Seven Types Of Cognitive Stress Symptoms That Might Be Affecting You

Occasional stress is a part of life for most of us, but chronic or severe stress can disrupt your life and negatively impact your health in many ways. That’s why it can be so important to learn to recognize the signs of cognitive and other types of stress, which may not always be obvious, so you can take measures to limit or manage it. Here, we’ll cover seven common signs of cognitive stress plus tips for seeking support in managing them.

What is cognitive stress, and where does it come from?

Cognitive stress refers to when stressors affect a person’s cognitive abilities and functioning. We’ll outline key symptoms of cognitive stress below. In addition, a person may also experience emotional signs of stress, such as irritability and sadness, and behavioral signs of stress, such as pacing, biting nails, or self-medicating with substances.

If you are struggling with substance use, contact the SAMHSA National Helpline at (800) 662-4357 to receive support and resources. Support is available 24/7.

Small amounts of acute stress can be helpful, as they can motivate you to handle challenges and accomplish tasks. High levels of chronic or long-term stress, however, can make it nearly impossible to get things done and may lead to a variety of negative health outcomes, as discussed below. 

Key sources of feeling stressed can vary from one person to the next. It can result from single incidents or events, such as a major work project on a tight deadline, conflict with a family member or spouse, unemployment, the loss of a loved one, a breakup, or traumatic events, for example. Chronic stress can also come about because of factors like consistently worrisome situations. Examples include poverty, an unsafe living situation, discrimination, chronic pain or ongoing medical conditions, and other factors that are similar and ongoing over a long period. Identifying your key sources of stress can be the first step toward finding coping mechanisms that may help.

The potential risks of chronic stress

The symptoms that you may experience due to stress—whether cognitive, behavioral, emotional, or physical—can all take a toll on your health. In the shorter term, you may notice that stress affects you in the form of getting sick more frequently due to a weakened immune system, having trouble sleeping, beginning to eat significantly less or more, or having unexplained aches and pains. 

Over the longer term, chronic stress can actually change how the brain functions and put you at higher risk of more serious health problems like:

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Diabetes

• Heart disease

• Heart attack

• Stroke

• High blood pressure

• Earlier cognitive decline and other problems with cognitive health

• Obesity

Since stress can have such a big impact on your overall well-being, it can be crucial to notice the signs and address them as soon as possible. 

Common cognitive stress symptoms 

Next, let’s take a look at seven common cognitive stress symptoms in particular that could indicate the need for healthy coping mechanisms or stress reduction. If you’ve noticed cognitive signs of stress like these issues with common brain functions in yourself, it may be time to seek professional support. 

1. Near-constant worry

Constant worry may look like being concerned about things that have happened in the past that could happen again, things that haven't happened yet but might, or even things that have very little probability of ever occurring. These worries may be related to any aspect of life. 

This type of persistent and excessive worry could be a symptom of cognitive stress or a symptom of a diagnosable anxiety disorder. Either way, it can significantly disrupt daily functioning and can be a sign that it may be time to seek support. 

2. Forgetfulness and similar signs of cognitive decline or issues

If you find yourself frequently forgetting things or having other types of memory problems, you may be operating under a lot of stress. While it’s normal to occasionally misplace one’s keys or forget about a commitment here and there, this could happen more frequently for a person experiencing chronic stress. 

3. Disorganization

If you’ve noticed that you’ve been unusually disorganized lately, it could be a symptom of stress. For example, you might find yourself losing things or accidentally getting rid of items that you need. Or, you may have an increasingly disorganized or cluttered office, house, or vehicle, which research suggests may further increase stress and anxiety. In other words, disorganization can be caused by stress and may exacerbate it as well.

4. Trouble focusing

When your stress levels are high, it can make it hard to focus your mind on any one thing. As another of the most common cognitive symptoms of stress, you might find that you're constantly being pulled in too many different directions and that you can’t maintain focus on any single thing for very long. This can make it difficult to accomplish tasks and can cause you to perform poorly at work or in your personal life. 

5. Racing thoughts

Another common symptom of cognitive stress is thoughts are constantly jumping from one thing to the next so quickly that you have trouble processing them. For example, you might try to focus on a work task but feel distracted by thoughts of the other items on your to-do list. Or, you could have trouble sleeping because you can’t quiet your mind at night. 

6. Poor judgment

Someone who is stressed may be more likely to engage in poor decision-making due to feeling overwhelmed. You may find yourself saying yes to things that you might know are a bad idea or approving something just because you want to get it out of the way. You may not think about things as carefully as you normally would, which can cause additional problems and stressors.

7. A pessimistic outlook

Those who experience a great deal of stress often have a more negative outlook on their lives. For instance, you might find yourself expecting things to go wrong or believing that you're not going to get what you want out of a situation. Other cognitive stress symptoms like poor judgment and organization can then turn these negative expectations into a self-fulfilling prophecy, further fueling the cycle of stress.

Getting help for cognitive symptoms of stress

If you’ve realized that stress is negatively impacting your life, it may be time to seek help to get it under control. If you’re facing specific stressors, such as the loss of a loved one or a chronic illness, you might benefit from speaking with others who have experienced the same thing. Searching for a support group online or in your area could be helpful. Or, if you’re looking for more personalized support, you might consider meeting with a licensed mental health professional. They may help you identify your key stressors and find healthy ways to address them.

If stress is already playing a significant role in your life, it might seem impossible to begin the process of finding a local therapist, scheduling an appointment, getting transportation and childcare, commuting to the therapist’s office, and sitting in a waiting room in order to receive care. In cases like these, online therapy may represent a more convenient and approachable option. With a platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched with a licensed therapist in a matter of days and then meet with them from the comfort of your home via video call, phone call, or in-app messaging.

A growing body of research suggests that online therapy can offer similar benefits to in-person treatment in many cases. Consider one study that suggests that online therapy can be effective for treating stress in particular.