# What are your signs of stress? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 9, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811 "2005-09-09T13:52:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/1 "2005-09-09T13:52:31Z")
Meaning, how does your body tell you you’re stressed when you don’t even realize it? Me, I’ve got some weird ones. Canker sores or these painful little bumps on the tongue. Bad dreams. I play with my hair a lot, curl it around and around my fingers. What about you guys? ---
**Author:** ![Pixisis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Pixisis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixisis)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/2 "2005-09-09T14:06:11Z")
I chew on the inside of my lips, sometimes to the point of bleeding. and, I play with my hair too. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/3 "2005-09-09T14:10:09Z")
I have dishydrotic eczema, which only flares up with stress. So I get bits of rash all over my hands. Usually down the inside of my index finger and thumb. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/4 "2005-09-09T14:14:48Z")
I start scratching and rubbing my scalp a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/5 "2005-09-09T15:05:34Z")
I’m at work. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/6 "2005-09-09T15:08:04Z")
My shoulders feel tight and may rise an inch or so. My brow clinches a bit. I grind my teeth. And of course toss and turn in bed. ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/7 "2005-09-09T15:22:04Z")
Dreams. Whatever I’m stressing about comes out in my dreams. Last night I was dreaming about packing suitcases (I’m planning a vacation), escaping from a flood (guess where that came from), catching my cats (to save from a flood), and making a salad (I’m having guests for dinner tonight), among other things. It was a very restless night. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/8 "2005-09-09T17:07:25Z")
I have this very fierce, determined look on my face, which I find it very hard to mask. Or I will just look moody, and I just can’t hide. I’m a very easy person to read. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/9 "2005-09-09T17:29:36Z")
I get breakouts and grind my teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/10 "2005-09-09T17:33:58Z")
Rash or flakey skin. My bad sleeping gets even worse. - side note: (Rashes, acne, skin issues: these are signs that stress is affecting your immune system, and you need to do something to counteract the stress, lest you find yourself sick).\* ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/11 "2005-09-09T17:58:53Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Rash or flakey skin. My bad sleeping gets even worse. > > - side note: > (Rashes, acne, skin issues: these are signs that stress is affecting your immune system, and you need to do something to counteract the stress, lest you find yourself sick).\* In all seriousness, I find more sex helps stress ten fold! ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/12 "2005-09-09T18:02:02Z")
Walk and talk in my sleep My aphasia gets worse (I had a mild stroke a few years ago) ---
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/13 "2005-09-09T18:16:50Z")
I have chronic, Late stage Lyme disease…So that unfortunately acts up - causing neurological problems. Needless to say, I try to keep stress at bay as much as possible. I also find that I have some pretty bizarro dreams that seem to reflect whatever I happen to be going through at the time. I find that **Philosphr’s** stress remedy works rather nicely 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/14 "2005-09-09T18:28:36Z")
I break out with acne on my neck, shoulders, and even on my head under my hair. I eat more (and probably worse food), so I put on weight. I have trouble sleeping at night and waking up in the morning. I get terrible pounding headaches that don’t always go away when I pop two ibuprofens. ---
**Author:** ![Toxiquae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c2a13f/32.png) [@Toxiquae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxiquae)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/15 "2005-09-09T18:34:22Z")
I have recursive nightmares, usually about furniture that was in the house I grew up in. _shrug_ I also look at a lot of adult material, but am not interested in actual sex. When I’m not stressed, it’s usually the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/16 "2005-09-09T18:46:26Z")
I don’t think I have any physical indicators of stress. I’m another one who plays with her hair, but I do that all of the time … it’s more a sign of being tired/bored than stressed. (I’m actually very bad about it, to the point where I’ve damaged part of my hair. Horrible habit that I just cannot seem to break.) I do talk in my sleep, and I’d be willing to bet that when I’m stressed I talk more, but I have no means of conducting an experiment to prove my hypothesis. I definitely have at least one psychological indicator of stress: apathy. I’m usually fairly engaged in whatever I’m doing, or whatever my current task is (be it work- or school-related), but when I’m overloaded I just stop caring. When I have frequent urges to just sit on the couch and veg in front of some _X-Files_ DVDs with a bowl of peanut M&M’s, I know that I’m getting too stressed. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/17 "2005-09-09T18:51:26Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I don’t think I have any physical indicators of stress. I’m another one who plays with her hair, but I do that all of the time … it’s more a sign of being tired/bored than stressed. (I’m actually very bad about it, to the point where I’ve damaged part of my hair. Horrible habit that I just cannot seem to break.) . I do also, I just do it excessively and constantly when stressed. I tried to break it once, until my aunt told me I was doing it in my crib. I gave up, figuring no way I was going to be able to break it. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/18 "2005-09-09T19:06:17Z")
My eye twitches, which has the additional benefit of making me look crazy. Especially fun at job interviews. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/19 "2005-09-09T19:14:48Z")
I hear clock chimes. It started almost 5 years ago and lasted a few months. Then I didn’t hear anything for_ever_, but a few months ago I started hearing them again. It went away after a couple weeks, but they’re back now. I smoke a lot more when I’m stressed, too. ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811/20 "2005-09-09T19:30:06Z")
My hands and arms hurt (I have a neurological condition which is affected by muscle tension). I crave chocolate. I wake up tired, no matter how much sleep I have. I go crazy-nuts grouchy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-signs-of-stress/320811.md?page=2)