Signs & Symptoms of Stress and How to Conquer It

Stress is a common experience for most of us. It is a part of everyday life and can be a minor and passing experience or become a more chronic problem. When dealing with personal health concerns, worries like the COVID-19 pandemic, or the challenges involved in being a caretaker for a family member, stress can be a major factor in your life.

Knowing how to spot the warning signs and symptoms of stress becoming an unhealthy problem is important. So is learning how to manage or prevent the issues caused by stress. Read on to learn more about the impacts of stress and how to help conquer it.

What is stress, exactly?

Stress is more than just a feeling. Our bodies are programmed to physically react to challenges and threats. When we experience an external event such as increased household responsibilities or navigating a new health diagnosis and multiple medical bills, we have a mental and physical response. This response, sometimes called “fight, flight, or freeze,” happens automatically to help us get through a difficult situation.

When stress becomes chronic, however, the body’s physical responses triggered by fight or flight can be damaging. The American Psychological Association (APA) notes that stress affects every system of the body including the respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, nervous, endocrine, and reproductive systems. 1

Some symptoms caused by the body’s stress response include:

Increased heart rate and blood pressure
Muscle tension
Dizziness or shaking
Trouble sleeping
Headaches
Upset stomach or other digestive problems
General aches and pains
Change in appetite
Decreased sex drive

Health problems that can happen as a result of chronic stress

Symptoms of the body’s response to chronic, uncontrolled stress are a warning sign that health problems may be developing. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 75% of all visits to the doctor are related to stress. 2 These are some problems caused by chronic stress:

A weakened immune system
Anxiety
Depression
Heart problems like coronary heart disease
Worsening asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Endocrine system-related problems like diabetes and obesity
Digestive system problems including worsening of existing inflammatory bowel issues

Stress and mental health

While all of these health problems are a serious concern, the impact of stress on mental health has led to the APA calling stress in America “A National Mental Health Crisis.” 3 Along with potentially worsening pre-existing mental health conditions such as bipolar disease and schizophrenia, stress can trigger anxiety and depression. It’s important to know what to watch for and to seek help if you’re concerned about your mental health or the mental health of a loved one.

For someone who is experiencing serious distress or having thoughts of hurting themselves, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 via call or text at 988.

Symptoms of depression

These are common symptoms of depression, according to the APA: 4

Lack of interest or pleasure in daily activities
Insomnia or excessive sleep
Being unable to concentrate
Weight loss or weight gain
Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
Lack of energy
Thoughts of death or suicide

Symptoms of anxiety

Many of the symptoms of stress are the same as those seen with anxiety. In addition to these symptoms, you may feel a constant sense of unease, worry, or impending doom. Anxiety can cause: 5

Always feeling restless or on edge
Trouble concentrating
Fatigue
Irritability
Sleeping too much or too little
Headaches, muscle aches, or unexplained aches and pains
Upset stomach
Inability to stop worrying

How to Conquer Stress

Ultimately, learning tools for managing stress is key to reducing the health problems that can happen with chronic stress. There are several things you can do if you notice signs and symptoms of stress becoming a constant problem:

Get enough sleep- try to sleep at least 8 hours every night. Adults who sleep less than 8 hours per night report higher levels of stress than those that sleep longer. 6

Practice mindfulness- exercises like deep breathing and meditation reduce stress. You can even try downloading apps designed for this and make a daily routine of setting aside some time for this activity.

Take time for self-care- it’s important to take a break and choose self-care activities that contribute to staying healthy and removing yourself from stress. Read a book, spend time on a hobby, or listen to music- whatever helps you unwind the most.

Exercise and eat healthy- staying active and fueling your body with healthy nutrition is important to help combat the physical effects of stress.

Avoid excess caffeine- caffeine increases the body’s stress response.7 Sometimes stress and lack of sleep can create a vicious cycle of adding fuel to the fire by drinking caffeine.

Consider therapy- regular visits with a therapy provider can help you with processing stress and developing healthy thinking patterns to minimize the impacts of stress.

Practice positivity- during times of stress, negative thoughts can begin to crowd out the positive ones. Some people find setting aside time to reflect on positive thoughts, such as a daily gratitude journal, can help shift thoughts away from negativity.

Try yoga- a great combination of mindfulness and physical exercise, yoga reduced stress for 85% of people in a national survey. 8

Lean on friends- involve friends in your life who are positive and supportive, and are willing to be a listening ear or a companion for a fun activity.

Just say no- sometimes when you are at your limit and can’t take on any more commitments, it’s healthy and necessary to say “I’m sorry, I can’t” to any requests.

Sources of stress for seniors and caregivers

Another way to reduce stress is to take steps to improve the situations that are contributing to it or causing it, if possible. For seniors and caregivers, there are some common sources of stress. Seniors who are experiencing stress are not alone, either– one survey found that 44% of seniors feel stressed. 9 And for caregivers, stress can lead to burnout.

So what are these common sources of stress, and how can they be reduced?

For seniors:

Caring for a sick spouse
Financial concerns
Fear of losing independence
Chronic illness
Loss of physical abilities
Death of close friends, relatives, or spouse

While not all of these can be avoided, there are some ways the effects can be reduced. Prioritizing companionship, taking steps to improve home safety, and involving in-home caregivers to help with a sick spouse or with any personal needs, can all improve stress levels for seniors.

For caregivers:

Physical demands of caregiving
Challenges with dementia-related behaviors
Conflicting demands of caregiving and other responsibilities
The need for 24/7 care in some cases
Not being able to take a break
Managing complex health conditions of a loved one

In many cases, for a caregiver, solutions to stress such as self-care, sleep, exercise, and being able to say no to excess demands, do not feel like an option. Easing this level of responsibility by involving other family members and even a professional caregiver can allow a caregiver to have more freedom to take actions that will improve their stress levels. These services can be arranged as regular visits, or as respite care.

The strategies discussed in this article are vital to helping reduce the fallout from chronic stress. Although they require a commitment to put in place, the effort is worth the improvement in quality of life.

Even starting small- just one or two strategies- can make a big improvement. It may help to choose one that you feel may be easiest first. For example, set an alarm to remind you to take a 2-minute mindfulness break and practice deep breathing every few hours. Once you see the positive effects, it may be easier to add more stress-relieving strategies.

If in-home caregiver services would be a big help and reduce stress for you, Caresify’s home care providers are available for many caregiving tasks. You can read more here, or call 888-799-5007.

Providing personalized in-home care to seniors