 Hey, you sick-to-goers! Busy, busy, busy, this expression of having no time being a workaholic and being constantly busy has become almost a bragging point, which is most definitely not healthy. Unfortunately, so many of us have bought into this mindset that we regularly overdraw on our energy banks and have become numb to the internal signs telling us to relax. If you don't pay attention, you may set yourself on the quick path to burnout. Prevention of this involves keeping stress levels in check. While there are certainly obvious signs of stress, it's important to recognize lesser-known signs that hide themselves as other unrelated symptoms. Let's look at these hidden signs of stress. Number one, you're constantly tired yet can't sleep. This is the most prominent of the hidden signs. If stress has you feeling constantly exhausted, there's a good chance your mind won't switch off to let you get a good night's sleep, which is one of the most important things needed to recharge to enable tackling the next day. If you are not aware that extreme fatigue actually blocks you from falling asleep at night, you end up staying awake even longer, creating a never-ending cycle. Number two, you're sick all the time. Stress affects your immune system. Chronic stress weakens it, leaving your body unable to protect itself from illness. So if you find yourself constantly sick jumping from cough to cold to other illnesses and there's no obvious reason for it, it might be stress. Number three, you can't remember things as well as you used to. If you're finding trouble recalling that thing someone just told you yesterday or can't remember what snack you had a few hours ago, and this is super weird for you, it could be due to stress. When stressed, your brain malfunctions, including the part that manages short-term memory. Even though long-term memory remains intact under chronic stress, prolonged exposure will affect your reasoning skills and problem solving if left unaddressed. Number four, your anger and frustration are always out of control. Overwhelming stress commonly allows for intense feelings of anger or frustration to rush forth like a torrent with little to no warning. This rush is often disproportionate to this situation. Like when you're asked to do something that you've been putting off and you suddenly feel like snapping. Feeling this massive swell of anger and frustration can be jarring. What you can do is take a step back. You'll likely find that you're not really that angry at a particular person but more of the situation as a whole. So you can now break it down into smaller, more manageable bits. Number five, you experience discomfort while sitting still for too long. You may not be aware but other than the gun show in your arms are the grapefruit calves in your socks. There are numerous smaller muscles that help you stabilize. Those are the ones that hurt after using free weights and you say I hurt in places I didn't know I had. Know what stress does? It makes all of the muscles tense. That means they're now tight. They're not all happy, flexy and bendy. So you're no longer sitting in a nice pliable cushion of your body. It's more like a slightly flexible rock. Does that sound uncomfortable? You bet it is. Do you unconsciously adopt positions like a hunched back or crossed legs to provide some comfort? Yeah, you likely do. I do too. But neither of these positions are very good for our bodies and will have detrimental long-term effects. So don't forget to take regular breaks, even if they're short, to unpretzel. Number six, you feel your heart racing all the time. Our base drive, like all living things, is to survive. Like a deer escaping a predator, our bodies too have developed a survival mechanism to impending danger. The fight or flight response. Just like it says on the tin, this reflex reddies your body to rumble, or to get the heck out of dodge. The downside is that stress is read by the body as danger. And all those come at me bro responses kick in, including making your heartbeat faster to supply the muscles with more blood. This means you could be sitting still at your desk looking at a monitor, yet your heart is running like a caffeine-fueled hamster on a wheel. Exhausting. Number seven, you really want that junk food now. Mmm, cookies. Ooh, chips. I would kill for some ice cream. If you're having frequent cravings for junk food like this, this could well be a sign that something isn't quite right. It could be the result of stress. This is related to the fight or flight response mentioned before. Your body essentially says in short term, this is not the time to think about eating. Run away, run away. So it shuts down normal or regular appetite and produces cortisol, the stress hormone. This response also tells your system that there is intense energy consumption required. So now your body thinks it absolutely requires sugars and fats, basically fast fuel. For those muscles, you need to throw down or run away from the predator. The result is you're generally hungry because stress interrupted your normal eating habits and there's an internal alarm saying you need junk food to live. And the next thing you know, you're reaching for the bag of chips or fries tipped in ice cream. Number eight, you have a huge drop in motivation for tasks. This is where procrastination hits an all time high and you find yourself putting off all must do tasks. Like chores around the house, work responsibilities are even getting groceries. As you can imagine, the result isn't pretty. If this lack of motivation becomes chronic, the piled up dishes, unfinished work tasks, and empty fridge will just add more stress causing burnout. Number nine, focus, what focus? And what were you talking about again? Taking little breaks is important. When you force yourself to the grind for an extended time without a breather, you overwhelm your brain. The sponge can't take anymore. Other stuff gets squeezed out, like remembering where you put your keys and incoming information starts to look like some nebulous blob. You'll find you have trouble staying focused when attempting higher levels of thought activities like reading or driving. And number 10, frequent headaches. Harkening back to 2.5, your muscles get tense. That includes the muscles in the head, neck, and shoulders, which leads to tension headaches. This tension may lead to blood vessel inflammation, which is where the dreaded migraine shows up. Now now, don't stress. One or two of these symptoms could easily be caused by other things all together. Take a closer look if you find yourself nodding and recognizing many of them though. Then you may want to consult your friendly neighborhood healthcare professional. Chronic stress is a dangerous thing, especially when the signs are inconspicuous, continuing to wear down your mental, physical, and emotional health if left untreated. So please take those breaks in order to recharge your batteries so you can best manage whatever challenges come up. A healthy you is a stronger you. Thanks for watching. See you soon.