Feeling stressed ‘for no reason’? Here’s why

Why you’re always so stressed for no reason and how to stop feeling stressed

Chances are you’ve been feeling stressed for no reason for too long, or you’ve just had a sudden bout of stressing about nothing. Naturally, you’d want to know what to do to stop feeling overwhelmed for no apparent reason.

You might now even be worried about that feeling suddenly creeping up on you again. And it may have already got in the way of your every-day-life.

That out-of-the-blue stress has most likely been building up from a combination of social, biological and psychological stressors.

What are stressors?

Other words for stressors are annoyances, hassles, triggers, irritations, and nuisances. Mirriam Webster describes a stressor as a stimulus that causes stress.

So, let’s start by ruling out the following stressors…

The following can cause random waves of stress (anxiety)

Any of the following can suddenly cause you to be feeling stressed out without an identifiable cause:

• Anti-anxiety drugs
• Antidepressants
• Illegal drugs
• Alcohol
• Other addictions, including addiction to adult content

So, if you’re taking medication, go to your doctor for a review. If you’re addicted, get help from any local group or a licensed therapist.

Why you’re feeling stressed for no apparent reason

Here are the most obvious reasons you could be feeling stressed for no reason.

If none of the following applies to you, scroll down to discover what else might make you feel so stressed out.

9 reasons why you could be stressed ‘about nothing’

If you answer any of the following questions with a “yes”, you no longer have to ask yourself, “why am I stressed for no reason”.

Your body/mind can only deal with so much. And, if you’re already under pressure in one aspect of your life, then yet another demand might outstrip your resources.

1. Have you had a lot on your mind recently – ‘too much going on’?
2. Has work become too demanding or too toxic?
3. Have you been through some difficult times with personal problems?
4. Have you been having significant health problems?
5. Have you and your partner or spouse been having significant relationship problems?
6. Have you recently suffered a big loss?
7. Have you been traumatised recently or in the past?
8. Looking back, would you say that you’ve not been feeling yourself for some time?
9. Do you consider yourself reasonably resilient, but now the slightest upset seems to hit you harder?

The first four points are likely causing you to feel overwhelmed at times (or even all of the time).

The latter two are likely consequences and signs that the demands on you outstrip your resources – practical, mental, emotional and physical.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the news of late adds to your feeling stressed!

Then there are a few not-so-obvious things that can help to set you up for feeling stressed, tense and overwhelmed.

9 factors that can make you more- or less likely to feel stressed for no reason

1. Your perception of the stressors, meaning your interpretation of an experience (some things might upset you but perhaps not someone else).
2. The length of time you’re exposed to a stressful situation.
3. Your personality and outlook on life.
4. Your tendency to remember only the negatives in life (negativity bias).
5. Your developmental history – mental, physical, social and spiritual (includes childhood adversity). See this study (opens in a new tab).
6. Your family history.
7. Your genes (remember, though, that you can ‘switch’ genes on and off through lifestyle choices!) What is known as gene regulation allows your cells to react quickly to environmental changes. 
8. Your diet.
9. Your immediate environment.

Take a few moments to think about what might be contributing to you feeling stressed all the time and then read on – there’s more.

I doubt you’d have ever considered any of the following 12 points as demanding on your body/mind.

12 stressors you might not have thought about

Easily rectifiable things that add to your feeling so stressed

1. Environmental pollutants – think of air-, water- and light pollution.
2. Noise – also an environmental pollutant but is worth listing separately. Some people are naturally more sensitive to noise than others, BUT there is a limit to what’s healthy (see Lowertheboom.org)
3. Excessive exercise is a stressor!
4. Poor food choices – fresh, wholesome produce v processed foods
5. Food intolerances and allergies, malabsorption (nutrients are poorly absorbed), maldigestion (poor digestion)
6. Disruption of the ‘natural’ light cycle. You may not have control over your shifts, but you can control your use of the internet and TV!
7. Insufficient sleep is also a stressor – either because you stretch the time you stay awake or because you suffer from sleep deprivation for other reasons.
8. Dehydration – your body consists of about 60% water if you’re a man and 70% if you’re a woman. Naturally, your body is going to be stressed if it’s dehydrated!
9. Exposure to extreme hot or cold, or damp.
10. Your medication, such as a benzodiazepine or antidepressants!
11. Poor work/life balance, work problems – such as too much at work, constant criticism
12. Personal and relationship issues.

