Physical Signs of Stress and Anxiety

On my post yesterday I mentioned I had thought the costochondritis I had suffered from the past seven weeks was caused by stress. Stress can manifest into many physical signs and symptoms, so make sure you are listening to your body!

Pretty much any physical symptom can be a sign of stress. Some of the more common stress symptoms are stomach pain, headaches, lack of sleep, over or under eating, anxiety, depression, and heavier alcohol consumption. But stress can also manifest in skin conditions and heavier panic attacks that send people to the hospital, thinking they are having a heart attack. Eventually, stress can affect your immune system, so stop stressing already. Easier said than done!

If you read my last post you may have made the decision it is time to work on controlling your stress. So what next, it’s time to track your stress and find out exactly what is stressing you the most. Here is where I tell you to keep a stress diary. If you have been following me and are keeping a food and activity log you can add stress to that one. The idea is to write down everything that causes you a feeling of bad stress. The type of stress that makes you feel a little anxiety or overwhelmed to massively anxious or overwhelmed and then rate your stresses on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being very little stress, 10 being, I just can’t take this anymore. From there you can start working on your biggest stressors first. Obviously, we will never have zero stress, some stress is actually good for you. Unfortunately today, most of us are carrying too much stress and it is causing us to lack energy, become sick, and not reach our life goals.

Here is to managing your stress and reaching your health, weight loss, and fitness goals. I know you can do it!

Karen