Stress

Explains what stress is, what might cause it and how it can affect you. Includes information about ways you can help yourself and how to get support.

This page is also available in Welsh.

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Signs and symptoms of stress

Stress can affect our emotions, our body and how we behave, in lots of different ways. Sometimes when we are stressed, we might be able to tell right away. But at other times, we might keep going without recognising the signs.

This page covers some of the common signs and symptoms:

“It was quite a revelation to notice my frantically beating heart, racing thoughts, hyperactive personality and behaviours all resulted from being massively and permanently stressed out.”

How stress can make you feel

If you are stressed, you might feel:

Irritable, angry, impatient or wound up
Over-burdened or overwhelmed
Anxious, nervous or afraid
Like your thoughts are racing and you can't switch off
Unable to enjoy yourself
Depressed
Uninterested in life
Like you've lost your sense of humour
A sense of dread
Worried or tense
Neglected or lonely
Existing mental health problems getting worse

Some people who go through severe stress may experience suicidal feelings. This can be very distressing.

If you feel unable to keep yourself safe, it's a mental health emergency.

Get emergency advice

Physical signs of stress

The hormones that our bodies produce to respond to stressful situations can have many physical effects. These effects might include:

Diffculty breathing
Panic attacks
Blurred eyesight or sore eyes
Sleep problems
Fatigue
Muscle aches and headaches
Chest pains and high blood pressure
Indigestion or heartburn
Constipation or diarrhoea
Feeling sick, dizzy or fainting
Sudden weight gain or weight loss
Developing rashes or itchy skin
Sweating
Changes to your period or menstrual cycle
Existing physical health problems getting worse

If we experience high levels of stress, these physical effects can get worse. This can also happen if we experience stress for a long period of time.

In some cases, stress may cause more severe or long-term physical health problems. These might include:

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy ('broken heart' syndrome). This can feel similar to a heart attack. The British Heart Foundation has information about takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
Secondary amenorrhoea. This is when you don't get your period for three months or more. The NHS has information on stopped or missed periods.

“I started waking up in the morning in a panic, feeling nauseous, with my heart racing. That feeling would stick around for as long as I was awake. 99% of the time, I felt like something really bad was about to happen.”

How stress can make you behave

If you feel stressed, it might make you:

Find it hard to make decisions
Unable to concentrate
Unable to remember things, or make your memory feel slower than usual
Constantly worry or have feelings of dread
Snap at people
Bite your nails
Pick at or itch your skin
Grind your teeth or clench your jaw
Experience sexual problems, such as losing interest in sex or being unable to enjoy sex
Eat too much or too little
Smoke, use recreational drugs or drink alcohol more than you usually would
Restless, like you can't sit still
Cry or feel tearful
Spend or shop too much
Not exercise as much as you usually would, or exercise too much
Withdraw from people around you