Fun With Stress 2.4
Listening To Your Body via The Human Fuel Gauge
Reading time: 6 minutes
The Human Fuel Gauge as a tool to assess how many ‘minor’ health issues emerge simultaneously.
The previous chapter ended with the notion that the body’s way of raising awareness to the fact that one or more stressors are continuously pushing our buttons, is by manifesting more and more low-on-energy-signs and signals. As we shall discover, most of these signs appear to be but minor inconveniences that appear spontaneously and will probably disappear in the same way. Yet more of these signs appearing simultaneously is usually an indication that our buttons are being relentlessly pushed by one or more stressors.
Moreover, if it is not known that both our heart rate and breathing rhythm increase with every pushed button, the fear of heart or lung malfunctions potentially acts as yet another stressor, adding even more work to our already overworked stress response.
Therefore knowledge of the most common low-on-energy-signs and signals can help us detect if our work-recovery dial has been turned up too high for too long. First we’ll list the symptoms and then we’ll offer a tool with which you can check if certain people or situations are perpetually pushing your buttons.
Refusing to acknowledge multiple health issues emerging simultaneously and increasing in intensity, will definitely not be beneficial to our health. Image: Alexas_Fotos
Common low-on-energy-signs and signals
1. Waking up tired, insomnia and incessant chatter inside our mind.
It becomes increasingly harder to fall asleep or to sleep through until the morning, causing us to wake up tired instead of energized. Often this is preceded or accompanied by incessant chatter inside our mind; complete conversations are worked out with ourselves, incompetent leaders, dumb colleagues, or ignorant family members. That, or to-do lists are repeated continuously in order to make sure that not a single thing is forgotten.
2. Impaired concentration.
We’re quicker and easier distracted than usual. All of a sudden we appear to make silly mistakes like forgetting where we put the car keys, cutting a finger while cutting vegetables (usually never happens), or forgetting appointments. And because of the preoccupation with incessant chatter inside our minds, we run the risk of getting involved in minor traffic accidents, etcetera.
3. Increasing fatigue.
We increasingly feel more and more tired, sometimes up to a point where merely getting groceries feels like climbing up Mount Everest. We feel completely drained and have no energy left, which can very well be the case.
4. Increasingly foul mood.
We’re frustrated more and more and seemingly everybody, especially people who are close, are trying their hardest to make our life miserable. As a result, we can become irritated and even angry with them. Which is highly justified, of course! What one doesn’t know is that this is a result of internal filters clogging up.
5. Isolating ourselves.
We increasingly just want to be left alone and stay at home, preferably in the dark (often rolled up in fetal position and completely covered with blankets).
6. Sudden excessive weight gain or loss.
All of a sudden we begin to excessively gain or lose weight without a clear reason.
7. Muscle pains and aches.
Little muscle pains and aches are acting up without knowing what’s causing them. A lot of times these pains manifest themselves in backs, shoulders or necks, but they can appear everywhere in our body.
8. Headaches and migraines.
Headaches and migraines are often indicators that one or more stressors are pushing our buttons. Yet if we have no knowledge thereof, we feel helpless and then the medicine cabinet appears to be the only solution.
9. Nausea and/or dizziness.
When nausea and dizziness are experienced without the addition of alcohol or a fall or punch on the head, these signs can also point towards excessive stress.
10. Getting sick quicker and staying sick longer.
Staying sick for weeks or longer while normally we merely suffer from a yearly flu for a few days or so can point towards a less effective immune reaction, which can be related to chronic stress.
11. Increasingly dry mouth.
Even though we drink water like a fish, a disruption in our saliva production can indicate a stubborn stressor is relentlessly pushing our buttons.
12. Palpitations and/or hyperventilation.
As stated earlier, having our buttons pushed chronically can cause our resting heartrate and breathing rhythm to increase, hence why certain people breathe high and shallow without noticing it themselves for instance. A high blood pressure can also be related to chronic stress.
13. Profuse sweating.
If we begin to sweat profusely while we’re not doing anything physically demanding and providing we’re in a heatwave, can also be a low-on-energy-sign.
