What Are the 5 Symptoms of Anxiety and Stress?

Depression, anxiety, and stress each come with a long list of symptoms, far more than most people realize. Still, if you are trying to figure out whether what you feel qualifies, a handful of signs tend to appear again and again. Those are the ones worth watching for.

Appetite changes usually come first. People under real stress or anxiety often describe a nervous or upset stomach that reacts directly to whatever is weighing on them. For some, that kills the desire to eat at all. For others, eating happens but nausea follows. Watch your weight here. Losing it quickly without trying is a warning worth taking seriously.

Sleep is the second thing that tends to go. It breaks in two directions. One group lies awake because their thoughts are moving too fast to settle, replaying everything at full volume. The other group retreats into sleep, spending far too much of the day in bed because being awake feels unbearable. Somewhere between six and eight hours is what a rested mind runs on, and simply getting that much can shift how you feel.

A third sign shows up in the chest: the sense that your heart is skipping beats. The cause can vary. Prolonged stress can push blood pressure up, which makes the heart work harder and faster. Or the anxiety alone sends it racing to the point where a beat seems to drop out. Neither is something to shrug off. Both are your body telling you the pressure you are carrying is too high.

Then there is the feeling that everything is collapsing, that no matter what you do the whole thing is falling apart around you. People searching for answers about anxiety and stress run into this one constantly. If that sense of impending doom has settled over you, talk to someone about what might help. Your world is not actually ending because it feels like it is. Clear the anxiety and the stress, and you become steadier, both for yourself and for the people around you.