Saturday, December 27, 2008

Sources of stress/anxiety signs and symptoms


With all these stress symptoms ruining your life, you have probably tried many things: drugs, stress relievers, relaxing methods, but the problem is still present. Before you decide that there is nothing YOU can do about your situation, think about...

Have you considered that you haven't check your daily routine or your lifestyle? You feel lightheaded, you suffer from stress/anxiety related headaches or stomach problems or shortness of breath or tight throat etc. Which is the most important step towards a stress symptoms free life?

The most effective solution is to find and address the source of your stress or anxiety.

How can you find the source of your problem?

Ask yourself:
What do you worry about most?
How stressed out do you feel now?
Are there any constant thoughts, concerns, fears on your mind?
Does anything in particular make you sad?
Which are the different stresses you experience during the day or week?
How do you handle any stress situations?

If you have no answers to these questions, or the answers aren't crystal clear, then you should try keeping a diary of your daily activities, experiences, thoughts, events. Keeping a stress diary is a useful way of identifying those things that cause you stress, how much stress they actually cause you, how your body, mind, behavior react to stress. You can also discover a pattern of some kind in your life.

How can you keep a stress diary? Next time we'll discuss more about stress diaries.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Issues with stress signs and symptoms


Have you noticed something very interesting?

Talking about stress signs and symptoms, many people find that when they are not thinking about stress or their symptoms, they feel well.

My friend Paul has breathing problem for about three years. He yawns often and has to take these really big breaths to feel like he is getting enough air. His doctor told him that his problem was stress/anxiety.

Three months ago we were talking about stress. Paul told me that he found when he is not thinking about his breathing problem, he can breath fine. Paul also told me that during a working day or when he is distracted by various activities there is no problem or just minor breathing difficulty. Once he starts to think about it, the problem arises again, especially when he goes to bed.

After my conversation with Paul, a couple of my friends- suffering from stress/anxiety problems- assured me about his findings. We all concluded that this problem is like a vicious circle. When the symptoms begin to feed off each other, the situation is getting more difficult, you start to worry more and the symptoms are getting worse.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Behavioral Signs and Symptoms


Stress may be affecting your behavior, and you may not even realize it. But your family, friends, relatives and co workers may notice changes in your behavior. Here is a list of behavioral signs and symptoms:

  • Eating more or less.
  • Neglect of personal appearance.
  • Nervous habits like twitching, nail beating, griding teeth, etc.
  • Angry outbursts, being irritable or even antisocial acts.
  • Isolation.
  • Problems in communication.
  • Excessive defensiveness or suspiciousness.
  • Talking too fast or too loud.
  • Blaming others.
  • Reacting emotionally.
  • Frequent use of over-the-counter drugs.
  • Bad habits like increased smoking, alcohol or drug use, excessive gambling.
  • Increased number of minor accidents.
  • Sleeping too much or too little.
  • Procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities.
  • Unable to concentrate.
  • Difficulty making decisions.
  • Being forgetful.
  • Making more mistakes.
  • Reduced work efficiency or productivity.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Emotional and Cognitive Stress Symptoms


Besides physical symptoms, stress may cause other types of signs and symptoms: emotional, cognitive and behavioral.

Here is a list of emotional and cognitive symptoms:
  • Feeling anxious.
  • Feeling depressed.
  • Feeling irritable or upset.
  • Short temper.
  • Worrying.
  • Frastration.
  • Feeling sad.
  • Confused.
  • Unable to concentrate.
  • Feeling angry.
  • Feeling insecure.
  • Feeling restless.
  • Forgeting things.
  • Disatisfaction with life, job, friends, family, etc.
  • Negative thinking.
  • Poor judgment.
  • Loss of objectivity.
  • Mood swings.
  • Burnout.
  • Guilt.
  • Inability to take decisions.
  • Difficulty to think clearly.
  • Feeling on edge.
  • No sense of humor.
  • Isolation

Monday, December 8, 2008

My experience with physical stress signs and symptoms


Here is my experience with physical stress signs and symptoms.

Last year during a period of 2 months I was experiencing major stress signs and symptoms. I was experiencing dizziness and a sense of fogginess. I had a constant fatigue, tired eyes, and tense neck and shoulders. It was not a vertigo or any other motion type dizziness. It was like an outer body experience. My blood pressure was low too. I was working, driving but my dizziness was a bad constant feeling. My low blood pressure was my main concern.

I was wondering about my stomach. Could it be gastrorrhagia? You know hemorrhage from the stomach that leads to dizziness and low blood pressure allthough I couldn't notice any blood loss (being vomited or passed by stool)?

I also noticed that my symptoms were worsening after stressful situations. I could describe my situation as a vicious circle: my dizziness was provoking stress and my stress more symptoms. My dizziness was worsening after coffee, sweets and chocolate consumption.

Finally after a deep assessment of my situation I realized that my dizzines, was definitely stress related. In fact my problem was posttraumatic stress after an earthquake event near my town.

My conclusion: stress may provoke physical symptoms. The symptoms may mimic symptoms of other problems. You may think that you suffer from a disease (I was concerning about my stomach), but the problem may be stress. Indeed, stress symptoms can affect your body, your thoughts, your feelings, and your behavior.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Physical Stress Symptoms


Stress may be affecting your health, and you may not even realize it. So here is a list of Physical Stress Symptoms:

• Headache
• Tooth grinding
• Pains in neck or shoulders
• Pains in chest
• Low back pain
• Shortness of breath
• Holding breath
• Muscle aches
• Muscle tension and stiffness
• Muscle spasms or nervous tics
• Pounding heart
• Rapid heartbeat
• High blood pressure
• Stomach upset
• 'Butterflies' in stomach
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Weight gain or loss
• Sex problems
• Tiredness
• Skin breakouts (hives, eczema)
• Unexplained rashes or skin irritations
• Increased sweating, sweaty palms even
• Sweating when not physically active
• Sleep problems (unable to sleep or excessive sleep)
• Frequent colds