13 Things People Don’t Realize You’re Doing Because You’re Overly Stressed

1. You’re not answering text messages. Your friends will tell you that it’s not that hard to answer a text–but it’s never just one text. It leads to an entire conversation and you don’t have the time for that. You have other things to take care of.

2. You’re fidgety. Maybe you broke your favorite bracelet, because you couldn’t stop playing with the beads. Maybe you made yourself bleed, because you couldn’t stop picking at a cut. Your nerves are shot and it’s making you fidget.

3. You’re dressing more casual. You don’t have time to worry about whether the wings of your eyeliner match. It’s hard enough to drag yourself out of bed and drive to wherever you need to be. As long as you get there on time, you don’t care what you look like.

4. You’re less sympathetic. If your friend calls you up to complain about how her boyfriend is being a complete jerk, you won’t want to hear it. She thinks she has problems? Your problems are way worse–and you haven’t even been complaining about them.  

5. You’re crying a lot. The tears come when you least expect them. It doesn’t matter if you did something as silly as spilt your coffee. It can send you over the edge.

6. You’re laughing less. Even when you find the time to hang out with your friends, your mind is elsewhere. While the rest of the group is joking around about boys and beer, you’re worrying about all the things you have to do when you get home. It’s impossible for you to live in the moment when you care so much about your future.

 

7. You’re missing out on what you love. Your friends can’t believe you missed an episode of The Walking Dead when it’s your favorite show–and that’s the thing. You never would’ve missed it if you had the time to watch it. But you’d feel guilty for actually taking a break and relaxing.

8. You’re forgetting simple things. You have a long to-do list that you’ve memorized, but you forget stupid things, like where you left your keys and whether you texted your BFF back. Your brain doesn’t have enough room to hold all the information you’re trying to stuff inside it.

9. You’re having random mood swings. If there’s a little more traffic that usual, you’ll blow up. The slightest inconveniences seem like the worst things in the world to you. It feels like everyone is out to get you.

10. You’re always complaining about being tired. You’re so busy that you don’t have a second to sleep. Even if you set aside time to rest, you won’t be able to do so. Your mind is filled with all of the potential problems that tomorrow could bring. You can’t shut your thoughts down.

11. You’re always complaining about pain. Something is always bothering you. Maybe it’s a headache. Maybe it’s a stomachache. Maybe it’s a leg cramp. But something is always hurting.

12. You’re putting your love life on hold. Your sex drive has dipped. You couldn’t care less about getting laid. When you get into bed, all you want to do is (try to) sleep.

13. You’re overeating. You either forget to eat or you eat way too much in one sitting. It’s all or nothing. The stress has made even simple things, like eating, seem complex.