6 Signs You're Over-Stressed & Don't Know It

Have you ever felt like stress crept up on you? One moment you were loving your new position at work but then suddenly, you were feeling overwhelmed by the challenge.

It’s too bad you weren’t paying closer attention. If you were, you’d have realized that your burnout wasn’t all that sudden. Rather, it happened bit by bit.

But hey, don’t beat yourself up too much; you probably didn’t know what to look out for. We’re going to solve that, right now.

6 Signs You’re Over-Stressed And Don’t Know It

1. Ouch!

If you’ve been noticing a lot of unexplained headaches or chest pain lately, it could be a sign that you’re pushing past your limit.

Stress causes very real physical sensations due to the release of cortisol, which makes your body more sensitive. And that’s when it all catches up to you; that leg fatigue you never paid attention to? Well, now you’re gonna pay attention to it cause it’s 10 times more intense!

2. Improper Sleep

Stress causes hyperarousal – the overexertion of your sympathetic nervous system. It’s very common after stressful, traumatic events.

While this can manifest itself as outright insomnia, it can also be a bit more subtle. For example, when you’re over-stressed you might get a lengthy sleep but still wake up tired and fatigued. That’s because, thanks to hyperarousal, your brain never completely powered down.

3. Change In Appetite

According to Calm Clinic, any sort of intense stress has the potential to alter your appetite. It can work both ways; stress can make you eat more or less.

If you notice a drastic, unhealthy change in the amount or type of food you eat, take a close look at your life and see if there might be any burdens responsible for that.

4. Spending

Too much stress can turn a normally frugal and responsible person into a reckless spender. It’s known as stress spending.

How do you spot it?

Well, have you become ashamed of looking at your weekly bank statement because you know you’ve spent a lot more than you should’ve? Do you find yourself buying things for the sole purpose of making yourself feel better?

Did you answer yes to both? You may be stress spending.

5. Lack of Patience

Maybe you’ve rationalized it and told yourself that you’ve suddenly realized what a dingus your partner is. But make no mistake: a sudden burst of impatience is likely an indicator of severe stress on your part.

When you don’t address stress in one area of your life, you’re bound to ‘address’ it in others – without actually solving anything, of course.

6. Mood Swings

According to the Anxiety Centre, symptoms of severe stress can include unstable emotions that bounce back and forth for absolutely no apparent reason.

Are you driving along happily one minute and cursing the day ahead the next? Do you suddenly forget what you were so happy about? If you haven’t been diagnosed with a mental illness like bi-polar, solving this could be as easy as finding ways to combat stress.