can’t, so you recognise the signs and symptoms when actually you’re beginning to not cope.”
Do you suffer from stress? Find out by using our Stress Symptom Checklist provided by Solutions4stress
Related Links
www.nationalstressawarenessday.co.uk
