Stress Symptoms
Workplace Bullying is One of the Primary Causes
of Dangerous Levels of Stress at Work
Possible Physical and
Emotional Stress Symptoms Caused by Bullying
Physical Symptoms of Stress
Emotional Symptoms of Stress
Common Symptoms of PTSD
and Complex PTSD
Possible Physical
and Emotional Stress Symptoms Caused by Bullying
Workplace or school bullying resulting in extremely
high stress levels can cause a whole range of anxiety
stress symptoms and health problems, some manifesting
themselves as physical symptoms and others as psychological
effects.
If you catch your situation early enough you may
well get through the situation without any damage
to your health; we would not want anyone to believe
that some of the severe health consequences mentioned
here are inevitable. Though, as Dr. Gary Namie says
of targets of workplace bullying, the personality
type most likely to be bullied are also those who
are likely to 'stay longest and get most damaged'.
What follows is by no means an exhaustive list -
just some of the most common stress symptoms due to
bullying.
Generally the worse you are being bullied and the
longer it continues, the more anxiety stress symptoms
you will have. The degree to which you experience
any or all of these symptoms of stress also depends
on the intensity of the targeting, and your social
support structure.
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Physical Stress Symptoms
from Bullying:
Many of these physical symptoms of stress
can be serious. If you are experiencing a serious
symptom of stress do not delay in seeking professional
medical attention.
- Reduced immunity to infection leading to frequent
colds, coughs, flu, glandular fever, etc (especially
on days off, eg weekends and holidays)
- Chest pains and angina
- High blood pressure
- Heart attacks
- Strokes
- Headaches and migraines
- Loss of appetite (although a few people react
by overeating)
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Reactive vomiting before, during or after meetings
(or at the site of a "triggering" incident,
person, place or thing or from just the thought
of going to certain locations ie workplace)
- Skin irritations and skin disorders (eg eczema,
psoriasis, shingles, internal and external ulcers,
urticaria)
- Hormonal problems (disturbed menstrual cycle,
dysmenorrhoea, loss of libido, impotence)
- Unusual clumsiness (such as an inability to grasp
small objects, separate sheets of paper or tendency
to drop cups,etc.)
- Sleep problems including nightmares and waking
early
- Disturbance of balance
- Panic attacks, feelings of nervousness and anxiety,
excessive sweating, trembling, palpitations
- Joint and muscle pains with no obvious cause
- Back pain
- Excessive need to bite or teeth grinding
- Tics
- Scratching
- Physical numbness, especially in fingers, toes
and lips
- Eye problems, such as new prescriptions needed
"virtually overnight"
- Dislike of loud noises and bright lights
- Development of new allergies
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Emotional Stress Symptoms
from Bullying:
Many of these emotional symptoms of stress
can be serious. If you are experiencing a serious
symptom of stress do not delay in seeking professional
medical attention.
- Bewilderment and confusion, an inability to understand
what is happening or why it happened
- A strong sense of denial, an inability to convince
yourself that the experience was real; your denial
is reinforced by the denial of those around you
and especially of people in authority
- Tearfulness
- Irritability, short-temperedness, sudden intense
anger and occasional violent outbursts
- Hyperawareness, an acute sense of time passing,
the seasons changing, distances when travelling
- An enhanced environmental awareness, a greater
respect for the natural world, a feeling of "wanting
to save the planet"
- Hypervigilance, which feels like but is not paranoia,
and which may be (sometimes deliberately) mislabelled
as paranoia by those around you
- Flashbacks and replays which you are unable to
switch off
- Impaired memory, forgetfulness, memory which is
intermittent, especially of day-to-day trivial things
- Difficulty in learning new information
- Inability to concentrate
- Exaggerated startle response
- Hypersensitivity - almost every action or remark
is perceived as critical or threatening, even when
you know it isn't
- A deep sense of betrayal
- Obsessiveness - the experience takes over your
life, you can't get it out of your mind
- Depression (reactive, not endogenous)
- Excessive shame, embarrassment and guilt
- Undue fear
- Low self-esteem and low self-confidence
- A deep sense of unworthiness, undeservingness
and non-entitlement
- Emotional numbness, anhedonia, an inability to
feel love or joy
- Sullenness (a sign the inner psyche has been damaged)
- Detachment, avoidance of anything that reminds
you of the experience
- Physical and mental paralysis at any reminder
of the experience
- Increased reliance on drugs (caffeine, nicotine,
alcohol, sleeping tablets, tranquillisers, antidepressants,
other substances) resulting in further compromised
health
- Comfort spending (and consequent financial problems)
- Thoughts of suicide and in some cases homicide
In addition to these stress symptoms, increasingly
researchers are suggesting that diabetes, asthma,
allergies, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis (MS),
chronic fatigue syndrome (ME), hydradentitis supurativa
(painful skin disorder) and even some forms of cancer
are caused or aggravated by stress.
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Common Stress Symptoms
of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
and Complex PTSD
Many of the symptoms of post traumatic stress
anxiety can be serious. If you are experiencing a
serious post traumatic stress disorder symptom do
not delay in seeking professional medical attention.
- Hypervigilance (feels like but is not paranoia)
- Exaggerated startle response
- Tearfulness
- Irritability
- Sudden angry or violent outbursts
- Flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive recollections,
replays, violent visualisations
- Triggers
- Sleep disturbance
- Exhaustion and chronic fatigue
- Reactive depression
- Guilt
- Feelings of detachment
- Avoidance behaviours
- Nervousness, anxiety
- Phobias about specific daily routines, events
or objects
- Irrational or impulsive behaviour
- Loss of interest
- Loss of ambition
- Anhedonia (inability to feel joy and pleasure)
- Poor concentration
- Impaired memory
- Joint pains, muscle pains
- Emotional numbness
- Physical numbness
- Low self-esteem
- Loss of libido
- An overwhelming sense of injustice and a strong
desire to do something about it
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>> Return
to Stress Management Information Index
This information was compiled and
used with permission.
Special thanks to Tim Field - Bully
OnLine and to No
Bully For Me.
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* Professor Kenneth Westhues, University
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