You May Be More Stressed Than You Think – 5 Quiet Signals

Stress can present itself in a wide array of symptoms from physical to emotional. Some of those symptoms scream that something is wrong. Others are far stealthier than that.

These signals are invisible, ignored or even joked about.

One thing’s for sure, though.

A joke they are not.

What are some quiet signals that your stress levels are worse than you thought? Here are five.

Poor Sleep/Insomnia

Everyone has an occasional crummy night of sleep. That’s just par for the course.

Maybe you’re awakened by a barking dog, sick child or a significant other who wants you to check on a noise they just heard.

After events like that, you may have trouble falling asleep. Those are “textbook” dilemmas.

But those occasional nights can slowly morph into more. You can quickly find that a good night of sleep is the oddity and not the other way around as things should be.

Don’t let that gradual slide to sleeplessness fool you. You could be dealing with some serious stress.

Perhaps you even lay awake at night trying to solve complex family and work problems. These are all stress indicators you don’t want to ignore.

Digestive Problems

It’s easy to just figure that digestive problems are due to food intolerances or genetics. While that may be the case, it isn’t always so.

Part of the problem can be exacerbated by the fact that many who are stressed out also eat unhealthily. You eat food on the go, binge on late-night sweets or find too much comfort in food.

Combine the less-than-optimal food choices with a digestive tract that’s taking on stress, and you could be in for some sickness or inconvenience at the least.

Too Busy to Do Anything for Yourself

If you’re a naturally driven person, you likely view busyness as a good thing, perhaps even a badge of honor.

Busyness is good to some extent. But if you’re too preoccupied, you become unable to tend to the needs of yourself and your family.

Small signs of neglect in other areas are a good sign that your stress levels are becoming too high.

It’s time to reprioritize so you can get back to a balanced life again.

You Don’t Laugh Much Anymore

When’s the last time you had a good belly laugh?

If it’s been a while, it’s not because there was nothing funny to laugh about.

It’s more because you haven’t taken notice. And why haven’t you taken notice?

There’s a good chance that’s because your stress levels are too high. It’s easy to convince yourself that healthy, responsible people don’t partake in laughter but that’s just not true.

A good laugh actually de-stresses you. And, ironically, the time you least feel like laughing is when you need it the most.

In fact, stress breeds more stress because, as it gets worse, an increasing number of healthy habits get thrown along the wayside.

“Hobby” is a Foreign Word to You

If someone asks you what your hobby is and a long awkward pause with plenty of “ums” follows, this could be a quiet stress symptom.

It could be that you’re so overwhelmed with life that the idea of a creative outlet or hobby is the furthest thing from your mind.

Healthy people find things to do that they look forward to and that help them relax.

If you’re striking out on the hobby question, think of something you can try from hiking to flying kites. The idea is to find something that makes you forget your anxiety and pressures.

In Conclusion

Not all stress symptoms are obvious. Make sure that signals aren’t slipping by unnoticed. Life is too short to let stress get the best of you.

Feeling stressed but not sure what to do? We would count it a privilege to help you come up with a plan to destress.

If it is time for you to schedule your couples counseling appointment online using our online scheduling tool, call us at (949) 393-8662, or text us.

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