Stress can adversely affect your health, including both your mental and physical well being. A certain amount of stress is good for us. It helps keep us motivated and on task. But when many stressors occur at once, we can experience stress overload. In this state, some people become short-tempered, snappy, and are more likely to lose their cool. Fortunately, most stress overload periods are short-lived. We find ways to relieve the extra stress — a good night's sleep, a relaxing hot bath, a day off — and we recuperate.
If the stress keeps accumulating and we do not find ways to relax and recuperate, we become over-stressed or distressed. Some of the physical and mental warning signs of over-stress are shown here: