Dealing With Stress? 9 Warning Signals Your Body May Be Sending

When life heats up, finding it hard to admit that you’re feeling stressed is perfectly normal. After all, you likely have people depending on you to hold it together. But, managing your work responsibilities, caring for family members and even prepping for recreational sports competitions can all take their toll.

The funny thing about stress is that it tends to accumulate so slowly that you don’t always notice until you’re in over your head. In fact, you might already be noticing a few of your body’s waning signs of mental health, such as muscle twitches and headaches.

Although you might not be able to completely avoid stress, you can begin making changes that protect your overall mental health. Taking a deeper look at how mental health affects your body makes it possible to take back control. As you read through these warning signs your body might be sending, remember that they should serve as a prompt to take action.

Focusing on improving your mental health can ease strain on your body and give you a better overall sense of well-being.

Starting Your Day In Fight-or-Flight Mode

After a good night’s sleep, you’d think that you would wake up well-rested and ready to conquer the day. Yet, morning anxiety can happen when you’re overloaded with stress. You might notice the signs of spiking cortisol levels as soon as you wake up.

While you might notice racing thoughts upon waking, along with other emotional symptoms, you could also feel muscle tension. Shoulder, neck and jaw pain are signs that you might have been clenching your facial muscles all night in response to stress.

If your body’s warning signs of poor mental health kick off first thing in the morning, then you can take action the night before. Finding ways to get more restful sleep can combat morning anxiety. Establishing a regular bedtime, leaving your phone in the other room and blocking out street light all help you wake up with a relaxed body and mind.

Experiencing Dramatic Changes In Your Eating Habits

At some point, you’ve likely felt that stomach-churning nausea that can accompany hearing terrible news. You can chalk this sensation up to your body’s response to a sudden flow of stress hormones in your bloodstream.

With chronic stress, the effects might be subtler. You might find yourself reaching for comfort foods that are often loaded with carbs. Late-night snacking might be another way that your body makes an attempt at self-comforting.

Alternatively, you might find that you lack your normal appetite. Either way, it’s important to strive to stay on a healthy eating plan. Making sure to include well-rounded meals in your self-care routine ensures that stress doesn’t take too much of a toll on your body.

If necessary, do some meal prepping to ensure that you always have something nutritious to eat when you feel like grabbing a cupcake or chips.

Feeling Exhausted for No Reason During the Day

There are certain periods in your life when you expect to feel fatigued. Parenting a newborn or starting a new job can naturally leave you feeling more tired than normal. But, you should be able to pinpoint a cause for your exhaustion.

If you just feel drained for no obvious reason, then it could be stress piling up. Being in constant fight-or-flight mode takes serious energy. Addressing your mental health can help you regain your former energy levels.

For instance, talking to a therapist or close friend could help you feel calmer and more energized. Although it might seem counterintuitive, exercising can also restore your energy by helping to burn off stress hormones.

Finding what works or improving your energy levels may take time, but the effort is worth it when you feel ready to tackle your daily responsibilities.

Struggling With Brain Fog

Everyone has trouble recalling a specific word at some point. You can also consider yourself normal if you get distracted while working on a boring project. But, you should feel a strong sense of mental clarity most of the time.

Difficulty concentrating is one of the top physical signs of mental health struggles. If you find your thoughts keep racing or returning to the same worries, then it might be time to give yourself a break.

Doing a few brief body weight exercises or going for a walk can help send blood flow to your brain. Taking even five minutes to stretch your body can help send signals to your brain that it can relax and focus on your task.

If you struggle with a lack of focus for more than a few days or weeks, then you might need to reach out to a professional to identify an underlying cause. But, many people find that their ability to focus returns once the stress in their life lessens.

Having More Aches and Pains

Arthritis isn’t the only thing that could be causing you to feel achy all over. As stress hormones build up in your body, you might tense up your muscles without realizing it. Headaches are a common sign of mental health issues that you need to address to feel greater comfort.

Stomach problems are also common, and these tend to be linked to an increase in acids building up in your digestive system. Eating bland foods can help reduce stomach acids, and you’ll feel better faster when you take steps to address stress.

