Recognising the signs of stress

Evolution means our bodies are hard-wired to react to stress as a means to protect against threats from predators and aggressors. Although nowadays such threats are rare, we now face multiple daily demands and hassles which can make us feel under attack. Our fight or flight systems get switched on and stay active, long after the perceived threat has passed.  

But you don’t have to let stress control your life. If you recognise the signs you can take appropriate action and learn healthy ways to deal your life’s stressors.

Stress affects us all in different ways so learning to recognise the signs that are particular to you is a great place to start to take control. Here are some of the common signals our bodies send to tell us we are stressed:

So now you know what to look for, spend some time over the next day or so checking in with your own body and see if you can notice any of these signals of stress.

Next time we’ll explore the natural stress response and what it means when stress overload kicks in…