Some Hidden Signs of Stress and What You Can Do to Relax

Stress is something many people deal with on a daily basis. They may find themselves worried about the future and be quickly overcome with emotion and a million different feelings. You may even experience your hair begin to fall out. In fact, 40% of men will have noticeable hair loss by age 35. While stress is pretty easy to identify, there are some hidden signs that signify you may be dealing with stress.

Even though it’s typically easy to identify stress, you may be missing some signals. Everyday Health says body aches or tension may be a sign that you’re stressed out. When your body and mind experience stress, your sympathetic nervous system goes into fight-or-flight mode. Those causes blood to go into major muscle groups and prepare your body for a flight-or-flight response. If your body starts to feel tight and achy, it may be a sign of stress. Take a few deep breaths and try to relax if you can. If you don’t do anything, your body will continue to hurt and your muscles may remain tight.

If your skin starts to itch uncontrollably, you may be stressed. Prevention says a Japanese study found that people with chronic itchy skin were twice as likely to deal with stress than those who don’t have itchy skin. This condition of chronic itching is called pruritus. The stress inside of your body activates nerve fibers and causes the itchy sensation you may experience. Try different things like yoga or taking a bubble bath and see if it helps reduce the itch.

If the relaxation techniques listed above don’t work for you, the University of Michigan’s Medical School has some other suggestions. If you’re creative, whip out your journal and start writing. Write your feelings down and tell your journal what makes you feel calm. If you love music, play some soothing music like jazz or soft rock, or download a noise machine app on your phone. Not only will it help you calm your stress, but it will also help you get a better night’s sleep.

If you’re looking for something a bit more relaxing, consider purchasing a hot tub from your local hot tub dealer. 83.9% of hot tub owners say they purchased their tub with the primary purpose of relaxing and relieving stress.

You may think you have stress handled, but being stressed isn’t always extremely easy to identify. Keep an eye out for any hidden signs such as itchy skin or body tension and try to determine if you’re experiencing stress.