How do you know if your body is actually feeling stressed? –Emily from WV
Hello, Emily! Thank you for asking!
Okay, so besides the obvious feelings of overwhelm (and the prolonged loss of your period which is why I assume you might be here), our bodies show us in a lot of different ways that we are experiencing too much stress. Here are 7 different stress induced conditions that you might see if your body is stressed. There are more, but here are a few:
Cystic Acne
Do you have cystic acne? I’m talking about the acne bumps that NEVER break the skin. The ones that get red, swollen, and huge? Are they down your spine, the top of your back, or around your jaw? That’s a sign. These mainly appear from stress. Other forms of acne can show up for a plethora of reasons, but I’ve always been told by my dermatologist that these ones mean I need to calm down.
2. Jaw Pain
Do you clench or grind your teeth at night? When you wake up, does your jaw feel sore? When you go to yawn or take a big bite, do you sometimes knock your jaw out a bit? That’s the tension! Your body can hold tension in many ways, but this is a common one.
3. Knotted Muscles
If it's not your jaw, it's probably your back. Are you needing to see a masseuse? Do you have knots of muscle in your traps or shoulder blades from holding your shoulders up as you deal with annoying coworkers or deadlines? Do you have headaches or neck pain? Headaches and neck pain are often caused from the tension you’re holding in your back.
4. Breath/Breathing
There are two parts to this one. Is your breath actually horrendous? Are you constantly reaching for the minty gum to keep that breath from being hot? When you have feelings of stress, the chemistry of your gut changes making your breath extra stinky. The other way this can go is heavily breathing. When you sit down at work (without running or walking quickly) are you breathing heavily as you think? When you get into the car and drive for a bit, do you find yourself lost in thought, but puffing like a bull at a red light? Your body is trying to get more oxygen to your muscles so that you can run.
5. 2 AM Wake-Up Call
Are you waking up at night? If you’re frequently waking up in the middle of the night, your cortisol level is high. Cortisol actually suppresses your melatonin during the day but then the roles switch later in the evening. However, if your cortisol is high from your day, it throws off your melatonin which causes you to wake up in the night giving you the clue that you’re a bit too stressed.
6. Not in “The Mood”
Not wanting any sex? That pesky cortisol will kill your desire to get between the sheets because it will suppress all your other hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone). All of these other hormones affect your desire for sex. Estrogen specifically plays a large role in promoting the vaginal lubrication and desire, but estrogen is also one of the first things to go when cortisol is high.
7. Hot/Cold Flashes
Our fight-or-flight that’s triggered by stress can mess up our body’s temperature regulation which can make you feel chills or sweat. Do you have continuously cold hands and feet? Do you have a cold nose and/or ears? Raynaud's Syndrome is a condition where the blood vessels spasm during stress. It makes your hands look purplish/grayish. When you relax, it releases, making your hands red and sometimes uncomfortably warm.
Emily, there are more! During my years of without a period, I took some of these things to be just “part of who I was” without considering that maybe I was just extremely stressed (and that it was a sign for WHY I didn’t have my period.
Here are some other questions you can ask yourself to figure out how much stress is running the show in your life:
Do you ever just chill after a shower afterwards? Do you ever sit down and play with something just for the sake of enjoyment? When was the last time you actually played with a toy like Legos or a bouncy ball? Can you sit and listen to music without doing anything else? Or does sitting still make you anxious? Can you enjoy a hobby without it being a fit of passion? Can you have fun without it being planned? Are you able to add something else into your day without it throwing you off? When was the last time you had a good laugh?
Thanks for writing!
