Surprising Stress Symptoms You Might Be Ignoring
Stress looks like an overwhelmed executive shouting at her assistant to gather up files before a meeting, a worried salesman trying desperately to make quota, or perhaps a busy mom struggling to get two toddlers out the door. Someone who is stressed is busy, frantic, and racing around. Right?
Wrong.
There are actually several symptoms of stress that don’t LOOK like stress, and because of that – we may ignore them. But untreated stress has a tendency to spiral, so be on the lookout for some of these hidden signals that you’re under too much stress.
Are you extra forgetful lately?
No, it isn’t a result of aging! Stress impairs your working memory, making it difficult to remember what you are doing. Research suggests that if you are feeling more distracted and forgetful than usual, stress could be the culprit.
Forgetting important things can also ADD to your stress, so combat this issue by attempting to fix both the root cause and the effect, simultaneously. Curb your forgetfulness with lists, calendars, and electronic reminders as much as possible. But the forgetfulness is likely to continue if you don’t address the underlying stress, so take steps to reduce your stress level, as well, and your memory will thank you.
Are you extra aggressive lately?
If we shove our stress don’t and fail to acknowledge it, it has a way of cropping up in other areas of our lives. Many people who ignore their stress find themselves behaving with misplaced aggression, acting out on other people who aren’t the cause of the stress. If you’ve ever seen a dog attack its sibling when it can’t reach a squirrel on the other side of the fence, you’ve seen misplaced aggression. We sometimes lash out on others when we can’t show our anger where it’s really warranted.
If you find yourself picking fights with your spouse, snapping at your children, or feeling extra hostile in morning traffic, you might be experiencing misplaced aggression. The people around you didn’t get extra annoying – you just got more sensitive because of your stress. Take 10 deep breaths or whatever technique helps you manager your anger, and then ask yourself, “am I REALLY mad about this, or am I just stressed about something else?”
There are more surprising stress symptoms that you could be ignoring. For my free report, go to www.CourtneyLClark.com and add your email address to the box in the top, or in the box at the bottom right hand corner of the page.
Do you always notice right away when you’re stressed? Or do you only figure it out when you’re cursing at the TV remote control? (Please tell me it’s not just me!) 😉
-Courtney
