Some stress is just a part of life. But as you’ve seen, prolonged or extreme stress can cause a host of psychological and physical problems. How do you know if you’re experiencing too much stress or if you need to find better ways to deal with the stress you have?
Because you are young, it is unlikely you will have the serious stress-related illnesses that affect adults, such as high blood pressure or peptic ulcers. But your health may already be negatively affected by stress in other ways. Use the questions in the slideshow below to determine whether stress is affecting your health.
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Do you have difficulty falling or staying asleep?
Because stress hormones increase alertness, stress can make it hard for you to fall or stay asleep. Without 8-10 hours of quality sleep each night, you're likely to feel tired and cranky during the day. You may have trouble processing new information or may tend to make more mistakes. And you'll probably feel even more stressed.
Do you binge on “comfort food” after a stressful day?
The fats and especially the carbohydrates in comfort foods act as temporary mood elevators, soothing stress. Unfortunately, the calories associated with those comfort foods are not temporary. They can cause you to gain weight and can, over time, lead to high cholesterol, heart disease, and even diabetes.
Do you have frequent tension headaches?
Everyone has a headache from time to time. But if you are having headaches on a weekly or more frequent basis, take note. They could be related to stress. Tension headaches are typically described as "a band tightening around the head"; the muscles at the back of the head that extend into the neck feel hard and tight, like "a knotted rope."
Do you grind your teeth at night?
If you wake up in the morning with sore teeth or jaws or a headache, you may be grinding your teeth at night. This is a classic sign of stress called bruxism (BRUK sih zuhm), which can damage your teeth and your temporomandibular (jaw) joint.
Are you often irritable, angry, or grumpy?
The combination of lack of sleep, hyper-vigilance, and adrenaline can make you extra edgy. If annoyances that you can normally shrug off cause you to lose your temper, stress may be negatively affecting your mental health.
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If you answered Yes to two or more of the questions above, you may be at risk of stress-related illness. The next lesson will give you some practical tips for minimizing stressors in your life and for coping effectively with stressors you cannot minimize or eliminate.
