Symptoms of Stress

Stress is a condition that can affect almost every individual both young and old. Our bodies will try to overcome stress by adjusting physiologically. If we are successful in overcome it then stress is removed and the body reverts back to its normal condition. Stress that is not calmed down can affect a person. Wherever the location of the stress is, it must be addressed so that the person affected by it can go back to living a productive life. The symptoms of stress can either be physical, physiological or psychological. More often it would be a combination of the three.

Each person who is subjected to stress will exhibit different symptoms and everybody has different stress triggers. Symptoms of stress would often imitate symptoms of other problems. Like for example a nagging headache. A person may think that the headache is caused by an illness, but the actual cause is stress. Stress physical symptoms can greatly affect a person’s health that is why it is important to be able to recognize them and take measures to manage the stress.

Common physical symptoms of stress are: chest pains, muscle tension, lower back pain, diarrhea, shortness of breath, sweaty palms, holding breath, sleeplessness or excessive sleep, “butterflies” in the stomach, muscle spasm, abdominal pain, shoulder and neck pain, irregular heart beat, excessive sweating without any activity, indigestion and unexplained skin rashes or irritations.

Aside from physical symptoms there are also common psychosomatic symptoms and they are: irritability, lack of concentration, mood swings, emotional outbursts, pessimism, restlessness, memory problems, easily confused, feeling of unable to cope, generally feeling upset, frustration when made to wait, lack of concentration, indecisiveness, lack of energy to do things, gluttony, and no sense of humor.

These symptoms of stress are expressions of the functional adjustments happening in the body and they would depend on the type of stress the person is experiencing and as to whether it is acute, chronic or delayed type. Physiological symptoms are manifested because when there is stress, the supply of blood is diverted from the less vital to the more vital organs. Heart rate is also increased to supply more blood, along with the blood pressure. Respiratory rate increases as well to get more oxygen. There is also a breakdown of the glucose stored in the liver and muscles as well as formation of it from non carbohydrate substances. These functional changes are both stress psychological symptoms and stress physical symptoms.