Most people, whether they mean to or not, lead fairly stressful lives. From waking up early to trying to squeeze in a workout and then hurrying to work, to battling interpersonal issues at the office and traffic on the way home, it's easy to become overwhelmed. Human stress responses developed as an evolutionary mechanism to help us evade or fight off threats. For this reason, acute stress often leads to a racing heart, rapid breathing, and increased blood pressure, all of which prepare the body for action. In today's world, stress is more likely to come from an approaching boss than an approaching bear. Still, human response to stress remains the same as it's been for tens of thousands of years.
Muscular Symptoms
Stress, both acute and chronic, leads to muscular irritability. The primary reason for this is simply that in the days prior to offices and traffic jams, stress came from physical sources, and required physical responses. The large muscles involved in motion--especially muscles of the arms, legs, and back--receive increased blood flow and become more sensitive to neural input.
The American Institute of Stress notes that such stimulation can over time produce muscle tightness and spasming, particularly across the back and up into the neck. This, in turn, can lead to headache.
Behavioral Changes
Stress is mediated by many different hormones. Some of these, like epinephrine--also called adrenaline--are fast acting, and are responsible for the initial fear response humans experience in stressful situations.
Other hormones, like cortisol, are slower acting, and are released only when stressors persist for long periods of time. Cortisol can result in significant behavioral changes, including loss of appetite, fatigue, and increased reliance upon drugs or alcohol. The American Institute of Stress also notes that insomnia, depression, and irritability are common indicators of particularly chronic stress.
Symptoms of Heart Attack
Acute, severe stress can bring on sets of symptoms that can resemble a heart attack, notes the Mayo Clinic. Chest pain, racing heart, sweating and feelings of panic are all common to both stress and heart attacks.
The Mayo Clinic warns that if pain and heart disturbances are brought on by physical activity, or if they're accompanied by dizziness and nausea--though these symptoms, too, may be associated with stress, according to the American Institute of Stress--it's worth getting emergency help.
Recognizing the symptoms of stress and working to relax the body and mind can help alleviate them.