Can you see now why you’re feeling stressed for no reason might just be because you have been exposed to several reasons without realising it?

The good news is that some of the above points are the easiest to address, depending on your situation.

How do you know you suffer from stress?

The effects of stress on your body/mind

Below, you’ll find a list of some of the most common signs of stress.

Please remember, though, that they could also indicate other health problems. That’s why I’d like you to have a medical checkup, just in case there’s something more serious going on.

16 signs and symptoms of stress

Here’s what might happen when you’re feeling stressed all the time:

1. Feeling tired, even after minimal efforts (physical or mental)
2. Waking up feeling tired, starting your day worrying and feeling depressed
3. Being troubled by unpleasant or excessive dreaming (see: Dreams about mental breakdowns)
4. Feeling depressed (see: my online depression questionnaire)
5. Constant worrying about what could happen and not being good enough
6. Irritability, frustration, anger
7. Difficulty concentrating, ‘brain fog’ – you simply can’t think straight
8. Sleep problems – racing thoughts – thinking the worst, and endless ‘to-do’ lists keep you from falling- and staying asleep (see: The best natural sleep remedies)
9. Surviving on coffee to get you through the day
10. Vague or recognisable health problems
11. Hair loss from constantly feeling stressed
12. Unexplained chest pains (do get a medical checkup!). See also: FAQ about a nervous breakdown.
13. Headaches
14. Weight loss from stress
15. Anxiety and panic attacks (see: How to stop an anxiety attack in its tracks)
16. Crying ‘for no reason’ – often one of the symptoms of a nervous breakdown.

Just in case you haven’t already informed yourself about what stress really is, here’s a quick rundown of what happens in your body.

From feeling tense to being overwhelmed and completely stressed out

Want to know why you’re feeling so stressed for ‘no reason’?

Here’s why there definitely is a reason for you to feel so stressed.

Your adrenal glands are the heroes of your moment-by-moment response to pressure, overwhelming demands and stress.

Meet your adrenals – two members of your personal protection team:

• Are the size of a walnut.
• Sit left and right at the top of your kidneys (in your back, just above your waist)
• Make and secrete adrenaline (epinephrine), cortisol – the ‘stress hormone’ and other hormones.
• Turn processes automatically up and down 24/7, depending on what’s going on for you every moment of the day.
• Step up their protective processes when everything becomes too much. Like bodyguards, they’re now constantly alert.

Your adrenal glands were designed for short bouts of stress to help you escape from marauding animals in ancient times.

Unfortunately, you might be experiencing prolonged periods of often highly stressful situations. The demand on your adrenal glands then exceeds their capabilities, and they become overworked.

No wonder your body/mind begins to buckle, and you know you suffer from stress.

However, you might not have realised how much you’ve been walking on a knife’s edge. You might have even thoroughly enjoyed yourself, loved the partying, drinking, the deadlines and challenges at work and the fast-paced lifestyle. And you’re now experiencing waves of stress because your brain’s natural responses are weakened – no longer does it have the resources to cope with the demands.

Perhaps you now understand why there might be very good reasons why you’re stressing over nothing and what you need to do to stop it.

How to destress

What to do to stop stressing over nothing all the time

For starters – download this free worksheet to help ensure you’re taking good care of yourself…

8 ways to reduce the times you feel stressed for no reason:

1. Change the perception of your stress

Listen to the language you use to describe what happens to you.

Instead of saying: “I had an awful day”, say something like: “I had to deal with a difficult couple of hours that day”.

Instead of: “I’m feeling awful”, say: “I’m getting a headache”.

Your body/mind responds more severely to the first statement than to the second.

You can manage your stress levels by changing how you perceive what happens to you and how you describe it to yourself and others.

2. Changing the length of time you’re exposed to stress

You may or may not have control over that. However, you may be able to influence aspects of your life to help reduce your stress levels. If that’s not possible, accepting that it is what it is, instead of fighting it, might help.

3. Changing your nature?

Have you always been a worrier, feeling quickly anxious about all sorts? Do you consider that worrying to be part of who you are?

Maybe you don’t need to. The cause of your feeling stressed may not be entirely psychological.

Hop over to my article on anxiety for no reason to discover other reasons you appear to be a worrier.

4. Coming to terms with your personal history

You may have suffered childhood adversity, had a rough time at college or uni, had a traumatic experience or were in a bad relationship.