14. Anxiety and/or panic attacks.
Especially if we’re not terribly suspicious by nature, an increase thereof to the point of anxiety or panic attacks could be related to excessive pushing of buttons.
15. Feeling down and/or depressed.
If we’re usually easy going and upbeat, when our state of being transforms into feeling down or even depression, there’s a good chance one or more stressors are playing us like a violin.
To be sure, any health issue can emerge as a result of incessant pushing of emotional buttons. Therefore if we wish to detect whether or not we’re dealing with stress related health issues or not, we need to ask ourselves two questions:
1: Can our symptoms be explained by regular medical assessment?
2: How many of our symptoms appear simultaneously?
Now for a common headache which disappears in a few hours or a day, we usually don’t need professional medical support. However, when the headache lingers on more or less intense for three weeks while you become more irritable by the day and you wake up less and less energized in the morning, that’s when you should make an appointment with your physician and simultaneously ask yourself the question whether or not someone or some situation is pushing your buttons. Because if your medical tests all come up negative doesn’t mean that all of a sudden your health issues disappear. Therefore we have created the Human Fuel Gauge with which we can answer the second question: how many ‘minor’ health issues are emerging simultaneously?
When we’re being confronted with an increasing number of persistent health issues (low-on-energy-signs and signals) which can’t be explained by regular medical assessments, there’s a good chance our buttons are being incessantly pushed by one or more stressors. Illustration: geralt, Modification with timeline and text: Erik Stout
Like a fuel gauge in a car informs us when the tank is almost empty and needs a refill, so the Human Fuel Gauge informs us when our human ‘fuel tank’ is not properly refilled anymore by identifying how many ‘minor’ health issues are being experienced at the same time. When more and more turn up while medical tests all come up inconclusive as to what’s causing them, there’s a good chance you’re dealing with chronic stress.[1] Then you can ask yourself the question: who or what is pushing my buttons? As soon as that is found out, you then at least have the option to deal with whatever turns out to be your stressor(s), because there the keys can be found to the relief of your health issues.
Finally, since chronic stress puts our bodies and minds in a perpetual state of working overtime, I’d like to put your attention to the following: as soon as we’re not feeling well we feel obliged to do something about it. When a little under the weather for instance, we immediately visit the medicine cabinet. If that doesn’t bring quick relief, there’s the doctor’s visit. Still no relief? Let’s start eating ‘healthier’ food and pick up the gym. Now if a sedentary lifestyle and a one-sided diet are indeed causal to your health issues, those interventions can work. Yet that changes completely when chronic stress is the main contributor.
Naturally common sense dictates that if we just concentrate a little better, work a little harder, train more intense or study more focused, everything will be fine in the end. But in the case of chronic stress this brings about a paradox: we believe that more effort will make us feel more energized, while in fact those efforts are draining our energy supplies even harder without being replenished. This will in time cause even more low-on-energy-signs and signals to emerge. So where effort ought to bring forth better results, they most likely become worse and worse. That potentially increases frustrations, prompting you to try even harder than before, consuming even more energy while producing even less, potentially causing insomnia, and there arises the vicious cycle.
Therefore if you experience health issues which were most likely triggered by someone or some situation pushing your emotional buttons, stop doing for a while. Begin by taking a break from whatever turns out to be your stressor(s) and treat yourself to a little holiday. Do what you love to do, eat what you love to eat, experience what you love to experience, and with people who give you energy instead of drain it out of you. Simultaneously keep a close eye on your number of health issues via the Human Fuel Gauge and see what happens.
When there is identification of who- or whatever is pushing our buttons, it’s always a good idea to start with taking a holiday from it. Image: Julius_Silver
In the next chapter we’re going to investigate the effects of chronic stress on our largest organ which distinguishes us from vegetation and allows us to roam the earth: skeletal muscles. For now,
Jolly greetings,
Erik Stout
[1] The Human Fuel Gauge is not a scientifically tested instrument and should not be used as such. It’s a tool based on experience to help put the spotlight on our own body and mind in order to find out how many health issues are happening at the same time. If that number increases and medical tests come up negative, that information can point to one or more stressors relentlessly pushing our emotional buttons.
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