The United Kingdom is celebrating National Stress Awareness Week from Nov. 4 to 8, while the United States typically celebrate National Stress Awareness Month during April. Regardless of whether it's stress awareness month/week or not, we should be wary of how stressed we are and if we're experiencing more than what we realize.
What triggers stress?
Stress can be triggered by many different factors: deadlines, unending chores and workload, extreme heavy traffic, financial instability, lack of sleep, work exhaustion, and more.
Although stress is a common occurrence, it's not something we should take lightly as it could trigger more health issues, both mental and physical.
Signs of stress
Metro has provided unexpected signs that say you're experiencing more stress than you realize, and that you need a break from tedious tasks and environment.
Psychological signs of stress include the following:
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Difficulty in remembering and focusing
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Easily distracted
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Inability to concentrate and make decisions
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Worrying
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Negative thinking
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Insomnia
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Feeling less creative than usual
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Depression
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Anxiety
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Clumsiness
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Feeling tired despite a long night's sleep
Emotional signs of stress:
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Mood swings
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Feeling irritable
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Extra sensitivity to criticisms
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Lack of confidence
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Lack of motivation
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Frustration and anger
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Always tearful
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Feeling of being defensive
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Feeling like you can't control things
Behavioral signs:
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Poor time management
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Being reckless
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Increased dependence on alcohol, smoking, and caffeine
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Using illegal drugs
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Telling lies
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Anxiousness
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Change in appearance
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Withdrawing socially
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Anger outbursts
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Poor work standard
There are also physical signs attributed to too much stress, and these are the more dangerous ones as we typically shrug them off, saying it might be due to other factors and not stress.
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That said, here are physical signs of extreme stress:
Body pains and aches are one of the physical signs of extreme stress.
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Muscle tensions
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Body pains and aches
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Skin irritations/rashes/allergies
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Sore jaw in the morning from grinding your teeth
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Nausea
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Dizziness
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Change in bowel movement
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Change in period
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Panic attacks
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Lack of libido
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Ulcers
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Heartburn and indigestion
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Feeling pins and needles
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Rapid change in weight
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Feeling a lump in your throat
How to combat stress
Stress is unavoidable, but there's a good kind of stress that allows your body to improve its cognitive function, according to the Open Access Government. But these are small doses of stress that is far from the extreme stress that can directly impact both our physical and mental health.
Healthline suggested that getting more exercise is one of the best ways that can help us combat stress while meditating and mindfulness is one of WebMD's answers against extreme stress.