Such experiences may have caused you to be continuously on your guard, meaning your body/mind is stressed even before you get up.

That leaves little spare capacity to deal with whatever’s waiting for you that day.

If that’s the case, I highly recommend you talk to a CBT Therapist (opens in a new tab), sign up for Rick Hanson’s newsletter and start reading self-help books.

Alternatively, get an expert self-hypnosis audio download and listen to it a couple of times a day. I recommend Stop Feeling Overwhelmed Quickly for you. To learn more about how hypnosis can help you and have all your questions answered, hop over to my page Hypnosis FAQ and downloads (opens in a new tab).

5. Coming to terms with your family history

Your family history is what it is. However, researchers are now investigating to what extent any trauma suffered by your parents may be impacting your physical and mental health.

Getting some therapy can help you put your stressful experiences in a different context.

6. Changing gene expression

This ties in with the previous point.

Yes, your parents may have been anxious types and led stressful lives. You may well have a genetic predisposition to anxiety and stress. However, we now know that you can switch your genes on and off depending on your diet and lifestyle.

7. Change your diet

Ditch the processed foods. Eat at least what you recognise as growing naturally, such as vegetables and fruit – in that order. Do some research to figure out how much your diet impacts your mental well-being. I think you’ll be stunned!

8. Connect with nature

“Taking at least 20 minutes out of your day to stroll or sit in a place that makes you feel in contact with nature will significantly lower your stress hormone levels.”

ScienceDaily, 04 Apr. 2019. Web. 29 Sept. 2019

Keep in mind that your body/mind was designed for life thousands of years ago – for short exposures to stressful situations.

How to beat stress for no reason

If you’re feeling completely stressed out right now, hop over to my article on how to stop anxiety attacks immediately. Also, get the previously recommended hypnosis audio download.

1. Inform yourself and get help

• Visit your doctor to get a diagnosis. If you already take any medication, have them review your meds, as they can cause you to feel stressed and anxious.
• If your doctor prescribes any drugs, be sure to do your research. Familiarise yourself with Dr Kelly Brogan’s work.
• Get support, advice and guidance from a CBT therapist.

2. Revisit the list of 12 stressors

Make a note of those you can begin to tackle immediately. That way, you’ll support your body/mind in destressing instead of undermining it.

3. Consider behavioural changes

• Stop the stimulants: cigarettes, sugar, coffee, strong tea, chocolate, diet drinks (sweeteners are neurotoxins) and anything else containing aspartame.
• Learn to say “no” – feeling ‘put upon’ is particularly stressful.
• Rest whenever you can whilst using a hypnosis audio download – it’s an effective relaxation technique, super user-friendly and cost-effective. I certainly recommend the Relief Stress and Tension Now download for you. For further information, see my article Hypnosis Downloads FAQ.
• Stop ‘having to’ – you have choices. Since you’re already showing signs of stress, it’s even more important to understand that if you carry on doing the same, the outcome will be the same.
• Ditch your attempts at perfectionism – give up on wanting everything to be ‘just so’. Doing so might cause you some anxiety in the short term, but believe me – it will save you heaps of stress in the long run.

You may also be interested in:

• The symptoms of a nervous breakdown
• The best treatments for anxiety
• Practical stress relief tips and techniques

Finally

I hope you now understand how many factors contribute to your body/mind being under stress.

So, if you’re suffering from stress for no reason, the good news is that there are things you can do to reduce stress.

It’s time, therefore, to take action. Just hoping and wishing it will go away isn’t going to cut it. You need to find out what’s at the bottom of it and take control to stop it from starting to control you.

I hope that I have been able to motivate you to take some steps in the right direction with this article.

Know that you’re far stronger than you think you are. You’ve got this!

Sources

Jr, Russell Noyes. “The Familial Prevalence of Anxiety Neurosis.” Archives of General Psychiatry. American Medical Association, 01 Sept. 1978. Web. 30 Sept. 2019.

“Can Genes Be Turned on and off in Cells? – Genetics Home Reference – NIH.” U.S. National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2019.

LiisaTyrväinena. “The Influence of Urban Green Environments on Stress Relief Measures: A Field Experiment.” Journal of Environmental Psychology. Academic Press, 24 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Sept. 2019.

“Epigenetics between the Generations: We Inherit More than Just Genes.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 July 2017. Web. 30 Sept. 2019.

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