What Is Stress Overload: Signs and Symptoms

In today’s time, you will not find anyone who is living without stress. Studies have proved that even school-going children are subjected to some level of stress. According to experts, stress is often a good thing as it motivates people to achieve goals. Things become serious when there’s stress overload. This leads to the question, “How will you know that you are experiencing stress overload?” This write-up discusses stress overload and its common signs and symptoms.

Why Is Stress Overload Harmful?

Stress overload triggers an excess production of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. High levels of these hormones can lead to a range of health issues. These include digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcers, and heartburn, cardiovascular disorders like hypertension and heart failure, chronic headaches, weight changes, low immunity, skin diseases like acne and eczema, etc.

Stress overload also has a strong impact on people’s mental health. They find it difficult to concentrate and suffer from severe loss of energy. Depression and anxiety are also common in these patients.

Common Causes of Stress Overload

Most cases of stress overload are linked to excess pressure at the workplace or situations related to it. Long working hours, impending presentations, strict deadlines, and non-cooperative colleagues are among the factors that trigger work-related stress. You may also be overly stressed due to life-changing events like divorce, marriage, relocation, pregnancy, loss of a dear one, and retirement. Other common causes of stress overload include:

• Breakups or conflicts with family members and friends
• Excess debt and ongoing money issues
• A sudden injury or serious illness
• Guilt
• Uncertainty  

According to experts, the triggers can be different from one individual to another. For some, even situations like a traffic jam can cause stress overload.

Signs and Symptoms of Stress Overload

Here are the signs and symptoms you should be wary of:

A Feeling of Exhaustion: If you suddenly feel exhausted and overwhelmed due to the responsibilities you have, it’s possibly due to an increase in your stress levels. These changes can make you less productive and cause issues like sleep deprivation. The best way of dealing with the situation is to take a few steps backward and share responsibilities with others. If possible, you can also take a complete break for a few weeks and come back fresh.

Frequent, Unexplained Headaches:If you often experience headaches, and that too without any apparent reason, you are most likely overly stressed. An increase in stress levels tenses up the human body and triggers tension headaches, which are the most common stress-related headaches. Other than that, stress can also cause cluster and migraine headaches. Your psychologist is the best person to guide you in such situations. He or she will help identify the cause of increased stress levels and teach you techniques that will help you unwind and relax.

Irritability: This common symptom of stress overload tends to manifest in multiple ways. In some, irritability appears in the form of a short temper and ongoing frustration, while in others, it is indicated by a feeling of loss of control over everything around them. To be more precise, stress overload often results in a decrease in tolerance threshold.

You can get rid of these problems and prevent more serious mental health complications like depression and anxiety by participating in activities you love. Also, speak to an experienced psychologist to learn relaxation techniques.

Lack of Concentration: Stress overload gives birth to worrisome thoughts that seem to keep the human brain engaged 24/7. With an already burdened brain, people find it difficult to focus on tasks at hand. This not only hurts their professional life but also jeopardizes their personal life. A few visits to a qualified psychologist can help you manage stress more efficiently and get back your ability to focus.

Abnormal Appetite: The effect of stress on human appetite tends to differ from one person to another. For some, elevated stress levels can increase cravings for unhealthy food items like sugary and fatty foods. If you don’t address these changes on time, it will lead to weight gain and subsequently cause health issues like diabetes and hypertension. Stress can also disrupt the digestive system and cause loss of appetite and decreased nutrient absorption. These changes, on the other hand, often cause extreme weight loss.  

Sleep Disorders: High levels of stress hormone cortisol make falling asleep extremely difficult. Even if one falls asleep on time, cortisol ensures that he/she has a disrupted sleep. Sleep deprivation is common in people with stress overload, also due to anxiety-induced nightmares. You cannot solve these problems by gulping some sedatives. Speak to a qualified psychologist; he or she will help you sleep well by making some basic lifestyle changes.

Conclusion

If you are in the Bronx, New York, or nearby areas, managing stress overload doesn’t have to be a challenge. Magnet Health offers easy access to some of the most experienced and highly regarded psychologists in the Bronx, NY. Simply visit and book your appointment.