Common Signs and Symptoms of Too Much Stress

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhy It’s Hard to SpotSigns of Too Much StressCoping With Excess StressWhen to Get Help

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Why It’s Hard to Spot

Signs of Too Much Stress

Coping With Excess Stress

When to Get Help

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Everyone deals with stress, but having too much stress can be devastating to your physical and mental health. We all experience stress in our daily lives from different sources: jobs,relationships, finances. Whether you’re dealing with a daily stressor,chronic stress, or a major life challenge like illness or divorce, stress can take a significant toll on you both physically and emotionally.

At a GlanceStress sometimes builds gradually, so it isn’t always easy to tell when you’re dealing with too much. Signs that you might be overstressed include symptoms like headaches, anxiety, frequent illnesses, trouble concentrating, and difficulty sleeping. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to deal with stress and reduce the pressure you are feeling. Relaxation techniques, exercise, and rest can help, but working with a mental health professional can also be beneficial.

At a Glance

Stress sometimes builds gradually, so it isn’t always easy to tell when you’re dealing with too much. Signs that you might be overstressed include symptoms like headaches, anxiety, frequent illnesses, trouble concentrating, and difficulty sleeping. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to deal with stress and reduce the pressure you are feeling. Relaxation techniques, exercise, and rest can help, but working with a mental health professional can also be beneficial.

Why It Can Be Hard to Spot the Signs of Too Much Stress

How do you know when you’re dealing with a level of stress that’sunhealthyfor you?​

The answer to this question can be tricky for a few reasons:

Common Signs That You’re Highly Stressed

Headaches

Certain types ofheadachescan be related to stress. Tension headaches tend to feel like you have a band wrapped around the sides of your head and that band is slowly tightening.If you’re experiencing more headaches, especially tension headaches, stress could be the culprit.

The Link Between Stress and Migraines

More Frequent Colds or Flu

There’s an inverse relationship between stress and immunity, meaning the greater your stress levels, the lower the effectiveness of your immune system, generally speaking.This is true for stress that is greater in severity or stress that is more chronic.

Decreased immunity means you’re more susceptible to everything from colds to more significant health issues, so if you’re under too much stress, you may be getting sick more often.

Sleep Problems

There are many ways that stress affects sleep. Stress can make sleep come less easily and can lead to wakefulness throughout the night. Too much stress can rob you of sleep and make the sleep you get less restorative.

General Anxiety

Anxiety does serve an important function for survival, but if you’re feeling anxious much of the time, it could be because you have too many stressors in your life, or it may indicate a mental health condition like generalized anxiety disorder.

If you experience an increase in anxiety, you may want to talk to your doctor.

Fuzzy Thinking

Your body’sstress responsepumps your body with hormones that make it possible for you to fight or flee quickly. It was built for infrequent stress, however, and stress that is short in duration. When triggered in excess, this stress response can actually cause you to think less quickly.

Feelings of Frustration

If you’re faced with many demands at once, the natural result for many people is increased frustration and irritability. This can lead to more difficulty in relationships as well as in personal happiness. The trick is to find ways to prevent frustration andcalm down quickly.

Lowered Libido

Stress can affect yourlibidoin several ways.If you’re too tired forsex, or can’t seem to find the time for your partner, this can be due to stress in your life as well. This lack of sex drive can also create more stress in your romantic relationships, leading to yet another example of poorly managed stress leading to greater levels of stress to manage.

RecapHeadaches, frequent illness, decreased libido, and worse sleep are just a few of the many ways that stress can affect your body and mind.

Recap

Headaches, frequent illness, decreased libido, and worse sleep are just a few of the many ways that stress can affect your body and mind.

How to Handle Too Much Stress

If you are dealing with too much stress, taking a step back and evaluating your options is essential. If you keep going without addressing the problem, you may end up experiencing the negative effects of chronic stress. This can include worsened physical health, an increased risk of mental health problems, andburnout.

Some steps you can take when you are facing excessive stress include:

Try Journaling

Keeping a journalcan help you process emotions and look for patterns. Looking back on your writings may help you spot stress triggers so you can brainstorm ways of coping with them.

Stay Active

Regular exercise can be a great tool for managing excessive stress.Consider going for a walk each day or signing up for a membership at your local gym.

Get Enough Sleep

It can be hard to sleep when you’re stressed, but being sleep-deprivedalso causes more stress. Focus on doing things like going to bed and waking up at the same time each day and work on creating a restful sleep environment.

Get Support

Social supportis important for mental well-being and can act as a buffer against stress.Reach out to your friends and family if you are struggling with stress, or consider expanding your social network.

Use Relaxation Techniques

Practicing relaxation techniques likedeep breathing,visualization,mindfulness, andprogressive muscle relaxationcan help you relax in the short term. Practicing such techniques regularly can also promote well-being and combat chronic stress.

If stress is causing distress, interfering with your ability to function in your daily life, or causing you to avoid people, situations, or tasks, it’s important to seek help. Talk to your doctor or therapist about steps you can take to minimize the stress in your life.

Working with a therapist can be particularly helpful. They can help you identify sources of stress, look for ways to minimize these stressors, and help you develop effective coping skills to manage the stress in your life.

Takeaway

Too much stress doesn’t just feel bad; it can actually make you sick. Signs that you’re under too much stress include constant headaches and illness, problems sleeping, increased anxiety, difficulty concentrating, increased frustration, and reduced libido. If stress is taking a toll on your life, incorporating stress management techniques and talking to a mental health professional can help.

