Stress: Symptoms, Causes And How To Manage It

Hey loves, how has the week been? I hope you aren’t too stressed out. Today we are looking at stress, its symptoms, causes, and how to manage it. If you read my last post hey…how are you? ,you will recall I mentioned being stressed out by my thoughts. So I wanted to share some stress management tips with you.

We all have been stressed at one point or another. You probably get stressed out everyday. There are different causes of stress and they may vary from person to person with their symptoms and the way they react to it.

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What Is Stress?

Stress is the feeling of being under pressure, it is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can make you feel frustrated, nervous or angry. You may find anything that puts high demand on you to be stressful.

Causes Of Stress

There are a lot of things that may be stressing you out so we are going to look at them. Causes of stress include having too much work load from work or school or any other thing, life challenges, financial problems, relationship problems, toxic people, negative self talk, over thinking and the list goes on. Different things can stress you out, you just have to learn how to deal with them.

There are internal and external stress factors.

Internal stress factors happen within you and is mostly caused by you. This could be from overthinking, negative self talk, negative thoughts etc.

External stress factors are stressors from outside. This could be having too much work load, dealing with toxic relationships, financial problems, family problems and the likes. They are mostly caused by things going on around you.

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Symptoms Of Stress

You’ve often found yourself say, “I’m so stressed.” Or something similar to that. What has made you say that? What were you feeling at that point in time that you identified as a symptom of stress?

There are physical, emotional and behavioural symptoms of stress.

How do you know when you are stressed physically?

The symptoms may vary from person to person. You may be feeling weak, tired, dizzy, feeling headache or stomach pain sometimes back pain and you may lack the strength to get things done. Which of these symptoms can you relate to? For me it’s feeling tired which often leads to me being dizzy and having headaches.

Emotional Stress Symptoms

Have you ever felt a form of tiredness where mentally you were tired but still physically okay? Examples of emotional stress symptoms are: unhappiness, over thinking, anxiety, depression, anger, irritability, feeling overwhelmed, sadness, not having the ability to carry out any task. What are your emotional stress symptoms? I was paying close attention to mine and for me it’s irritability. I get really irritated when stressed, something being out of place will irritate me, small talks and the likes and it often times leads to me feeling angry. I also found out that I over think things when I’m stressed and overthinking things stresses me out. Who else can relate?

Behavioural Stress Symptoms

How do you behave when you are stressed? Do you snap at everyone or you just withdraw from everyone? Some behavioural stress symptoms include: eating too much or eating less, sleeping too much or sleeping less, procrastinating, avoiding to do anything etc. I tend to sleep too much or sleep less when I’m stressed and I often times snap at others so I mostly choose to withdraw myself from everyone.

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Stress Management Tips

Identify the cause of your stress

There are different causes of stress that has been listed, yours might not even be on the list but you know what’s stressing you out, you know what you are stressed about. Identifying the cause of your stress is the first step into dealing with your stress.

Avoid the things that stress you

Stay away from things that stress you out. If it’s the people around you that is stressing you, don’t hang around them too much. If it’s your thoughts, avoid them. Stop over thinking, try out positive thinking instead, use affirmations. If you know someone or something will stress you out do yourself a favour before hand and not do it.

Reduce the cause of your stress

If it’s your work load that is stressing you out, break it down into smaller parts. Reduce the cause of your stress. Reduce your negative self talk until it completely disappears, reduce the cause of your stress and work on it.

Talk about your problems

Whatever thing that is stressing you, you can always talk to someone about it and the you both could come up with possible solutions. Talking about the thing stressing you out will lessen the burden you carry. It will take it off your shoulders after all a problem shared is a problem half solved. Talk about what’s stressing you out with someone you trust, someone that can put you through it. It could be your partner, family member, friend, coach etc. Talk to someone about it. Don’t be scared, shy or ashamed to ask for help.

Do something fun

Doing something fun, something you are passionate about can change your mood in minutes. Do something that you enjoy doing not something you see as a chore or a bore, it will only stress you out further. So do something fun, get up and hold a live concert with yourself, host that dance show, take a walk, knit that sweater, read books, watch a movie, do anything that will uplift your mood and make you feel less stressed.

Take a deep breath

Pause and breathe. Take a deep breath. Inhale relaxation, exhale your worry and stress. Breathe, meditate, be mindful of your thoughts, your surroundings. Take deep breaths when you are feeling overwhelmed.

Take things slow

Slow down, there’s no rush. Stop over thinking, stop over working yourself, you are not a machine, even machines break down. Slow down, don’t rush, do things slowly not at a fast pace. Take each day as it comes, don’t overwork yourself.

Take a break

Take a break. Like I mentioned earlier, even machines break down so who are you not to? Take that much needed break, don’t wait until you end up in the hospital to take the break. God forbid something happens, you can always be replaced at your job so why stress yourself and overwork yourself? Prioritize your mental, emotional and physical health above anything else.

Manage your time

I mentioned earlier that anything that puts high demand on you can be stressful. If you have a deadline to meet you will feel stressed over working yourself to meet it unless you manage your time. Money when wasted can still be gained but wasted time can never be gained. Do things at the right time. Don’t wait till the last minute before you start rushing to meet the deadline. Manage your time properly, break down your tasks, delegate tasks to others, ask for help, don’t try doing it all on your own.

Relax

Take a break and relax. When was the last time you went on a vacation, or picnic. Do something in your leisure time. Partake in recreational activities. The opposite of stress is relaxation so why don’t you do just that. Relax like there’s no problem in the world. Even if it’s for a day or two, decide not to think about your problems or the things stressing you out and do something fun. Soon enough you will be stress free and who knows, you could meet someone that could have a solution to your problem or just have a thought pop into your head. Have some alone time, enjoy tranquility, rest and sleep well.

I hope I’ve been able to cover most of the things you could do to be stress free but if you still have questions comment them below. Let me know what you learnt from this post, what causes you to be stressed, your symptoms and how you deal with them.

Do have a stress-free day and thanks for reading. For more helpful tips like this follow and like if you enjoyed reading.

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