If someone were to ask you how stressed you are, you’d probably say you’re okay, you’re not too bad, you’re fine. But is that actually the truth? Have you even noticed how stressed you really are? It might be that you’re far more stressed than you realize, and that’s an issue because being stressed is bad for your physical and mental health. 

A little bit of stress is no bad thing. It can help you be more productive, ensure you hit deadlines, and generally move you forward in life in various ways, including when it comes to reaching your goals. However, too much stress can hold you back, make you sick, and push those goals further away. It’s wise, therefore, to understand when you reach a point when ‘good’ stress becomes ‘bad’ stress, and with that in mind, here are some useful signs to look out for. 

You’re Always Tired

Most people feel tired at the end of the day, whether they’ve had a hard day or not. Many people feel tired in the afternoon, especially if they’ve been working hard or they’ve had a lot of chores to take care of. That’s perfectly normal, and very often, when you start to flag after lunch, a good drink of water and a brisk walk in the fresh air will do wonders. 

If it doesn’t, and if you actually feel tired all the time from the moment you wake up, then it could be stress that’s causing the issue. When you’re stressed, your brain will be thinking all the time, trying to come up with ways to deal with the stressful situation you’ve found yourself in. Even if you do get to sleep (which can be hard and is possibly another sign of stress), that doesn’t mean you’re going to sleep well, and if you wake up feeling exhausted and not in the least bit refreshed, that could be the reason why. If that’s the case, a visit to a doctor or perhaps a therapist could be on the cards unless you can de-stress yourself. 

There Are Physical Changes

Stress can cause all kinds of physical changes to a person, and if you spot any changes that you can’t explain any other way, stress might be the culprit. Your weight can often be an issue when you’re stressed, for example, because you might turn to comfort foods to make yourself feel better, and because your metabolism might be under strain. Your hair is another potential sign; if it’s particularly dry or oily and that’s unusual, it might be due to the hormones released when you’re stressed – try washing hair without shampoo to see if that makes a difference (although you’ll still need to deal with the stress itself, even if you can fix the physical symptoms). 

Your body is an excellent indicator of something being wrong with your mental health, and these changes shouldn’t be ignored. If you’re able to de-stress and you see the symptoms reducing, you’ll know that’s what the problem was, and it’s certainly worth keeping an eye out for. 

You’re More Irritable

We all get annoyed from time to time, and that’s only to be expected – annoyance and irritation usually come when we plan things out a certain way or have specific expectations, and then something comes along to change that; of course, we feel out of sorts about it. 

For most people, irritation is something that sparks up quickly and then disappears, and most of the time, they’ll forget it happened in the first place unless they recall it later and make it part of a story about their day, for example. However, for people who are stressed, that little spark of irritation doesn’t go out, and instead it stays with them for a long time, growing bigger and bigger as more and more irritating things happen. It shouldn’t surprise you to discover that this generally ends up in an explosion of frustration and anger, often directed at exactly the wrong people. 

So, if you’re honest with yourself, are you more irritable than usual? Do you snap at friends and loved ones without meaning to and without warning (even if you feel bad as soon as it happens)? If so, then you’re probably too stressed, and it’s important to make some changes to help yourself relax more. 

Think about what it is that’s causing you stress. It could be your job, finances, health, relationships, and much more. Knowing what the issue is won’t fix it, but at least you’ll be in a position to come up with some plans to make things better going forward.