Detecting Signs of Stress

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Title: Detecting Signs of Stress

Word Count: 896

Author: Trevor Dumbleton

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Detecting Signs of Stress

Copyright 2005 Trevor Dumbleton

In order to keep from becoming stressed, one of the first

things to do is to be aware of the signs of stress. This

is, admittedly, difficult, since people who are stressed

are usually too stressed to notice that they are stressed.

This is because stress tends to wrap itself up into a

self-concerned package that not only alerts you to

everything that you need to do or everything that is going

wrong, all the while preventing you from actually taking

care of anything that is stressing you. However, if you

are aware of the signs of stress, you can at least tuck

this information into your subconscious so that your brain

might just remind you that your biggest problem is stress

itself.

Of all the signs of stress the most obvious is persistent

worrying. This is a state where your brain is constantly

reminding itself of problems or issues that need resolving.

In fact, this is not only a sign of stress, it could be

referred to as stress itself. After all, stress is a

condition where worry and concern take over the mind to the

exclusion of all other thoughts. Though worry is sometimes

unavoidable, stress is actually a condition where worry is

so all-consuming that there is no other room in the mind

for anything else. Unfortunately, this can lead to

physical health problems that will hurt you in other ways.

Second on the list of the signs of stress is the headache.

This is the most common physical ailment that arises from

stress and it can be debilitating. In fact, stress

headaches can sometimes reach into the area of migraines

and those can leave you unable to even move. However,

stress headaches can also appear when you are relaxed,

simply because your brain is so used to being stressed, it

does not know how to be anything else. Thus, the relieving

of tension can create a wicked headache, or even a

migraine, that will also leave you debilitated. So if you

don't want to be knocked out by stress every weekend, you

should keep stress at bay during the week.

Another common sign of stress is insomnia, or the inability

to fall asleep. The most common cause for this is the fact

that, when you are under stress, your mind tends to keep

racing even when you are trying to relax. Thus, rather

than resting, your brain simply continues its frantic pace

of activity, preventing you from getting the sleep you need

to keep your stress under control. Yes, sleep helps manage

stress, yet stress can leave you incapable of sleeping.

This is yet another example of the ways in which stress can

work to simply continue itself.

Other sleep problems that arise from stress include

nightmares, sleepwalking, sleep apnea -- not breathing

during sleep, which causes the body to wake up -- and

hypersomnia -- or persistent fatigue and desire to sleep.

Unfortunately, these syndromes are debilitating and can

cause many problems all their own. Thus, if you are

suffering from any of these, you should probably see a

doctor in order to manage both the condition and the stress

that is causing it.

Physical signs of stress can also include ulcers or acid

reflux disease. Ulcers are caused by small areas of

bleeding in the stomach and acid reflux is a condition

where acid enters the esophagus, causing bleeding. Of

course, these are very severe problems, since they cause

actual bleeding as well as problems digesting food. In the

most extreme cases, the bleeding can be so severe that it

actually presents problems of blood loss. Needless to say,

ulcers and acid reflux disease are no laughing matter and

you should see a doctor if you are suffering from either

condition.

A frustrating symptom of stress is simply memory problems.

These can arise when you are so stressed that your mind has

trouble forming new memories. Obviously, this is an

extreme case and you should be concerned when you are

having trouble remembering things. Unfortunately, this

sign of stress can be the most frustrating, simply because

you don't know why you cannot remember things. This, of

course, gives you even more stress, recreating the original

problem.

Among the most dangerous of the signs of stress is high

blood pressure. This is caused by the fact that, when

people are under stress, their heart tends to beat faster,

sending more blood to the body and mind, allowing it to

react to physical danger. Of course, most of the problems

in today's world do not actually involve physical danger

and the automatic, bodily reaction to stress is utterly

misplaced. You do not need the " fight or flight " response

when you are trying to get some things done at the office,

so the increased blood pressure is doing you no good.

However, it is especially dangerous because it can create

circulatory problems that can lead to heart attacks or

strokes. Thus, stress must be managed if you want to avoid

causing yourself permanent, debilitating harm or even death.

The signs of stress are not just mental problems. In fact,

stress creates physical problems as well. Thus, if you

want to keep yourself healthy, you need to manage stress.

And the best way to do it is to be aware of the signs of

stress and attend to them before they do you permanent harm.

About the Author:

LowerYourStress.com: for everything to do with stress. Get

a free ebook to help with your stress levels:

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