Everyone gets stressed out. Between work, school, family, and all your other responsibilities, it’s no wonder! Some stress can actually improve your performance at work, but it’s not easy to keep it at a healthy level. Once things start getting overwhelming, you know what happens: you lose that extra push to get tasks accomplished. You start getting fatigued and irritable, you can’t sleep, and even the smallest problems seem huge . But being a little irritable is far from the most significant symptom of being stressed out. Here’s a look at the unexpected symptoms too much stress can bring on.
Aches and Pains
Stress takes a toll on far more than just your mind. As you become more and more stressed out, you’ll probably notice your body hurts more than usual -- and yes, that’s normal. Unfortunately, your body converts the mental strain of stress into physical tension. Each person tends to “carry” stress in a specific part of the body, most commonly the neck, shoulders, or along the lower back. When you’re feeling stressed your muscles in your back, neck, and even your jaw tighten up. What might have started as a tightness in your neck can eventually turn into headaches and severe musculoskeletal pain.
Upset Stomach
Even your stomach also knows when you’re feeling overworked. Much like getting butterflies when you’re nervous, when you are stressed, hormones are released that make your mind hyperaware of other parts of your body, specifically the gastrointestinal system. As a result, your digestive tract tends to work a little differently: it doesn’t pull out the nutrients from food in the same way at the same speed, which tends to cause constipation or diarrhea. Stress can also cause a change in eating habits; some people might lose their appetite, while others compensate by eating too much. In addition to the diarrhea and constipation, you may find that stress can cause acid reflux, nausea, and, in chronic situations, stomach ulcers.
Less Effective Immune System
As previously stated, small amounts of stress hormones can increase blood flow and the production of chemicals like adrenaline—which provides you with spurts of energy in situations which require an elevation in performance or strength. Too much stress can result in those chemicals releasing at unwanted times, for instance bedtime. So, your body hurts, your diet is out of whack, and now you can’t sleep. This means your body also isn’t getting the rest it needs to recover, and your immune system is damaged. You might notice cuts and bruises heal slower, and you get sick more easily and stay sick longer.
Reproductive Problems
Stress also wreaks havoc on the reproductive system. Both men and women may find physical manifestations of stress in what has previously been a perfectly healthy sex life. Stressed women tend to miss menstrual periods (known as amenorrhea), have more frequent periods, or develop more extreme premenstrual syndrome symptoms. Men may experience lowered sperm counts, changes in testosterone levels, and erectile dysfunction. Both genders may experience a dip in their sex drive.
