What are the Symptoms of Chronic Stress and Why You Should Take Action Now to Live a Calmer Life

There you are wondering what is going on. You’re having a more difficult time remembering basic information, taking longer than usual to finish your work, and your work itself feels less satisfying. You’re a little lethargic and a lot more irritable, having lost sleep for several nights. Your muscles are tense. You want to eat everything in site but you’ve already been noticing consistent weight gain. Stress is just a part of life, so why should now be any different? You think, “I should be able to handle this.”

The first step in creating any positive change is seeing and accepting reality. Long-term suffering means long-term, or chronic stress. We might consider this…

As I write this, there is a local surge in COVID-19 cases with accompanying restrictions, yet children are going back to school. There is cultural and political unrest, and families are under extreme stress. A family member is being evacuated from the latest raging fire in Northern California, and the news is replete with stories of the sad end to a long war and millions without power after a category 4 hurricane. Suffering has increased and is easy to see. And yet, first responders to a pandemic that has caused 600,000 American deaths and counting will often suddenly burst into tears while being interviewed and say they had no idea this was going to come out like this.

I know that’s hard to listen to. It matters that you know where you are in order to plot a successful road to better days. Right now, there are layers upon layers upon layers of stress at home, in your community, nationally and globally. Who you are, what you do, and where you live will determine how many layers of stress you are experiencing. But, we are all experiencing chronic stress now.

Here are the symptoms that build up over time: