How to discover your stress signature

Protect your health using this simple method to detect early signs of stress

Feeling under pressure is part of working life. A certain amount can help us focus, stay motivated and get things done.

However, if the pressure doesn’t stop, we can soon find ourselves becoming stressed and overwhelmed.

When the stress response is activated for prolonged periods, it can take a toll on both our physical and mental health. Over time it can affect sleep, concentration, mood, digestion and overall wellbeing.

The good news is that stress rarely arrives without warning. Most of us have early signs that tell us our stress response is becoming activated.

I call these signs your stress signature.

If you can recognise your stress signature early, you have an opportunity to intervene before stress starts affecting your wellbeing, performance and relationships.

Discovering your stress signature

When someone comes to me because they're feeling stuck, stressed or struggling to cope, one of the first things we explore is how their stress response shows up.

To do this, I use a simple framework called a SPACE Audit to map how stress is impacting different aspects of a person's experience.

Each aspect’s first letter spells out SPACE - Situation, Physical body,

Actions, Cognition, and Emotions - hence its name.

By deconstructing how we react to a situation, we can identify where we can intervene and support ourselves.

Stress signature SPACE audit

Bring to mind a recent time or conversation that was stress-inducing for you.

Using the lists below as reference, note down how you felt physically, mentally, emotionally and what you did or didn’t do.

S: What was the social context?

Name the situation you're considering

P: What happened physically?

Headache, migraine

Poor focus, concentration

Memory lapses

Eye twitch

Dry mouth

Jaw pain

Tense shoulders

Shallow breathing

Backache

Palpitations

Sweating/clamminess

Little or no appetite

Butterflies in stomach

Nausea

Tummy trouble

Skin allergies

Shaky legs

Sleeping difficulties

Something else?

A: What actions did/didn’t you do or take?

Avoided situations/people/tasks

Ate less/more

Bit nails

Comfort ate

Smoked more

Drank more caffeine/alcohol

Made passive aggressive comments

Scratched an area of the body

Didn’t take breaks/worked through

Snapped at others

Substance abuse

Withdrew/sulked

Other?

C: What was going on cognitively (in the mind)?

Imagined things going wrong

Imagined what others were thinking

Had racing thoughts

Made self-doubting/downing statements

Had worrying thoughts

Something else?

E: How did you feel emotionally?

Angry

Down, depressed

Doubtful

Frustrated

Guilty

Helpless

Impatient

Insecure

Irritated

Isolated

Low confidence

Not in control/out of control

Overwhelmed

Panicked, sense of dread

Scared

Tearful

Uncertain

Another feeling?

What’s your stress signature?

By now, you may be noticing certain patterns. These recurring thoughts, emotions, behaviours and physical sensations form your unique stress signature.

Let’s confirm there is nothing else that occurs by recalling another situation and checking through the lists again.

Once you have reviewed a couple of circumstances, what do you notice about your stress signature?

Do you respond to feeling stressed by having symptoms or signs in a particular area (such as mentally) or are they spread across each aspect?

I find the people I work with tend to have strong responses in one, maybe two, areas and that certain things happen earlier and others later.

What are your early signs?

My earliest signs are usually mental and emotional.

Cognitions

I picture I am just ahead of a wave but it might crash on me at any minute.

I tell myself there is insufficient time, imagine things going wrong and make self-doubting statements.

Emotions

I feel a sense of dread and lack of control. I am both irritable and worried.

What happens if you ignore the early signs?

I know if I don’t start taking action to manage myself early enough then the following will start to happen.

Physical changes

I lose ability to focus and have sleep difficulties (wake in the night).

Actions

I start to skip taking a lunch break, don’t eat well, drink alcohol and don’t engage with others. I press on even though I know I should take a break.

Emotions

I have low mood, feel isolated and overwhelmed.

The later signs don’t happen so much these days, as I know my early signals, but they can do if I ignore the first set of indicators.

How to use your signature

Of course knowing your stress signature is only useful if you do something when you notice the signs!

As feeling stressed tends to be driven by thoughts of lack (resources, abilities, time) or attack, one of my favourite ways to help calm the body and mind is Herbert Benson's Relaxation Technique.

Doing this for 10 minutes ends my self-doubting, insufficient time and things going wrong thoughts and restores a sense of calm.

Once I feel calmer, I can reflect on the stressors which usually means writing a list and identifying ways to deal with them.

As each of us is different, the key to stress reduction is to simply start trying things when you notice your stress response firing up. If you do this, you will soon have a personalised way to feel back in control.

Related: How to practice Benson's Relaxation Technique

Bottom line

Your stress signature is personal. It is made up of how you feel (physically and emotionally), how you think, and how you behave when feeling stressed

Only you know when your stress response has been activated. This means only you can take action to settle it.

Identifying how you think, feel and act when feeling stressed, and knowing what helps you return to a calmer state, can protect your health and support wellbeing.

The goal isn't to eliminate stress completely. The goal is to notice it sooner.

Once you understand your stress signature, you can respond more quickly by taking a break, talking things through, practising relaxation, getting outside, or using whatever strategies help you reset.

Take care of you.

Awareness creates choice

The earlier you notice the signs, the easier it is to respond to stress before it starts running the show.

If you'd like help identifying patterns in your own stress signature or developing strategies to manage pressure more effectively, get in touch.

References

1. Edgerton, N. & Palmer, S. (2005). SPACE: A psychological model for use within cognitive behavioural coaching, therapy and stress management. The Coaching Psychologist, 1 (2), 25–31.