More interesting information from the stress survey coming up. When you are stressed out you usually know because of different symptoms or feelings. I listed a few in my stress survey and asked which of these people would feel when stressed out. They were allowed to choose as many as they wanted from the list, so the total is much more than 100%.

Guess what was the most common answer?

How does stress affect you

If you said sleep disturbance you were right. 70 % claimed they had problems with their sleep. I am not surprised, since stress keeps us awake at night with all the questions and worry about whatever is floating around in the brain. Also the high levels of stress hormones in the body affects the sleep negatively. So bad sleep is induced from 2 ways and it is an early sign. If we can be much more observant on when sleep deteriorates a lot was won. Also it would be good if we can be more careful about our sleep – it is so vital for a good life that you should do everything in your power to make your sleep perfect. It is so very important to keep the sleep in good shape because our sleep is the “cleaning system”, doing housecleaning in the brain during nights so to speak.

On a shared second place of stress symptoms we find 2 different things at a 50 % rate. That is half of the people in the survey said so. It is low self-esteem and losing temper. That means that stress actually make us become someone we don’t want to be – a grumpy person.

At 40 % we have the symptoms stomachache and make mistakes. I can confirm that stomachache is a very common symptom. A lot of people come to the healthcare clinics because of that, often they are afraid it might be something dangerous. Of course it can be but most of them have “just” gastritis, which is harmless and easily treated. Stress less and eat properly – sounds maybe harsh but that is what is needed.

35% answer sweating and on 30% we find memory loss and getting stingy. In my experience the memory loss sign is one of the wake up calls for many people. “Why can’t I remember? Am I getting dementia?” That is when they seek help.

Then we have a handful of symptoms on a lower rate. Dizziness, headache, shaking etc. Maybe you have other signs when you are stressed?

I have also noticed that many people don’t know the signs of stress. When you have palpitations, when you have shallow breathing, when you feel your heartbeats, when you keep having mini panic attacks that means you are stressed. Or when you have constant arguing that means you are stressed.

Please add your comment and maybe also your symptoms in the comment box below, I love to read your comments and start a discussion.

If you want a few questions to start your journey towards a calm life go to www.stresslesstoday.com and register and you get my free audio with lots of de-stress tips.

To your Success and Keep Smiling!

Dr Annika