Most often, stress is associated with increased nervousness, apathy, loss of focus, and poor sleep. But there can be many more signs of this condition: for example, the development of bruxism or caries, muscle soreness, and even dependence on alcohol.
However, not many people pay attention to these unusual signs of stress, which worsen the condition. In this article, we will help you learn about the symptoms of stress you were not aware of before.
Most Unusual Signs of Stress
Along with headache, insomnia, and other usual symptoms, here are some not-so-famous signs of stress.
1. Dental Problems
Tooth decay and tooth loss can be a sign or effect of stress. One of the reasons is bruxism, which often develops during a period of prolonged nervous tension and emotional instability. Prolonged grinding of teeth during sleep damages the enamel and gums, and the teeth become more vulnerable to various diseases.
In addition, bruxism leads to headaches and soreness in the jaw and entire face. It is important to determine what exactly caused this pathological condition. The most common culprit is stress. When you manage to defeat it and calm your emotions, bruxism, as a rule, gradually goes away.
2. Substance Abuse
Another unusual sign of stress is dependence on alcohol and other harmful substances such as crystal meth. To feel relaxed and relieved, some people start abusing drugs; the most common of them is meth. But this will only make it harder to deal with stress. So if you notice a sudden dependence of a closed one on such substances, try to talk to them.
One factor for stress is solitary when a person has no one to share the problems with. Thus, talking to such a person might help them. Once you get to know their problem, convince them to get proper treatment. Then for getting rid of crystal meth addiction, you must find a nearby rehab center for them.
3. Body Aches
The next morning after intense physical activity, a person may feel pain and aches throughout the body. But what if there was no training the day before, but still painful sensations and heaviness follow every morning? What could be the reason for this?
Most likely, it is all to blame for a poor-quality mattress, sleep problems, or chronic malaise. However, the body can also ache due to increased levels of anxiety. Psychologists say that stress most often provokes migraines, back pain, muscle pain, and gastrointestinal symptoms.
4. Excessive Sleepiness
According to independent surveys, about 50% of people under stress experience extreme fatigue and quickly become overworked even after a recent rest. Therefore, another symptom of nervous overstrain is practically uncontrollable drowsiness. The body tries to overcome stress through sleep. Chronic fatigue can be a sign of various diseases, among which there may well be a prolonged stressful state.
The desire to sleep during a period of nervous tension occurs more often than an appetite disorder and muscle pain. Fatigue can be emotional, physical, and mental. All three are often associated with stress and depression. Sleep in such cases does not bring much relief, and you want to sleep almost constantly.
5. Fainting And Numbness
Experts in the field of psychology argue that as a result of complex post-traumatic stress, a person can experience a light-headed state. As a result, dizziness, darkening of the eyes, heart palpitations, nausea, and numbness of the limbs are common. Strong emotions and fear can even lead to loss of consciousness.
This usually happens due to a sharp decrease in vascular tone throughout the body. If fainting occurs due to stress, it is called psychogenic. Most often, people with a decreased tone of the sympathetic nervous system suffer from it. They tend to have a lean body and low blood pressure. But the loss of consciousness due to stress occurs less often than light-headedness.
6. Body Stiffness
In some stressful situations, fear as a protective emotion can shackle the body, as if freezing it. As a result, people find it difficult to move and breathe. According to psychologists, in the event of serious threats (for example, a physical attack or natural disaster), the human body can go into dissociation mode.
Stiffness of the body manifests itself not only in extreme circumstances but also when you feel excessive excitement. Experts believe that through this reaction, the body tries to adapt to a stressful situation in order to find the best way out of it.
7. Fireworks Of Emotions
When a person simultaneously experiences several emotions at once (from anger to disappointment, from fear to loneliness), then, most likely, he is experiencing severe stress. At the same time, many thoughts rush through the head, and it becomes impossible to stop them. The ability to concentrate gets noticeably impaired. The surging emotions can be associated with both past events and situations from the present or the future.
Although everyday life has many emotional experiences, they are not as difficult to manage as an overabundance of feelings during times of stress. At such a moment, a whole flurry of emotions falls on people, which are difficult to explain and practically not controlled.
8. Skin Rashes
During periods of severe stress, a person may feel itching throughout the body. The skin becomes covered with rashes and red spots, especially around the arms, legs, back, and abdomen.
Experts cannot yet come to a consensus on this phenomenon. But one of the versions is a weakening of the immune system during stress, the release of histamine, which causes itching and redness.
9. Frequent Colds
The deterioration of the immune system during stress is the result of the body’s increased production of stress hormones – adrenaline and cortisol. They (in particular, cortisol) help to cope with allergies, temporarily turning off the immune response in order to get rid of irritation and calm the body.
Therefore, with constant nervous overstrain, stress hormones block the body’s defense system, and the immune system gradually weakens. In this state, a person is more vulnerable to various viral and infectious diseases.
We mentioned some most unusual signs of stress which many people are not aware of. By knowing these symptoms, one can take the necessary measures to deal with stress. Live Healthily!