This is when you aren't getting enough oxygen or are having to work really hard to breathe. If you or a loved one has symptoms of respiratory distress, you need to call 911 and get to the ER as soon as possible. Signs include:
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# Stress Symptoms

photo of woman holding head

## What Is Stress?

Stress is your body's response to a challenging or demanding situation. When you feel stressed, your body releases certain hormones. Your hormones are chemical signals your body uses to tell your body systems what to do. The hormones your body releases when you're stressed get you ready to meet the challenge or demand in your environment. During the stress response, your body gets ready to flee or fight by increasing your heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure.

Not all stress is bad. In small doses, stress can help you accomplish tasks or prevent you from getting hurt. For example, stress is what makes you slam on the brakes to avoid hitting a suddenly stopped car in front of you. That's a good thing.

But people handle stressful situations differently. What stresses you out may be of little concern to someone else.

Stress can be a short-term response to something that happens once or only a few times or a long-term response to something that keeps happening. Our bodies can usually handle short-term stress without long-term effects. But long-term or chronic stress can make you sick, both mentally and physically.

The first step to managing your stress is to know the symptoms. But recognizing stress symptoms may be harder than you think. Many of us are so used to feeling stressed that we may not know it until we get sick. Read on to learn more about the various symptoms you may have when you're stressed.

Difference between stress and distress

Stress is a normal reaction to challenges in your physical environment or in your perceptions of what's happening around you. Experts consider distress to be stress that is severe, prolonged, or both. Distress is when you feel you’re under more stress than you can handle.

## Emotional Stress Symptoms

Mental symptoms of emotional stress include:

- Feeling more emotional than usual, especially feeling grumpy, teary, or angry
- Feeling anxious, overwhelmed, nervous, or on edge
- Feeling sad or depressed
- Feeling restless
- Trouble keeping track of or remembering things
- Trouble getting your work done, solving problems, making decisions, or concentrating

## Physical Stress Symptoms

Symptoms of stress that you might feel in your body include:

- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Clenching your jaw and grinding your teeth
- Shoulder, neck, or back pain; general body aches, pains, and tense muscles
- Chest pain, increased heart rate, heaviness in your chest
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling more tired than usual (fatigue)
- Sleeping more or less than usual
- Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea
- Loss of sexual desire and/or ability
- Getting sick more easily, such as getting colds and infections often

Respiratory distress

This is when you aren't getting enough oxygen or are having to work really hard to breathe. If you or a loved one has symptoms of respiratory distress, you need to call 911 and get to the ER as soon as possible. Signs include:

- Breathing faster than usual
- Color changes of your skin, mouth, lips, or fingernails. A blue color around your mouth, lips, or fingernails usually shows you aren't getting enough oxygen. Your skin may also look pale or gray.
- Grunting when you breath out
- A whistling with each breath (wheezing)
- Nose flaring
- Chest sinking below your neck or under your breastbone with each breath (retractions)
- Increased sweating, especially cold, clammy skin on your forehead
- Leaning forward while sitting to help take deeper breaths

## Cognitive Stress Symptoms

Symptoms of stress that affect your mental performance include:

- Trouble keeping track of or remembering things
- Trouble getting your work done, solving problems, making decisions, or concentrating
- Feeling less commitment to your work
- Lack of motivation
- Negative thinking

## Behavioral Stress Symptoms

Symptoms of behavioral stress include:

- Changes in your eating habits; losing or gaining weight
- Procrastinating and avoiding responsibilities
- Using alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to feel better
- Avoiding your friends and family; isolating yourself from others
- Failing to meet your deadlines
- Increased absences at school or work
- Doing your work more slowly
- Exercising less often

## Symptoms of Chronic Stress

Chronic stress is when you experience stress over an extended time. This can have negative effects on your body and your mental state, and it can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, anxiety, and depression.

