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Symptoms of Stress Disorders

Symptoms of stress are our body’s response to perceived threat or danger. Stress symptoms keep us alert so we can react as the situation demands. In the short-term, physical symptoms of stress like sweating, breathlessness and trembling serve a good purpose.

When symptoms of stress are chronically or continually experienced, however, they are no longer beneficial. When prolonged or chronic, stress symptoms wear the body out. Eventually these symptoms of anxiety and stress lead to or aggravate serious health problems like heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

Prolonged Symptoms of Stress

Stress and stress symptoms are normal. Whenever we are under any kind of emergency, our body reacts and we experience stress symptoms. After the stressful situation has passed, our body goes back to its relaxed state.

Unfortunately, some people are under perpetual stress, and for them, the symptoms of stress never really fade. People with stress disorders like chronic stress and post traumatic stress are prime examples of those who continually experience stress symptoms.

Symptoms of Chronic Stress Disorder

Chronic stress is a condition of long-term and continual stress. A person who perceives himself to be always under one sort of emergency or another has chronic stress disorder. This person feels perennially frustrated, anxious or rushed. He goes from one stressful condition to another. The symptoms of stress are continually present. His senses are in a perpetually heightened state, and his body has no time to relax in between stressors.

What are the symptoms of chronic stress? The physical symptoms of chronic stress include

• chronic headache
• back ache
• chest pains
• hypertension
• dyspepsia
• or an upset stomach.

Chronic stress also has psychological and behavioral symptoms. Chronically stressed people are always irritable and anxious. They cry for no apparent reason, they drink and smoke a lot and they have unhealthy eating habits. They are intensely moody, restless and forgetful. They tend to be abrasive, are prone to angry outbursts and are unable to complete and focus on tasks.

Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post traumatic stress is an anxiety and stress disorder that results from psychological trauma. People who have undergone a traumatic event are susceptible to post traumatic stress disorder.

What are the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? People who have PTSD experience their trauma again and again through nightmares and flashbacks. They tend to withdraw from things and activities they used to enjoy in the past. They also develop phobias about things, places, events, and objects that evoke the trauma.

People with PTSD continually manifest symptoms of stress. Every time they re-experience their trauma, their body activates the stress response. Since people with post traumatic stress disorder keep on remembering their bad experience, they are continually stressed out as well.

Even if they are not re-experiencing their trauma, PTSD sufferers are in a constant state of alertness. They feel perpetually tense and on edge. Thus, they are chronically stressed. Symptoms of traumatic stress therefore mirror the symptoms of chronic stress discussed above.

Conclusion on Physical Symptoms of Stress

Breathlessness, sweating and accelerated heart rate are all physical symptoms of stress. These are symptoms of temporary stress, however. If you have the symptoms of the stress disorders discussed above, consult your doctor. If you are always under pressure, you probably have chronic stress disorder.

If you have experienced a traumatic incident, you may have post traumatic stress disorder. You should have your stress symptoms checked so you can be properly diagnosed. Symptoms of stress eventually lead to complications if left unheeded and untreated.

The previous article is on Job Burnout.

Other wiki resources: set goals; delegating authority; things that rob your time; procrastination; anger control