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Stress symptoms lose some of their menace once you are able to identify them. Like most of the problems we are discussing in this book, the first step is to understand exactly what you are dealing with before you begin to combat it.

Perhaps the worst scenario is to suffer from stress in a state of bewilderment. If you have any of the following symptoms the first thing to understand is that you are horribly normal.

Stress affects the body in a way that is necessary for survival under extreme conditions. When the human animal feels threatened its body reacts in a way to turn it into a lean, mean fighting-machine. The heart beats faster, the senses are on alert, while unnecessary functions for fight or flight – like digestion – close down. We sweat more to cool ourselves down and our breathing becomes shallow and swifter. If all these symptoms are triggered by a lion attack – fine. If your trigger happens to be some toe-rag leaving the photocopier set on multiple while you only wanted one sheet, you may find the profuse sweating, pulsating headaches, imminent diarrhoea and shaking hands a little over-the-top for your immediate needs.

Happy Stress

It’s important to understand that there is such a thing as good stress. We like to be busy and we enjoy being challenged. When the stress you’re working under is manageable you’ll find you feel on top of the world. Your brain is working quickly and clearly. Your judgement is sound, you have more energy because your interest is stimulated, and you often feel healthier than normal. Fine.

The Pig-Out

So far you’re climbing up the sunny face of the stress curve. Then you reach the summit. Things are a bit too busy and you have a feeling you’re not completely in control any more. This is where the stress levels start to become a nuisance. You feel more tired for no real physical effort, you are touchier and snappy when things go wrong. You may go off your food or begin comfort-eating. Your brain seems sluggish and you find decisions a problem. You may also become forgetful and start mislaying things.

Going for the Burn

If this sort of stress is allowed to fester unchallenged it may skid off-piste from summit to downhill slalom, where it can swiftly run out of control.

It is at this stage that the symptoms start to get serious. Nausea, palpitations, indigestion, dizziness and exhaustion may be the physical manifestations. Then there are the tears that appear for no apparent reason, the smoking or drinking that can become heavier, the inability to cope, the headaches, and the general exaggeration of moods – so that vague irritability becomes screaming temper tantrums and nervousness escalates into dread and panic attacks.