這些跡象表明你的壓力已不受控制大綱

1. You're feeling tired

1. 你感到很累

"Stress has a physiological effect on your body, by releasing hormones into your bloodstream that accelerate your heart rate and breathing," explains Tim. "This strain on your system can have an exhausting effect, leaving you feeling tired all the time."

"通過將荷爾蒙釋放到血液，加速心跳和呼吸，壓力會對身體產生生理影響，"蒂姆解釋道。"身體系統的壓力會讓你筋疲力盡、讓你無時無刻都感到疲憊。"

To top it all off, stress can also make it harder to get a decent night's kip, because it activates a part of the brain responsible for sleep-wake regulation.

最重要的是，壓力讓你晚上更難入眠，因爲壓力會激活負責睡眠-覺醒調節的大腦部分。

2. You're eating too much... or too little, or unhealthily

2. 你吃的太多或太少，或者吃的不健康

If there's one thing that's sure to wreak havoc with the best of intentions, it's stress. One factor is that stressed people will often be short on time, and it's easy to reach for unhealthy foods.

如果有一個東西，它的意圖是好的，但卻會帶來巨大破壞，那這個東西非壓力莫屬。其中一個因素是，感到壓力的人們通常會覺得時間不夠，因此很容易吃不健康的食品。

"People who are in a stressed state in the short term may lose their appetite. This is because part of the brain called the hypothalamus produces a hormone which suppresses appetite," says Tim. "But people who are stressed for a long period of time release cortisol, which increases your appetite - especially for sweet, starchy foods. This is where the term "stress-eating" comes from."

"短期處於壓力狀態的人們會失去食慾。這是因爲叫做下丘腦的大腦部分會產生一種抑制食慾的激素，"蒂姆說道。"但長期感到抑鬱的人會釋放促進食慾的皮質醇--尤其想吃甜食、澱粉類食物。這也正是'壓力性進食'一詞的來源。"

3. You feel panicked

3. 你感到恐慌

There's another downside to these pesky stress hormones: an increased heart rate, coupled with shortness of breath, can lead to feelings of anxiety, or even a panic attack.

這些令人討厭的壓力激素還有一個缺點：心跳加速。這一缺點和呼吸急促一起發生會導致焦慮，甚至會導致恐慌發作。

"You may even hyperventilate as you struggle for breath," explains Tim. "Hyperventilation can usually be resolved by actively trying to slow your breathing."

"當你忙着呼吸的時候，你甚至會換氣過度，"蒂姆解釋道。"通常可以通過主動放慢呼吸來解決過度換氣。"

4. You're getting ill easily

4. 你很容易生病

Stress has some very real effects on our overall health, by suppressing the immune system. So, if you find you're catching colds easily, or can't shake them off, it may be because you have a reduced immune system.

通過抑制免疫系統，壓力對我們的整體健康有着非常切實的影響。所以，如果你發現自己很容易感冒，或者感冒一直好不了，那可能是因爲你的免疫系統有所下降。

"When we're stressed, we release cortisol into our bloodstream, which blocks helpful hormones, so our immune system can begin to really suffer," says Tim.

"感到壓力時，我們會釋放皮質醇進入血液，阻斷有益的激素，因此我們的免疫系統會受到真正的影響，"蒂姆說道。

Never suffer in silence. Talk to your doctor to discuss options, and make sure you let your nearest and dearest know that you're struggling. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do to look after yourself...

永遠都不要默默承受。和醫生聊聊你的狀況、談談選擇方案、確保讓關係最好的人知道你的痛苦。同時，你可以做這些事情來照顧自己……