Behavioral Signs of Stress
The Tale Tell Signs

Often one of the first signs of stress we notice in ourselves and others are slight behavioural changes. They can be subtle at first but can develop into quite obvious behavioural symptoms.

These changes are often carried out subconsciously and are made in an attempt to either cover up stress or to try and avoid the cause of their worry and anxiety. This can even be avoiding certain situations which the person knows they will find stressful, such as public speaking.

So in a sense these behavioural changes are a sort of coping strategy, unfortunately they are negative ones and will itself lead on to further problems. For instance avoiding public speaking could affect your job prospects or avoiding social situations will affect your chances of meeting that someone special in your life.

Behavioural symptoms of stress can vary from person to person, and can include only one or two symptoms or many at the same time. You have probably seen some of these symptoms in others around you or may even display several behaviours you did not realise were connected with feelings of stress.

Because they are often carried out subconsciously by the sufferer they are often the last ones to register their symptoms and so do not recognize that they are indeed stressed. It is often the case that others will notice the changes first and point them out to the person.

If you notice some of these behavioural symptoms in yourself or if others point them out to you, you must realize that your stress levels have reached a point where they require urgent attention.