- Early warning signs
- Physical signs symptoms
- Emotional signs symptoms
- Cognitive/perceptual signs symptoms
- Behavioral signs symptoms
- Long term implications of stress
- Possible physical disorders
- Possible emotional disorders
- Effects of stress on systems in the body
Early warning signs
- Need more sleep
- Sudden weight loss
- Sudden weight gain
- High blood pressure
- Hair loss
- Forgetfulness
- Lower back pain
- Loss of appetite
- Increased appetite
- Speech difficulties
- More impatient
- Headaches
- Infertility
- Ulcers
- Nail biting
- Grinding teeth
- Low blood sugar
- High blood sugar
- Tired but can’t sleep
- Low blood pressure
- Lack of coordination
- Repeated influenza
- Repeated colds
- Muscle aches
- Chest pain
- Nervous talking
- High cholesterol
- High triglycerides
- Excessive fatigue
- Gastric disturbance
- Withdraw from social life
Physical signs and symptoms
- Increased heart rate
- Pounding heart
- Elevated blood pressure
- Tightness of the chest, neck, jaw and back muscles
- Sleep disturbances
- Fatigue
- Sweaty palms
- Headache
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Urinary hesitancy
- Chronic pain and Dysponesis
- Trembling Twitching
- Stuttering and other speech difficulties
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Shallow breathing
- Dryness of the mouth or throat
- Susceptibility to minor illness
- Cold hands
- Itching
- Being easily startled
Emotional signs and symptoms
- Anger
- Anxiousness
- Insomnia
- Changes in eating habits
- Irritability
- Outbursts
- Hostility
- Depression
- Jealously
- Restlessness
- Withdrawal
- Reduction of personal involvement with others
- Lack of interest
- Tendency to cry
- Being critical of others
- Self-deprecation
- Nightmares
- Impatience
- Narrowed focus
- Obsessive rumination
- Reduced self-esteem
- Diminished initiative
- Feelings of unreality or over-alertness
- Weakened positive emotional response reflexes
Cognitive/perceptual signs and symptoms
- Forgetfulness
- Diminished productivity
- Decreased psychomotor reactivity and coordination
- Preoccupation
- Blocking Blurred vision
- Errors in judging distance
- Diminished or exaggerated fantasy life
- Reduced creativity
- Negative evaluation of experiences
- Orientation to the past
- Lack of concentration
- Lack of attention to detail
- Attention deficit
- Disorganization of thought
- Negative self-esteem
- Diminished sense of meaning in life
- Lack of control/need for too much control
- Negative self-statements
Behavioral signs and symptoms
- Carelessness under/over eating
- Increased smoking
- Aggressive behaviors
- Increased alcohol/drug use
- Withdrawal
- Listlessness
- Hostility
- Accident-proneness
- Nervous laughter
- Compulsive behavior and Impatience
Long term implications of stress
Exposure to stress on a long-term basis can be debilitating both physically and mentally. As we discussed before, under stress the body produces an increase in the hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and corticosteroids. In the short-term these hormones produce tense muscles, queasiness and an increase in breathing and heart rates. Long-term complaints that are stress related include:
- Anxiety and depression
- Fatigue
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Impotence and premature ejaculation in men
- Insomnia
- Allergies
- Digestive disorders
- Headaches and migraine
- Irritable bladder
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Menstrual problems in women
- Mouth and peptic ulcers
- Muscular aches and pains
- Palpitations
- Panic attacks
- Eczema Ulcerative colitis
A number of other diseases including multiple sclerosis, diabetes and genital herpes can also be aggravated by stress.
Possible physical disorders caused or exacerbated by stress
- Hypertension
- Cardiovascular disorders
- Muscle tension problems
- Migraine and tension headaches
- Arthritis
- Respiratory disease
- Ulcers
- Colitis
- Cancer
Possible emotional disorders caused or exacerbated by stress
- Anxiety
- Panic attack
- Depression
- Adjustment disorders
Effects of stress on systems in the body
Central nervous system
Anxiety, depression, fatigue.
Cardiovascular system
Impaired heart function; can cause angina. Constriction of the peripheral blood vessels, thereby raising blood pressure.
Digestive system
Stomach upsets, even ulcers, diarrhea, gastritis, peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis canker sores in the mouth.
Respiratory system
Asthma
Musculoskeletal system
Tension in skeletal muscles and joints, leading to backache and muscular aches and pains Predisposition to arthritis;degenerative diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Immune system
Weakened defenses, with lowered resistance to infections viral illnesses (often due to a depleted immune defense system) allergies malignant cell changes; cancer.
Endocrine system
Menstrual disorders thyroid disorders (underactive, overactive, thyroiditis) adrenal hypofunction.
Reproductive system
Infertility premature ejaculation impotence.
Skin
Eczema, psoriasis, rashes.
General
Tissue degeneration acceleration of aging process.