Stress can cause many health problems, but one of the most debilitating is mild to severe pain in certain areas of the body or all over the body. It can range from headaches to joint and muscle pain, chest pain and more.
You may know when some pain is stress-related – like when you begin to feel the pain creep into your shoulders and neck. Sometimes you may be working at a desk on a particularly stressful project, or trying to meet a deadline that’s looming on your mind.
While there’s no way of getting rid of all the stress in your life, learning how to control it is essential to protecting your future health and well-being. You should be able to recognize the symptoms of stress so you can better understand and control it.
You may think you can recognize stress symptoms, but many of us reach the meltdown point before we’re actually aware of the intensity. A stressful situation doesn’t have to be read – it may be perceived by you, and that is the same and causes the same stress in your body.
The fight-or-flight response to stress is the body’s way to prevent harm. During this type of stress response, your heart rate and breathing quickens, your body tenses its muscles and your blood pressure soars. You’re ready for any action needed to protect yourself.
Chronic stress is especially harmful to your body and mind. While your body can usually handle periodic and small amounts of stress, long-term stress can make you physically and mentally ill and cause pain in all parts of the body.
Some ways chronic stress can affect you physically include heart attack, stroke and fatigue. Mentally, chronic stress may cause depression, lack of productivity, thinking acuity and more.
No portion of your body is exempt from the horrific symptoms of stress. It can affect every area of your life – physical, emotional, behavioral and mental. Sometimes you may not even recognize that you’re under a lot of stress until you break down or are confronted with a physical or mental illness.
Pay attention to signals from your body, including physical pain, moodiness, fatigue, inability to focus, increased drug or alcohol use and depression. Talk to your health care provider about these and any other symptoms you may be suffering from that are caused by stress in your life.
Although stress is a natural part of life, it can cause long-term problems if not controlled. Knowing your stress symptoms is the first step in determining a solution to the condition.
Stress may be helped by seeing a counselor or therapist who can teach you some ways to deal with stressful situations in your life and get rid of the accompanying pain.
