The stress symptom checklist helps to show how stress can manifest in different ways, including physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, and emotional symptoms. Although I did not check off a lot of symptoms, the symptoms I experience include physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms. I was surprised to learn that some symptoms of stress include feeling low self-esteem and also reduced productivity at work (“Stress Management,” 2017). There are only a few symptoms I experience every day or every other day. I occasionally have sleeping problems, and feel overwhelmed by my work. Some of the stress symptoms are obviously linked to what is going on in my life, such as too many pressures from work or school. There are no times of the day I am more likely to experience stress, with the exception of not being able to sleep at night and also feeling anxious in the morning about the things I have to do that day. The specific triggers of stress I experienced this week included having to work an extra shift and having several large assignments to complete for school at the same time. Also, I had an argument with a family member that compounded my feelings of anxiety....

Other triggers this week included bad weather that came in the way of my weekend plans, and traffic, which can cause me stress. Usually the symptoms I experience are short lived and easy to recognize, such as yelling at people in the car.
Everyone experiences stress, and mentally strong people understand how to transform the adversities of life into opportunities for growth and learning (Morin, 2015). It is also important to reflect on how I cope with stress, starting with being able to recognize the signs and symptoms. Now that I know that loss of concentration, lower productivity, and lower self-esteem might be stress-related symptoms, I can pay closer attention to the triggers. For example, my boss criticized something I did, and it was a total surprise because I believed I did a good job. I felt defensive that day, and even the next day I had some stress-related symptoms like anger. I can deal with stress better by keeping all issues into perspective, and not taking things too seriously (Morin, 2015). Even though I believe my boss was wrong, I need to put the criticism into perspective and believe that I am doing a good job. I also need…