Do you recognize these stress symptoms? Here's how to solve them

What are stress symptoms?

Stress symptoms are different for everyone. Yet there are stress symptoms that are common. The following signs tell you to watch out for them:

• Sleeping poorly
• Excessive brooding
• Eating unhealthily, too much or too little
• Headaches (such as tension headaches or migraines)
• Pain in your neck and shoulders
• Palpitations
• Abdominal pain
• Skin problems such as eczema and acne
• Blurred vision
• Poor concentration
• Being forgetful
• Being irritable
• Being tired
• Less sex drive

Everyone experiences one or more stress symptoms from time to time. However, if the stress lasts longer, it is important that you do something about it.

Are stress symptoms normal?

It is normal to experience stressful situations from time to time. Think, for example, of a job application, presentation or exam. In these situations, stress has a function, namely to make you feel more energetic and alert. Could you do with a little less of this "functional" stress? Then a relaxation exercise can help take the edge off.

Stress before an exciting situation will always vary greatly from person to person. Everyone has their own 'stress factors' and will react differently to a particular situation.

What happens in prolonged stress?

If stress symptoms persist for a long time, it is important to do something about it. First of all, it may indicate that a particular situation is becoming too much for you. In addition, prolonged stress is not healthy for your body.

Difficulty recovering from prolonged stress

Prolonged stress symptoms indicate that a certain situation is becoming too much for you, and that you are increasingly unable to recover from it. In other words, you experience stress more often than not, so you don't get enough rest.

If you allow this to continue, the stress can lead to burnout. You can recover well from burnout, but it takes time. If you take stress symptoms seriously, you can prevent getting really burned out.

Long-term stress symptoms are bad for your health

Long-term stress affects your body. This can manifest itself in different ways, such as:

• Poor sleep
• Skin problems such as acne and eczema
• Unhealthy eating: eating too little, eating too much or making unhealthy choices
• Abdominal pain
• Headaches
• Getting sick faster

Some of the physical problems associated with stress are caused by the chemical cortisol. Cortisol is what we call the stress hormone. The function of cortisol is that you have the energy to "fight" or "flee" in certain situations. With prolonged stress, you have (too) much cortisol in your body. And now let that not be so healthy: it can affect your sleep rhythm, your immune system and the choices you make regarding food.

What causes stress symptoms in you?

Not everyone experiences stress from the same situations. Someone who needs a lot of social interaction may experience stress when there is little social contact. Someone who likes to be alone will experience just the opposite: he or she doesn't want too many social obligations.

If you experience regular stress symptoms, it's good to look at what triggers your stress system. Sometimes the answer is easy, such as the high workload of your job. In other cases, it's smart to ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I saying "no" at a time when I don't want to or can't do something?
• Do I miss social contacts or have too many obligations?
• Do I make high demands on myself?
• Which activities give me energy?
• Which activities cost me energy?
• Do I take enough rest?
• Do I have room to be myself?

So stress can also be caused by how you live. If you unconsciously adapt to others (too) often, this can cause stress.

Accepting stress symptoms

If you want to do something with stress symptoms, it is first of all important that you accept them. Only then can you really address stress. So try to look at yourself without judgment. You can do this in the following ways:

• Be kind to yourself. A thought such as: 'Yes, I am stressed and I accept this' can help.
• Have a conversation with yourself: why are you experiencing stress?
• Ask yourself what is the worst thing that could happen: is the worst thing that could happen really that terrible? And why in fact?
• Accept that you don't always have to be useful. It's okay to hang out on the couch with a cup of tea and do nothing at all for a while.

If you identify and accept stress symptoms, you can effectively work on stress reduction.