Naturally, you’ll want to schedule a physical check-up to identify any underlying causes for chronic pain. Even if you do turn out to have arthritis or another health diagnosis, stress-relief techniques can help you feel better all around.

Looking Stiff In Photographs

Muscle tension isn’t just felt in your body. You might also be able to visually notice how you’re holding stress and anxiety in your body. Take a few minutes to look through some of your most recent photos.

If you see your shoulders scrunched up toward your ears, then you might be expressing your mental strain through your posture. A clenched jaw might give you an amazing profile in your photos, but you’ll also need to ask yourself why you seem to be gritting your teeth.

These postures and expressions often indicate that someone is dealing with emotional turmoil. If you don’t address them now, then you could face issues such as tension headaches and premature aging. After all, holding your eyebrows in a scrunched position can quickly cause fine lines to show.

Paying attention to your body’s positioning throughout the day can help you counteract the effects of stress. For instance, you might instantly relax your jaw when you catch yourself clenching it while you struggle with focusing on a project.

Adding more opportunities for stretching to your day can also help you to keep muscle tension at bay. Yoga is a great form of exercise for loosening up tense muscles while also helping to calm your mind.

Being Overly Restless and Irritable

Some people might feel tired during the day, but you could also be feeling the opposite way. Once those stress hormones kick in, you might feel the need to rush through your daily activities.

You might notice that you can’t sit through a movie without getting up multiple times to check on things around the house. Or, you might find yourself pacing around the office or constantly picking up your phone.

Fidgeting is a common sign of stress, and you might also feel like you just can’t do enough throughout the day. As your restlessness peaks, it’s also common to feel jumpy or irritable. Once again, you can thank stress hormones such as cortisol for making you feel edgy.

Getting a grip on your stress can help you slow down your body’s urgent need to get things done. Instead of racing through your day, take a few deep breaths to see how they help you calm down.

Most likely, you’ll find that deep breathing helps to bring your mind back to the task at hand while reminding you that running at a fast pace will only wear you down more.

Catching Frequent Colds

As if dealing with stress in your life isn’t enough, life throws you the curveball of getting sick. Sure, you might not feel like you have time to nurture your body through a case of the sniffles. You might even feel tempted to show up at work no matter how bad you feel.

Unfortunately, declining mental health can lower your immune system. Since stress in your body can contribute to inflammation, it’s common to notice that your allergies get worse during a challenging time.

You’ll also be more susceptible to colds and other illnesses that your body might normally fight off. Once you get sick, it might feel like the symptoms hang around forever when you’d normally bounce right back after a day or two.

As annoying as it is to get sick at the worst possible moment, it’s critical to take this as a sign that your mind may need nourishment as much as your body. Go ahead and settle in for a streaming movie marathon.

Or, make yourself a warm cup of soup and call a friend to catch up. Doing little things that help nurture your spirit while your body heals allows you to feel your absolute best once you recover.

When you’re well again, spend some time assessing what was going on in your life right before you got sick. You might need to make changes in your routine such as not working late-night hours or skipping meals.

Adjusting your daily routine to support your physical and mental health can help your body ward off colds by handling stress better.

Hearing Your Inner Critic Take Over

In a perfect world, you would always feel confident that you can handle any task. Yet, your body’s reaction to stress can also take a toll on your self-confidence. Feeling shaky as you get up to give a presentation at work or school is a signal that your body sends about your mental health.

Queasiness and other uncomfortable symptoms could be anxiety that your body is expressing when you start to doubt your abilities. Giving yourself a pep talk can help reassure your body and mind that you have what it takes to succeed.

If you can’t drum up the positivity that you need alone, then reach out to a friend, family member or colleague. Connecting with other people can help you regain your confidence and stop physical symptoms of stress.

Are you noticing the effects of stress on your body? Make sure to carve out time for self-care. Taking a walk, talking to a trusted friend and making sure you get enough sleep can all help combat the effects of stress on your physical and mental wellbeing.

You can also share this information on your social media pages. Recruiting the support of your friends can help you build accountability for taking care of your mind and body. In fact, you might even find a few friends who want to join you on your wellness journey.

Spreading the word about the physical symptoms of poor mental health can serve as a jumpstart for improving the lives of everyone in your social groups.