Moderate, high & Extremely High! Knowing Your Signs of Stress

When I was in the planning stage of my reflective workbook (coming soon!), my publisher, JKP, sent me a few of their titles from their mental health 'workbook' and 'journal' lists. One of these was the wonderful Queer Mental Health Workbook: A Creative Self-Help Guide Using CBT, CFT and DBT by Dr Brendan J. Dunlop and another was The Psychosis and Mental Health Recovery Workbook: Activites for Young Adults from ACT, DBT and Recovery-Oriented CBT by Jennifer Gerlach which is another fantastic resource.

Whilst I don't routinely experience psychosis as part of my mental health problems— although I can on very rare occasions when extremely panicked— I strongly relate to psychological events that feel overwhelmingly frightening. I also relate to having a highly-stigmatised diagnosis involving experiences are often misunderstood by the general public and healthcare professionals alike.

Even though I'm not the exact target audience, I still really enjoyed The Psychosis and Mental Health Recovery Workbook and find lots of it relevant to myself and my life, especially those feelings of alienation from others as a result of things I've been through or sometimes still go through.

One of the sections that jumped out at me when I flicked through this book today was section 9 'Warning Signs of Stress'. Gerlach reminds readers that knowing your signs of stress, and noticing them when they start to happen, means more scope to reduce your stress level before it increases and leads to 'more significant problems'. She asks readers to 'shade or colour common signs of stress such as 'wishing for a break', 'panic attacks' or 'trouble sleeping'.

Reading this section prompted me to write down some of my signs of stress and I thought I'd share them here. I've grouped them into mild, moderate and intense because for me they are distinctly graduated.

When my stress level feels moderate

• Mild to moderate anxiety.

• Slightly racing thoughts

• Slight reluctance to rest or take breaks

• Some difficulties with falling asleep, waking up in the middle of the night or waking up early

• Worried about my relationships: are they angry with me? Are they upset with me?

When my stress level feels high

• Moderate to severe anxiety.

• Racing thoughts.

• Crying easily.

• Social anxiety.

• High level of shame and embarrassment.

• Physical agitation such as finding it hard to sit down.

• Some thoughts like 'I might not be able to cope', 'I might fail this', 'things might fall apart'.

• Struggle to rest, switch off or take a break.

• Working more and more or doing more and more. Energetic and productive, but it's not enjoyable.

• Struggling to fall asleep, night waking and struggling to sleep because of anxiety.

• Feeling disconnected from others, but also wanting connection.

• Slight impulsivity with my phone, but it's manageable or low-level.

• Moderate panic attacks.

• Feeling irritable and easily annoyed.

When my stress level feels extremely high

• Painfully racing thoughts.

• Intense anxiety. Racing heart. Breathlessness.

• Crying a lot.

• Immense social anxiety.

• A painful level of shame and embarrassment.

• Cannot sit still or rest because I'm too physically agitated.

• Thoughts like 'I can't cope', 'my life is over', 'everyone hates me', 'I've let everyone down'.

• Feeling disconnected from others, but longing for reassurance that my connections are still intact.

• Paranoia eg: 'has my friend blocked me?', 'are they planning to cut me out of their life.'

• Feeling like my life is spinning out of control, even though it's not.

• Productivity stops here because I'm too anxious and fearful to think coherently.

• Panic attacks involving a lot of crying and feeling scared.

• I feel impulsive with my phone eg: wanting to message people (my husband helps me a lot with this and reminds me not to send the messages I feel I want to send)

• Suicidal thoughts.

• Self-harm thoughts or urges to self-harm.

I highly recommend listing your signs of stress and grouping them in whatever way feels right for you. By knowing your signs of stress, you are more likely to notice them and how they might be building. This makes it easier to take steps to reduce your stress level sooner, rather than later when things might feel more out-of-control.

Let me know how you get on if you make a list like this. I hope you find it helpful.

-Rosie x