Signs and symptoms of stress

Stress can affect our emotions, our body and how we behave. Sometimes when we're stressed, we might be able to tell right away. At other times, we might keep going without recognising the signs.

Our information can help you to recognise some of the common signs and symptoms of stress. 

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're 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
• Like you've lost interest or enjoyment in life and you're depressed
• A sense of dread
• Worried or tense
• Neglected or lonely
• Existing mental health problems getting worse

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

Physical signs of stress

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

• Difficulty 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 periods 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 syndrome (sometimes referred to as broken heart syndrome or takotsubo cardiomyopathy). This can feel similar to a heart attack. The British Heart Foundation has information about takotsubo syndrome.
• Secondary amenorrhoea. This is when you don't get your period for 3 months or more. The NHS has information on missed or late 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 scratch 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

Being a usually confident person, I had hit a low point, lost all confidence in myself and drank the days away, clearly trying to mask something. 

Published: May 2025

Next review planned: May 2028

References and bibliography available on request.

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