Psychological Stress: Look Out for These 14 Signs

Everybody deals with psychological stress. Ask Joe Schmo down the street how he felt while organizing his wedding, and he’ll probably talk your ear off about how difficult it was. He might rant about sleepless nights, constant fights, and tiredness that just would not go away no matter how much caffeine he drank.

While we all lead different lives, psychological stress is one of those universal experiences everybody relates to. I’ve never played music for a sold out football stadium, but I can remember the heebie-jeebies I felt walking into a job interview. Other stressors like performing in high school musicals and trying to deadlift for the first time come to mind, too.

This initial burst of anxiety serves a purpose. It sharpens our mind and gets us ready to take on whatever challenge faces us. However, the problem comes when those feelings linger.

When we’re in the thick of it, we may miss the signs that we’re in psychological stress. The problem at hand can consume us, leaving us completely unaware of the havoc it’s unleashing on our mental health. This is why it’s important to take a moment and check in with yourself.

How are you feeling?

Are you thinking straight?

Are you taking healthy action?

It’s important to take your emotional temperature, so to speak. It’s only when you recognize if you’re experiencing psychological stress that you can take action to quell it.

Cognitive Consequences

Racing Thoughts

When exposed to a threat, that shot of cortisol forces us into fight or flight mode. This overclocked state, where we can be thinking way over the speed limit, enables us to navigate tricky situations better. On the other hand, staying this elevated for long periods of time gets very draining. This is another way of saying that anxiety in small bursts can be useful, but it gets exhausting when it overstays its welcome.

Forgetfulness

Chronic stress carries a serious punch on a person’s memory. Those racing thoughts may contribute to sleep deprivation, which in turn makes it harder to remember things. Serious stressors can dominate a person’s perspective, making it harder to create new memories or retrieve old ones. Short-term memory—like wondering where the heck those scissors went—also suffers.

Difficulty Focusing

Have you heard of the computer term “RAM”? This refers to the short-term capacity of a device to balance multiple apps at the same time. When your computer or phone slows down, you may try and shut down a bunch of programs to get it moving back up to speed. Humans have limited working memory and concentration, too. If we have too much anxiety, our brain’s “RAM” reaches its limits and we have a harder time focusing.

Poor Decision-Making

How one weighs the costs and benefits of a big decision is greatly impacted by their stress levels. In a recent study, researchers found that mice who’d been exposed to stress were far more likely to pick high-risk, high-reward options, while other mice played it safe. From a biological point of view, it appears that the excretion of cortisol makes it harder to resist impulses. In that fight or flight state, a person is trying to get out of danger, and therefore might feel more motivated to take riskier options to escape that danger. Researchers believe this is the same dynamic that leads to substance use amongst some people.

Emotional Consequences

You’re More Frustrated or Irritable

Everybody has a finite pool of inner resources to deal with the world’s stressors. Think of it is a bank account. The bigger one’s balance is, the less distressed they’ll be by unexpected charges. Catching an unexpected $60 parking ticket means a lot more when a person’s account is near $0 than if they’re closing in on $50,000. Chronic stress is like a recurring charge, one that will magnify all the other little threats or annoyances when you’re close to $0. This person, operating with less emotional coping resources, is likely to become more easily frustrated and irritable day to day.

Easily Overwhelmed

Using the same bank account metaphor, it’s important that people may have different reactions to those recurring or unexpected “charges.” While some may react more aggressively through frustration and irritability, others might feel overwhelmed.

Relaxing Gets Hard

Chronic stress exhausts that proverbial bank account I keep mentioning. When somebody is stuck or fight in flight mode, it’s difficult to disengage and practice relaxation. Everything may still seem like a threat. As a result, it may be difficult for a person to feel like they can justify taking the time to practice self-care and relax when stressors still exist. Furthermore, the moment-to-moment manifestation of distress—tense muscles, shallow breath, racing thoughts, etc. – is the direct opposite of relaxation. Take it easy and let your mental health recover.

Feeling Blue

If one doesn’t continue to replenish their inner resources through self-care, their emotional bank account teeters toward “zero.” Exhaustion sets in. Sadness may soon follow. Chronic stress has a strong link to having a low mood, even if that doesn’t rise to the level of clinical depression.

