Stress manifests itself in various ways, including behavioural symptoms of stress. The way you behave, act and feel can be impacted due to the stress you are facing. It can display itself in many ways, but these signs and symptoms of stress are easy to spot. So what are the main behavioural symptoms of stress? Let’s take a look
The main behavioural symptoms of stress
Changes in appetite. One of the main behavioural symptoms of stress is a change in your appetite. When stressed, you feel nervous and there’s a hormonal imbalance created. This leads to you feeling the need to eat more food to compensate for the stress, or you feel unable to eat. Have you ever experienced butterflies in your stomach that render you unable to eat for a while? It was most likely due to stress. If you start noticing these, take a moment to relax and practice stress relief.
Lack of sleep. Stress will often keep you at night. Workplace stress, personal problems or even bad results by your favourite sports teams! As a result, you will stay up till late, twisting and turning in bed. On the flip side, you may feel lethargic and unmotivated, and end up sleeping more. It depends from person to person. However, changes in sleep patterns is one the key behavioural symptoms of stress. Listen to Evolve’s sleep audios which are totally free and will help you fall asleep within minutes.
Restlessness. Stress makes you restless and nervous. The rush of blood and adrenaline means you cannot sit still or be at ease. You are constantly worrying about the pressure on your shoulders and how you can cope. You may end up shaking your legs while seated, be unable to focus at work or start biting your nails. Even while watching a thriller movie, you’d have sensed this!
Withdrawal and isolation. In extreme cases, this is one of the major behavioural symptoms of stress. The constant worry and pressure of work, studies or coronavirus may be overwhelming. You may feel the need to dissociate yourself from people and stay away entirely. In case you notice a loved one or friend being more distant than usual, it could be stress. Reach out to them and offer support.
These are some of the common behavioural symptoms of stress. There are also emotional and physical symptoms which can affect you. They may not be the same as described for you, but if stressed, you will definitely notice a clear change in behaviour. Stress manifests itself in various ways, all you can do is proactively manage stress and live a healthy lifestyle.
Evolve helps you proactively manage stress with a series of light & joyful guided meditations. The Evolve app is now live globally on Android & Apple, click here to try for free!