Warning Signs of Emotional Stress: When to See Your Doctor
Signs of Stress
Signs of stress include:
- Apathy, lack of energy
- Difficulty making decisions
- Difficulty "keeping track" of things
- Feeling on edge
- A change in eating habits
- Sleeping more than usual or difficulty getting to sleep
- Being more emotional
- Using alcohol or drugs to relieve or forget stress
Symptoms of stress
Symptoms of stress include:
- Chronic back pain
- Tension headaches
- Neck pain
- Gastrointestinal problems (pain, diarrhea)
- Palpitations
When to seek help
Seek assistance if you:
- Experience a marked decline in work/school performance
- Have excess anxiety
- Misuse alcohol or drugs
- Are unable to cope with demands of daily life
- Have irrational fears
- Have an obsessive preoccupation with food and fear of becoming obese with no relationship to actual body weight
- Experience significant change in sleeping or eating habits
- Have persistent physical ailments and complaints
- Have suicidal thoughts or urge to hurt others
- Engage in self-mutilation, self-destructive or dangerous behavior
- Have a sustained withdrawn mood or behavior
Where to get help
- Family physician
- He or she can help determine if your stress is due to an anxiety disorder, a medical condition, or both
- He or she can help refer you to a mental health professional
- If you feel your situation is an emergency, call a crisis hotline, or go to your nearest emergency room