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Pallor, sweating, increased heart rate, muscle tension, panting, blood pressure changes, redistribution of blood to muscles, dry mouth and throat, frequent need to urinate, back and neck pain and other body aches, menstrual problems, indigestion, heartaches, frequent colds and other common illnesses, insomnia.
Mind blanks and forgetfulness, inability to concentrate, general loss of interest, fixed and fleeting ideas
Anxiety, irritability, sadness, withdrawal, nervousness, anger, embarrassment
Speech difficulty, impulsiveness, trembling, nervous tics, high-pitched nervous laughter, grinding teeth, accident prone, increased smoking, greater consumption of alcohol or prescribed drugs, changes in eating patterns, other nervous habits
Sense of hopelessness, questioning values and existence, depersonalising tasks
Key words and phrases that spell trouble:
1. Making mountains out of molehills - stress can be exaggerated by using words like "terrible," "awful," or "can't stand it."
2. Labeling yourself - saying "I am" instead of "I do" eg. "I am a failure" instead of "I did not pass the test."
3. Overgeneralising - saying "nobody," "everybody," "always," "never," and thus letting a situation effect you more than is necessary.
4. Jumping to conclusions - "They're sure to think, I'm a fool." When in fact nobody thinks anything of the kind.
5. Expecting too much of yourself and others by saying "should," "ought," "have to," or "must," and thus setting unrealistic standards of perfection. Eg. "Everybody should love me."
6. Living negatively in the past - "If only I hadn't..."
7. Living negatively in the future - "What if...."
8. Refusing to accept praise or a compliment and so preventing yourself from enjoying something good to balance the not-so-good things in life. Eg. "They're only saying that to flatter me."
9. Blinding yourself to possibilities - saying, "I can't," rather than "How can I...?"
10. Focusing on the possible threat in a situation instead of looking for a challenge. Eg. "I've lost my job - I'm ruined."
11. Reinforcing failure by saying "That's just like me," instead of "Next time, I will..." when you've done something you're not happy about.
12. Blaming yourself or others when things have not gone as you would have wished them to, and thus wasting your energy on the past instead of using it to build the future. Eg. "My teachers / parents / government / etc. messed my life up."
Note: You can find many books/videos on Stress Management at your local Library.
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