Signs of Anxiety and Depression Caused by Overwhelming Stress Dialysis, General Overwhelming stress can cause a lot of damage before we are even aware of it. We often become obsessed with the things we can no longer control. We often find ourselves in a never ending spiral and don’t know how to pull ourselves out of it. Our health and our enjoyment of life are often hurt or lost. We lose hope. It is very important that we identify this level of stress before damage is done. There are many ways people react to overwhelming stress. They can be divided into three broad categories. EMOTIONAL REACTIONS Emotional reactions may not always be easy to see, but they impact almost every moment of our lives. SITUATIONAL STRESS Situational Stress is an emotional response to a real or perceived threat. It occurs when we think “I have to solve this problem or something bad is going to happen”. These types of situations have an ending. We find a solution to the problem and the stress disappears. Situational stress can cause short term health problems. ANXIETY Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease. It is typically about an upcoming event or an unknown outcome. It often results in compulsive behavior or panic attacks. Some signs of Anxiety are: ▪ Excessive worry ▪ Sleep problems – trouble falling asleep or staying asleep or waking up feeling wired with your mind racing without being able to calm yourself down. ▪ Irrational fears – these may not always be obvious. In fact, they may not surface until we face a specific situation and discover we are incapable of overcoming our fear. ▪ Muscle tension – near constant muscle tension like clenching your jaw or balling your fists ▪ Chronic indigestion – Irritable bowel syndrome, constipation and/or diarrhea ▪ Self-consciousness ▪ Panic Attacks ▪ Compulsive behaviors – either mental (like telling ourselves “It’ll be alright” over and over again), or physical (like constantly straightening things over and over again). Post navigation