In general, the symptoms of chronic stress are the same as those for shorter-term stress. You may not have all these symptoms, but if you have more than three symptoms and they last for a few weeks, you may have chronic stress. Potential symptoms to look for include:

- Aches and pains
- Changes in your sleeping patterns, such as insomnia or sleepiness
- Changes in your social behavior, such as avoiding other people
- Changes in your emotional response to others
- Emotional withdrawal
- Low energy, fatigue
- Unfocused or cloudy thinking
- Changes in your appetite
- Increased alcohol or drug use
- Getting sick more often than usual

## Is It Stress or Something Else?

You may be dealing with something more serious than day-to-day stress if you have symptoms over a period of time even though you've tried to cope using healthy mechanisms. Long-term stress is linked to number of mental health disorders, such as:

- Chronic stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Substance use disorder
- Disordered eating

It may be time to visit your doctor if you're struggling to cope with the stress in your life or you have mental health problems from long-term stress. They can help you figure out ways of coping in a healthy way or refer you to a mental health professional who can help you.

## Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is mental health condition that you may have after you have or witness a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, accident, or violence. PTSD overwhelms your ability to cope with new stress. PTSD can lead to symptoms such as intrusive memories, avoidance behaviors, and hyperarousal.

These symptoms can cause significant problems in your work or relationships. Talk to your doctor or a mental health professional if you've had or witnessed a traumatic event and have disturbing thoughts and feelings about it for more than a month, if your thoughts and feelings are severe, or if you feel like you're having trouble getting your life back on track.

## What Are the Consequences of Long-Term Stress?

Ongoing, chronic stress can trigger or worsen many serious health problems, including:

- Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders
- Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and strokes
- Obesity and other eating disorders
- Menstrual problems
- Sexual dysfunction, such as impotence and premature ejaculation in men and loss of sexual desire in men and women
- Skin and hair problems, such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema, and permanent hair loss
- Gastrointestinal problems, such as GERD, gastritis, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome

## Help Is Available for Stress

Stress is a part of life. What matters most is how you handle it. The best thing you can do to prevent stress overload and the health consequences that come with it is to know your stress symptoms.

If you or a loved one is feeling overwhelmed by stress, talk to your doctor. Many symptoms of stress can also be signs of other health problems. Your doctor can evaluate your symptoms and rule out other conditions. If stress is to blame, your doctor can recommend a therapist or counselor to help you better handle your stress.

## Stress Takeaways

Stress is your body's response to a challenging or demanding situation. It can affect you physically, mentally, and behaviorally, especially when you have chronic stress. Chronic stress is when you are stressed for an extended time. Chronic stress can make it more likely for you to develop other mental health disorders, such as anxiety or depression. It can also affect your heart health and digestive health. If you're stressed and having trouble coping, it may be time for you to see your doctor or a mental health professional.

## Stress FAQs

What can extreme stress cause?

Extreme stress, especially if it's prolonged, can cause emotional distress. And stress from a traumatic event, which is usually extreme, can cause posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These are more serious cases of stress that overwhelm your ability to manage on your own. You may need to get a professional's help to get back on track. If you feel like you're having trouble managing your emotions, talk to your doctor. They can help you or direct you to someone who can help you.

Can stress make you throw up?

Yes, stress can make you throw up. Your digestive system is one of the many systems that stress can affect. In fact, you may have a whole range of other digestive symptoms, such as nausea, pain, and constipation or diarrhea. Not everyone has stress nausea or vomiting, but you may be more prone to it if you have a gastrointestinal condition, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or you have anxiety or depression.

You may be able to tell if you're stress vomiting if your episode passes when the stress goes away. If it doesn't, then your episode may be caused by something else. It's time to get checked out by your doctor if you have more than a couple of episodes or you can't figure out what's causing them.

#### Show Sources

SOURCES:

Chu, B. Physiology, Stress Reaction, StatPearls Publishing, 2024.

American Psychological Association: "Stress effects on the body."

MedlinePlus: "Stress."

Mayo Clinic: "Stress management," "Emotional exhaustion: When your feelings feel overwhelming," "Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)."

Cleveland Clinic: "Emotional Stress: Warning Signs, Management, When to Get Help," "Stress Nausea: Why It Happens and How To Deal. "

Johns Hopkins Medicine: "Signs of Respiratory Distress."

Helpguide.org: "Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes," "Understanding Stress."

Yale Medicine: "Chronic Stress."

Department of Health and Human Services: "Stress and Your Health."

American Institute of Stress: "Effects of Stress."

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