|  | Mental Health | Stress

Social Symptoms of Stress

Too much stress can cause depression, heart disease, obesity, impaired memory, and insomnia and other sleeping disorders. Treating stress immediately, especially chronic stress, is the best way to avoid these additional health concerns. While it's easy to self-diagnose stress by noticing symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, sex drive changes and stomach upset, it is not as easy to notice the effects of stress in loved ones. To determine whether your children, parents, spouse, other family members or friends are suffering occasional or chronic stress, look for the social and behavioral symptoms of stress.

  1. Angry Outbursts

    • One behavioral symptom of stress often noticeable in social situations occurs when a stressed individual has an angry outburst or "snaps" at another person or thing. These outbursts may be triggered by other people's demands, non-cooperative objects and devices, or may occur seemingly at-random if the stressed person is concentrating on taxing thoughts. If these symptoms occur occasionally, relief may be as simple as avoiding the people, places and things that induce stress.

    Social Withdrawal

    • To avoid the embarrassing symptoms of stress, such as angry outbursts, accidental urination and stuttering, a person may start to show signs of social withdrawal. Overly stressed individuals may avoid social situations and prefer to stay at home, alone. Additional social symptoms of stress include acting uncharacteristically in social situations by sitting quietly, avoiding conversations or failing to concentrate on the current conversation or activity.

    Additional Symptoms

    • You may be able to recognize stress symptoms when people around you show a lack of motivation or focus. Persons suffering stress may not be interested in work, classwork or pleasurable activities such as personal hobbies and sports. Additional stress symptoms you may recognize in social situations include eating disorders such as overeating and undereating; drug, alcohol or tobacco use; irritability; moodiness and impulsiveness.

    Considerations

    • If you recognize the signs of stress among your loved ones, do not hesitate to talk to the person to see if you can help alleviate some of the stress. Remind the stressed person that chronic stress can cause health concerns such as weight gain, strokes and heart attacks. Persuade the stressed person to seek medical attention to ensure the stress is not caused by a chemical imbalance or other physical or mental problems. You might also suggest that the stressed person try yoga, meditation and exercise as methods to reduce the stress in their lives.

Stress - Related Articles