Is Emotional Turmoil Harming You?

Almost everyone at some point undergoes stress and challenges and these could be owing to situations, worries, sadness as well as due to people you may be associated with. While we all want to be adept at handling stress, especially emotional stress, it also appears the toughest to deal with. Emotional stress also does not always find its way through outbursts or arguments. And, in fact, it hinders one’s ability to be able to carry on with things one may want to do or attend to. It is necessary, therefore, to be mindful of all that you are undergoing and look out for symptoms, including behavioural, mental and physical. If emotional turmoil is distressing you, here are warning signs to look out for:

Headaches
Having a heavy head does not always mean lack of sleep. It also does not mean you are straining your eyes. A headache could suggest emotional disturbance.

Anxiety
Feeling increasingly anxious despite no specific reason to feel so? Perhaps anxiety levels are shooting up because you are experiencing tiredness or are feeling depressed.

Breathlessness
While you may assume breathlessness is often owing to strenuous exercise, running or something mundane like climbing stairs, it could also be a result of anxiety and stress you may be experiencing. Get examined to know what the reason could be.

Body Pain
Wondering why your body pains and you feel lethargic despite no physical activity? Stress can cause muscles to feel tense, and with passing time, it can cause soreness and pain in the body. Neck, shoulders and back are the most common pain areas resulting from stress. If you haven’t physically stressed yourself out, and yet feel pain in your body, you might need to assess your emotional and mental condition.

Less or Excess Sleep
Are you sleeping lesser than usual or feeling drowsy more than your usual sleeping time? Take note of your sleep cycle and try to understand if it is repetitive over a few days or weeks. While lack of sleep could cause excessive thoughts resulting in insufficient sleep and tiredness, having excess sleep may not necessarily mean emotional distress but could be a sign of depression owing to emotional turmoil. Oversleeping could worsen the condition.

Lack of Interest in Sex
If you are emotionally hurt or depressed and find yourself unable to rectify the situation, it is natural for you to want to feel loved and understood. But in case you realise your lack of interest in sex, despite your partner being supportive and loving, it may signal something beyond than just a no-mood. While having a loving partner could help you sail through a variety of situations, emotional disturbance can make you feel aloof and disconnected with even those closest to you. This feeling could result in your lack of desire for sex.

Chest Pain
This physical symptom could be caused owing to what is also known as broken heart syndrome, a condition where you feel pain in the chest along with shortness of breath. This condition could normally follow an emotionally stressful situation or event involving fear, anger or grief.

Increased Heart Rate
Blood pressure and heart rate are known to rise if you feel emotionally disturbed, stressed out or depressed. The blood flow to the heart is reduced and the body produces higher levels of stress hormone cortisol. Anxiety caused by an emotionally disturbing situation could induce palpitations in the heart.

Change in Eating Habits
Look out for sudden or gradual changes in your eating pattern if you think it could be linked to your lack of emotional well-being. If suffering from depression or an emotionally disturbing episode/situation, you are likely to note that you may either tend to eat too much or too less. You may also find yourself eating a lot more to distract and disassociate yourself from the emotionally disturbing phase you are undergoing.

Poor Memory
Stress and anxiety can indeed be deciding factors in how your memories get formed. Not only does it get difficult to learn under a stressful and painful situation, you also fail to remember what is important and necessary thus resulting in fragmented recollections.

Alcohol Intake
Do you find yourself resorting to alcohol more when you are stressed out, upset, depressed and emotionally disturbed? Look out for times when you reach for that glass or bottle more than usual and tell yourself this is only an escape route, which in the long run, will have damaging effects on your physical and mental health. Ditch that glass and turn for help.