Signs and symptoms

It is important to understand what is happening on a physiological level when you are feeling stressed.When you are feeling stressed your brain perceives a threat and the fight or flight response is triggered. In a potentially threatening situation this response is invaluable and may save your life or the life of another. However, living in this state of heightened arousal (which short or long-term stressful events can generate) is not good for you and your body may begin to signal this to you in a variety of ways.

Physical

Physical symptoms experienced include:
✦ a pounding heart
✦ elevated blood pressure
✦ sweaty palms
✦ tightness of chest
✦ aching neck, jaw and back muscles
✦ headache
✦ chest pains
✦ abdominal cramps
✦ nausea
✦ trembling
✦ sleep disturbance
✦ tiredness
✦ susceptibility to minor illness
✦ itching
✦ easily startled
✦ forgetfulness.

Thoughts

You may experience:
✦ your mind racing or going blank
✦ not being able to ‘switch off ’
✦ a lack of attention to detail
✦ your self esteem and confidence plummeting
✦ disorganised thoughts
✦ a diminished sense of meaning in life
✦ a lack of control or the need for too much control
✦ negative self statements and negative evaluation
✦ difficulty in making decisions
✦ a loss of perspective.
You may be:
✦ making ‘mountains out of molehills’
✦ driving yourself too hard with ‘I must do this, ought to do that, should do the other’ or demanding too much of others as well as yourself.

Behaviors

You may:
✦ become withdrawn and not want to socialise
✦ increase your alcohol, nicotine or drugs intake
✦ under eat or over eat
✦ become accident prone and careless
✦ become impatient, aggressive or compulsive – pacing, fidgeting, swearing, blaming, throwing and hitting!
✦ work longer hours – not take breaks, take work home, procrastinate with important projects, take the ‘headless chicken’ approach when under pressure, and manage time poorly
✦ no longer have time for leisure activities.

Feelings

You may feel:
✦ irritable
✦ angry
✦ depressed
✦ jealous
✦ restless
✦ anxious
✦ unreal or hyper alert
✦ unnecessarily guilty.
You may experience:
✦ panic
✦ mood swings, crying easily.

Thank goodness you won’t experience all of these symptoms all of the time! Individual responses to stress vary, so you may experience some of these some of the time.This will be your body’s way of saying that you are overdoing things and it is time to reflect and take action in order to reduce and manage the stress response.

If you thought that the only way to feel elated is by drinking alcohol or drugs, think again. There are several ways by which you can get a natural high, which basically happens when there is a release of endorphins or ‘feel good’ chemicals that give you a sense of well-being.

Run
Put on your running shoes, and just take off! The term ‘runner’s high’ couldn’t be more apt. Don’t expect anything, if you plan on running just for a few minutes – yo need to for at least 30 minutes before you start feeling good. You may feel incredibly tired during the first 15 minutes, but hang on in there, and soon enough you will feel the difference. This natural high occurs because of the endorphins that are released during such an intense form of exercise.

Laugh
Whoever said that laughter is the best medicine, couldn’t be more accurate. Notice how you feel when you’ve had a really good laugh till your jaw hurts or when you have tears rolling down your eyes. This feeling of goodness will give you a high like anything else. Discuss a funny incident with friends, or watch a really movie or a television series. the more you laugh, the more endorphins will be released in your system.

Listen to music
Listen to some instrumental music. Not only will this calm you down and help you relieve stress, but also bring about a sense of happiness. Even listening to your favorite songs can have a similar effect. Make a separate file of songs that make you smile, and call it your ‘happy song’ folder. Listening to it when you are down will cheer you up.

Meditate
the benefits of meditation are numerous. A few minutes of meditation takes you to a calm, relaxed state, which in turn gives you a natural high. You could meditate at home or even join a class. There are different techniques for meditation. The internet has loads of information that will be of great help. Meditate to lower your heart rate and keep your blood pressure in check.