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ashina S, Mitsikostas DD, Lee MJ, et al.Tension-type headache.Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2021;7(1):24. doi:10.1038/s41572-021-00257-2Cohen S, Janicki-Deverts D, Doyle WJ, et al.Chronic stress, glucocorticoid receptor resistance, inflammation, and disease risk.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012;109(16):5995–5999. doi:10.1073/pnas.1118355109Choi DW, Chun SY, Lee SA, Han KT, Park EC.Association between sleep duration and perceived stress: salaried worker in circumstances of high workload.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(4):796. doi:10.3390/ijerph15040796NIHM.Generalized anxiety disorder: When worry gets out of control.Yu R.Stress potentiates decision biases: A stress induced deliberation-to-intuition (SIDI) model.Neurobiol Stress. 2016;3:83–95. doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2015.12.006NHS.Loss of libido.National Institute of Mental Health.I’m so stressed out! Fact sheet.Nowacka-Chmielewska M, Grabowska K, Grabowski M, Meybohm P, Burek M, Małecki A.Running from stress: Neurobiological mechanisms of exercise-induced stress resilience.Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(21):13348. doi:10.3390/ijms232113348Bekiros S, Jahanshahi H, Munoz-Pacheco JM.A new buffering theory of social support and psychological stress.PLoS One. 2022;17(10):e0275364. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0275364

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ashina S, Mitsikostas DD, Lee MJ, et al.Tension-type headache.Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2021;7(1):24. doi:10.1038/s41572-021-00257-2Cohen S, Janicki-Deverts D, Doyle WJ, et al.Chronic stress, glucocorticoid receptor resistance, inflammation, and disease risk.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012;109(16):5995–5999. doi:10.1073/pnas.1118355109Choi DW, Chun SY, Lee SA, Han KT, Park EC.Association between sleep duration and perceived stress: salaried worker in circumstances of high workload.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(4):796. doi:10.3390/ijerph15040796NIHM.Generalized anxiety disorder: When worry gets out of control.Yu R.Stress potentiates decision biases: A stress induced deliberation-to-intuition (SIDI) model.Neurobiol Stress. 2016;3:83–95. doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2015.12.006NHS.Loss of libido.National Institute of Mental Health.I’m so stressed out! Fact sheet.Nowacka-Chmielewska M, Grabowska K, Grabowski M, Meybohm P, Burek M, Małecki A.Running from stress: Neurobiological mechanisms of exercise-induced stress resilience.Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(21):13348. doi:10.3390/ijms232113348Bekiros S, Jahanshahi H, Munoz-Pacheco JM.A new buffering theory of social support and psychological stress.PLoS One. 2022;17(10):e0275364. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0275364

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Ashina S, Mitsikostas DD, Lee MJ, et al.Tension-type headache.Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2021;7(1):24. doi:10.1038/s41572-021-00257-2Cohen S, Janicki-Deverts D, Doyle WJ, et al.Chronic stress, glucocorticoid receptor resistance, inflammation, and disease risk.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012;109(16):5995–5999. doi:10.1073/pnas.1118355109Choi DW, Chun SY, Lee SA, Han KT, Park EC.Association between sleep duration and perceived stress: salaried worker in circumstances of high workload.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(4):796. doi:10.3390/ijerph15040796NIHM.Generalized anxiety disorder: When worry gets out of control.Yu R.Stress potentiates decision biases: A stress induced deliberation-to-intuition (SIDI) model.Neurobiol Stress. 2016;3:83–95. doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2015.12.006NHS.Loss of libido.National Institute of Mental Health.I’m so stressed out! Fact sheet.Nowacka-Chmielewska M, Grabowska K, Grabowski M, Meybohm P, Burek M, Małecki A.Running from stress: Neurobiological mechanisms of exercise-induced stress resilience.Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(21):13348. doi:10.3390/ijms232113348Bekiros S, Jahanshahi H, Munoz-Pacheco JM.A new buffering theory of social support and psychological stress.PLoS One. 2022;17(10):e0275364. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0275364

Ashina S, Mitsikostas DD, Lee MJ, et al.Tension-type headache.Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2021;7(1):24. doi:10.1038/s41572-021-00257-2

Cohen S, Janicki-Deverts D, Doyle WJ, et al.Chronic stress, glucocorticoid receptor resistance, inflammation, and disease risk.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012;109(16):5995–5999. doi:10.1073/pnas.1118355109

Choi DW, Chun SY, Lee SA, Han KT, Park EC.Association between sleep duration and perceived stress: salaried worker in circumstances of high workload.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(4):796. doi:10.3390/ijerph15040796

NIHM.Generalized anxiety disorder: When worry gets out of control.

Yu R.Stress potentiates decision biases: A stress induced deliberation-to-intuition (SIDI) model.Neurobiol Stress. 2016;3:83–95. doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2015.12.006

NHS.Loss of libido.

National Institute of Mental Health.I’m so stressed out! Fact sheet.

Nowacka-Chmielewska M, Grabowska K, Grabowski M, Meybohm P, Burek M, Małecki A.Running from stress: Neurobiological mechanisms of exercise-induced stress resilience.Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(21):13348. doi:10.3390/ijms232113348

Bekiros S, Jahanshahi H, Munoz-Pacheco JM.A new buffering theory of social support and psychological stress.PLoS One. 2022;17(10):e0275364. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0275364

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