5 Major Physical Symptoms Of Stress

Stress is the physical response of our body towards events causing threat, uneasiness or disbalance in our normal state of well being. Lives of individuals, especially those living in urban areas, are marked with hectic schedules and work pressure which may often land them in a situation of stress.

Human bodies have been designed well to handle small amounts of stress, but prolonged stress or sharp stress due to some immediate cause is bound to have ill consequences. Stress affects us physically, mentally and emotional. Some of the major physical symptoms of stress are:

Major Physical Symptoms Of Stress

Aches Or Pains

Aches and pains often occur in case of stress when the muscles contract in response to uneasy or stressful conditions. This contraction increases the production of lactic acid in body leading to pain. Many headaches are known to be caused by stress. Tension headaches may feel like a band tightened around the head. Also in mind body medicine, there is a direct relationship between lower-back pain and stress levels. Neck and shoulder pain also arises out of stress.

Nausea And Dizziness

Feeling dizzy is one of the most recognizable and disruptive symptoms of anxiety or stress. Sometimes, due to stress, you may find yourself feeling woozy, feeling that you need to sit down, and in certain cases even sitting or lying down doesn’t seem to relieve the dizzy feeling. For some people, dizziness due to stress may even be accompanied by other symptoms like nausea. A feeling of sickness or an urge to vomit may develop during stress.

Changed Bowel Habits

Chronic or prolonged stress may cause changes in the bowel habits of an individual, both constipation and diarrhea may occur. Stress may impair digestion and even cause stomach aches. It may cause inflammation throughout the digestive track that may affect the whole mechanism of assimilating nutrients. Tightening of intestinal muscles may also lead to bowel regime change or even irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

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Rapid Heartbeat And Chest Pain

In advent of stress response, hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are released from the adrenal glands. These hormones trigger high pulse rate. This is often accompanied by shortness of breath and chest pain. High blood pressure and high cholesterol are also risks associated with chronic stress. Since stress may have serious effects on our hearts, hence it becomes all the more necessary to deal with stress conditions.

Frequent Colds

Stress is a factor that is thought to lower our immunity and adversely affect our autoimmune system. It thereby allows ailments, especially pathogen infections, to take hold in our bodies. Higher levels of stress make us double likely to catch a cold or viral flu compared to our less-stressed counterparts. Studies simply indicate existence of an inverse relationship between stress and immunity. Short term stress is easy to handle but chronic stress should be followed up by relaxation techniques, yoga and meditation. If you’re not sure whether stress is the actual cause or if stress symptoms persist after sufficient steps taken, you must see your doctor. Your doctor may require checking you for other potential causes.