5 Hidden Stress Symptoms
Humans are incredibly adaptable, and are born into many circumstances ranging from highly stressful to full of ease. Our nervous systems become programmed to predict how much stress to anticipate in the world starting with our childhood experiences. We may notice the after-effects of this programming all the way into adulthood! In this post, we’ll discuss the signs of a high set point for stress and what you can do to support your nervous system to regulate.
Hidden Signs of Stress
Some signals of stress are actually praised by the people around us! This can make it difficult to spot symptoms, since they don’t tend to raise any red flags. Take a look at the examples below and see if any feel familiar for you:
- What feels like stress to other people is where you thrive
- You’re comfortable under pressure
- Your relationships are chaotic or dramatic
- Stillness and calm is unnerving/confusing or even foreign
- It is hard to “let down” at the end of the day
The Hidden Cost of Over-Functioning
What’s the downside of functioning under pressure so well, you may ask? Well, your physiology may be running its sympathetic nervous system more than usual and spending less time in rest and digest mode. Over a long time, pressure on your body can accumulate. It have impact on mental health, physical health, immunity, and even cardiovascular issues. So if you are excellent under pressure but have chronic digestive problems, your body may be nudging you to do a little healing. (and ps – if you reset your baseline, you will still remember how to function under pressure! You just might digest a little better too).
Managing Patterns of Stress in our Children
In a family system, if we don’t attend to turning down the high set point in our own bodies, our children will automatically wire to our levels and be more prone to experiencing challenges in adulthood. Thankfully, it’s never too late to rewire our brains. Neuroplasticity, or the brain’s potential to rewire tried and true patterns, can take effort in adulthood but is absolutely possible with time, intention and practice. What patterns or habits are you looking to heal for your next generation?
If you are looking to make sure your children get “set” at the level you’d like for them, you’ve got options! Both Somatic Experiencing and Safe and Sound Protocol can help to reset your nervous system’s baseline.