Symptoms of Stress

Everyone experiences varying degrees of stress. The first step to learning how to manage your stress is to learn your stress symptoms. Once you identify your symptoms, you learn to utilize your coping skills.

Physical Symptoms:

• Asthma
• Headaches
• Stomach aches
• Migraines
• Back pain
• Sweating
• Nausea
• Indigestion
• Chest pain
• Fatigue
• Low energy
• Racing heartbeat

Behavioural Symptoms:

• Nail-biting
• Restlessness
• Teeth grinding
• Disrupted sleep
• Disrupted diet
• Interpersonal conflict
• Social withdrawal
• Substance use
• Procrastination
• Difficulty concentrating

1. Defining Stress:

Although stress is a universal human phenomenon, no one can define your experience of it better than you. Creating a personal definition of stress will help you understand what stress means to you.

2. Stress sources/Triggers:

3. Stress Signals:

Please see the list below for common stress symptoms:

Stressful Thoughts:

• Increased worry or anxiety.
• Increased sadness, irritability, or anger.
• Fear of the future.
• Rumination.
• Overthinking.
• Self-doubt.
• Loss of interest in work or play.
• Please look through these common definitions of stress:
• Pressure or tension that I feel in my body and mind.
• My reaction to unexpected circumstances and difficult challenges.
• The discomfort and difficulty I go through when changes occur in my life.
• Feeling overwhelmed by everything I have to do.

Bodily Reactions:

• Physical or emotional pain.
• Fatigue.
• Lack of appetite/increased appetite.
• Difficulty sleeping.
• Shallow breathing.
• Stomachaches.
• Headaches.
• Elevated heart rate.
• Sweating.

Behavioural Actions/Tendencies:

• Disconnecting from others.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Feeling easily distracted.
• Reacting with anger.
• Nail-biting.
• Skin picking.
• Ignoring personal hygiene.
• Deviating from mindfulness/self-care routines.

Thank you for your time,

Now that you are more aware of your exact symptoms of stress, you can start to tackle the symptoms one by one.

Kind regards,

Psychologist Jignesh Ahir