"How to Identify Signs of Stress"

Signs of Stress

Most people feel they know when they’re stressed out.  However, it is possible that you or someone you know may be suffering from stress and just doesn’t know it or how to deal with it... This is especially true for children, and if you don’t know what to look for it’s easy to dismiss.

Below are some common stress related behaviors. Some are noticeable and others are subtle…so be on the lookout for any of the following persisting overtime...

Lack of Concentration – When one is dealing with extra stress, it’s not uncommon to suffer from inability to focus or concentrate due to many thoughts that go racing through the mind.

Mood Swings – Stress can cause Moodiness in both children and adults.

You may notice it by the way you're easily irritated and begin snapping at people or by the way your mood can “nosedive” drastically. For children, these mood swings can result in children being overly aggressive or showing bad attitudes.

Tension – While tension headaches are common among those suffering from stress, many people don’t realize this is what’s causing their headaches.

Therefore, if you have headaches on a regular basis, you might look at the stress in your life...along with other subtle changes that you may notice in the body such as...Loss of sex drive - indigestion - nausea - dizziness- diarrhea - or immune system breakdown with recurring colds...

Depression – Depression can be caused by a number of things, and untended stress is one of them.

Excessive stress has the ability to make you feel as if you’ll never get “caught up” or “back on top of things.” When you begin to feel this way, it can result in a feeling of self-loathing. If this goes untreated, it can affect your sleeping patterns including oversleeping as well as inability to sleep properly because of worry or excessive thought going through the mind.

Insomnia – Insomnia is one of the most irritating signs of stress as it is not easy to deal with and can actually increase your stress.

For children, this symptom has the ability to result in nightmares, fear of sleeping alone and frequent waking...Behavioral Symptoms include lack of sleep that results in oversleeping as lack of sleep can leave you exhausted.

Changes in Weight – Everyone reacts to stress differently as it affects their bodies differently showing up as change in eating habits.

For example, some people find themselves overly hungry and constantly eating, or they just eat to “relieve” the stress while others lose their appetites when under pressure. Regardless of whether you eat or starve when stressed, it can easily affect your weight. You may pack on extra pounds or you may suddenly lose weight...

Withdrawal – Withdrawal is common in both adults and children under stress, but it’s one of the biggest indicators for children.

Watch for changes in your children that result in refusal to socialize with friends, chat online or even text their friends – things that your child would normally enjoy doing, but is now avoiding. For adults, you may find yourself overly tired and night and not wanting to talk to anyone on the phone or go out with friends.

Easily Overwhelmed – Generally, people feel stressed when there is a lot to do in a short time frame. This is when the small things become “big” and you begin to feel a constant feeling of being overwhelmed. A feeling of too much on your plate can also cause procrastination.

When you begin to experience any of these signs of stress on a regular basis, take a “step” back and look at your stress level. There are many ways to ease stress on your own, but it is wise to always consider a professional.

Go to homepage from signs of stress