15 Sure Signs that you are Stressed

by Elia Strange

So you think you know what is stress, right?

Well it seems like everyone is talking more and more about stress these days. They are saying ‘stress is bad for your health’, ‘stress is bad for your skin’, ‘stress is bad for you hair’, etc. etc.

Then there’s the big one, ‘you might even die sooner if you are stressed for a long time’.

But how do you know what is just a high workload or that you are being stressed?

How do you physically recognise the signs and symptoms you might be displaying when you are being stressed?

For example, one of my work colleagues finds that when she finds herself being stressed due to an excessive workload or a family crisis, then she finds that the glands in her throat swell up so much that it becomes painful for her to eat. I myself find that when I am getting stressed, I start getting extremely sharp tension pains deep in my right shoulder and I find myself reaching for the comfort of junk foods more than ever.


So, let’s get down to business. Here you can find 15 sure signs that you are stressed.

You don't have to be experiencing them all right now, just to qualify that you are definitely being stressed.

However, if you do experience more than 5 of them, then you really need to do something about your levels of stress. Don't worry, read through the fifteen signs and at the end of this article you will find out what you can do about it!

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Sure Signs that you are Stressed:

1) When people say to you: "Why are you being so irritable / angry / annoyed! What's wrong with you?", and you are surprised by these questions as you had not even noticed this change of mood in yourself.
You might even reply to them: "Me?! I'm ok and I am not irritable, angry, annoyed or overreacting".
Whereas in fact, you are.

2) Nothing seems to be able to please you anymore and give you any joy or satisfaction, yet alone bring a smile to your face.

3) You feel like you want or need just to be left alone for most of the time.

4) Whereas initially a piece of chocolate and/or a drink of alcohol would help to lift your mood, but now they help less and less.

5) You find yourself getting angry, moody or you want to cry for no reason at all.

6) You find it extremely hard to share someone else's joy.

7) If you had the opportunity you would leave this country, your home or family (chose the appropriate) for good.

8) If some time ago you enjoyed shopping, but now even the thought of shopping for something that you really liked, like food, clothes or handbags, doesn't bring you or hardly brings any joy anymore.

9) You don't feel that you have any energy, enthusiasm or motivation, even for you hobbies.

10) If you feel that if it will be the end of the world tomorrow, then in some way you will be glad about it.

11) Whereas before you felt 'wired', now you feel simply tired.

12) You sleep more than usual, or you cannot sleep at all.

13) You feel that you might be getting depressed.

14) If you try to remember when you last had a truly happy day, and this seems to be a long-long time ago.

15) Everything and everyone is making you feel either, irritated, annoyed,  angry or sad and depressed.

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What should you do if you are stressed?


 1) If you have agreed with at least half of the statements above, then you are in a need of an urgent break.
Can you go away for few days to somewhere else?

I would even say - the further the better. When you are away from what's causing you stress, you will probably see the situation from a different perspective.

Taking a break at this time might help you understand what it is that you need to change in your life, this break could allow you to see what needs to be added and what's to be left out to improve your quality of life.


2) Go and see a good counsellor or psychologist as they can help you to set your priorities right.

Sometimes it can be difficult to see what it is you need to change in your life so that you could reduce your overall stress. A good professional counsellor or psychologist can help you to sort out the puzzle of your life in a much quicker way than if you are doing it alone.


3) Think about both of these things, what do you think is important to your health and what do you think is important to your life. Sometimes what you think is really important for your life sometimes can actually be harming to your health and wellbeing. You can read about my own personal story in the article "How stress affects your health", where I describe how stress made me seriously ill. I hope you will make the required changes sooner than I did!



4) Read my articles such as:

- How to reduce stress

- Reduce stress instantly

- How to reduce stress at work

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Other articles you might like:


Manage your stress at work

How to be resilient to stress

How to stop negative thinking


How well can you cope with stress?

What type of personality are you?

What are your stress levels? (Rahe & Holmes)

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