Poor Self-Esteem

When stress hits hard and often, it’s easy to feel powerless as one’s inner resources go bankrupt. This leads to difficulty relaxing and low mood, yes, but it can also create an impression that that person is not able to affect the world around them. Feelings of ineffectiveness and insecurity may fester and exacerbate negative thoughts a person may already have about themselves. It’s important to note self-esteem is a huge factor when it comes to a person’s emotional well-being. Folks with high self-esteem have some protection against severe or chronic stress. On the other hand, people that don’t think very highly of themselves are more likely to develop a psychological disorder.

Behavioral Consequences

More Responsibilities?! Run away!

A person’s duties are often big culprits for chronic stress. A tough job. An unhappy relationship. A serious medical condition. These situations can trigger feelings of depression or anxiety while still asking for the person to do more. Avoidance often becomes the go-to strategy. Think fight or flight. It’s good to get some breathing room from one’s problems from time to time, but the problem comes when responsibilities pile up unfinished. This in turn creates more stress on its own.

Nervous Tics

“I’m pulling my hair out over this!” Another way people, often unconsciously, try to avoid these uncomfortable feelings is to self-soothe. This leads to the development of nervous acts like biting one’s finger nails, shaking their leg, pulling their hair, or picking their skin.

Turning to Drugs and Alcohol

Chronic stress can drive people toward substance abuse. Drugs and alcohol are often quick escapes from responsibilities or uncomfortable feelings. When somebody avoids these stressors through the short-term relief of substances, they’re doing what we call “self-medicating.” Drugs and alcohol are chemically addictive, but studies show that stress is the biggest trigger for relapse. Entire books have been written about this awful symbiotic relationship between chronic stress and substance abuse. Bottom line, it’s another one of these self-perpetuating cycles that can spiral out of control. If you’re dealing with substance use issues and want treatment, check for local resources, or go on samhsa.gov to find treatment options.

Eating Too Much or Too Little

Chronic stress can have a big impact on appetite, though it may present differently person to person. Eating can be its own source of self-soothing or coping. When done responsibly, this can be a helpful skill. Mindful eating, for example, is a great practice in grounding yourself in the peace of the present moment. The danger, of course, is if a person starts to overeat. Food can bring great comfort. On the other hand, chronic stress can kill some people’s appetites. Eating might be the last thing a person wants while their thoughts are racing and their heart is beating out of their chest.

Isolating from the People Closest to You

Safe to say, there are a lot of ways that chronic stress can feel pretty crappy. Just like you may not feel like hanging out with friends or family if you’ve got a cold, you’re likely to isolate from the people you care about when dealing with anxiety, exhaustion, and low mood. This can create a self-perpetuating cycle of misery, though. Relationships are important and energizing. They give us an opportunity to ask for support or just talk things out. Without those relationships, chronic stress can become unbearable.

P.S., It’s Not Just Psychological Stress!

Also, if you haven’t already, read up on the physical consequences of stress. If things get hard to deal with, your body and brain will let you know in their own ways.

P.S. I initially wrote these the physical and and psychological signs of stress in one post. However, reading through all those symptoms of stress made me… well, it made me stressed.

How Do You Deal with Psychological Stress?

After scouring the internet and different research journals, these are all the direct consequences of chronic stress I could find. That doesn’t mean this list is exhaustive, though. I’ll come back and update this article as other items come up.

Again, this list isn’t meant to scare you, but rather push you to recognize the warning signs of chronic stress and take action. One of the best ways to do this is to practice good self-care. What better way to replenish your inner resources than to engage in fulfilling and energizing activities? I’ve got some tips for you to consider when picking these out.

Another good way to tamp down that psychological stress is to seek some sort of mental health treatment, like therapy. This can be a daunting process, but it helps to read up on what kind of providers will help you. There are lots of ways to pay for treatment, too.

Finally, if you want to see your routine is impacting you, join my email list and you’ll get a free worksheet. This simple tool will let you track your daily activities and how your mood fluctuates so you can make more informed decisions about managing your stress.

We’re all human here, right? How has stress affected you? Or even if you’re not human– hey, maybe dogs, dolphins, and aliens can relate– share your stories in the comments below.