When stress hits, we all have ways of coping — but some of our go-to responses actually pile on more pressure.
Instead of developing habits that calm us down and allow us to process the added tension in our lives, we turn to ones that usually make things harder than they need to be. If you do any of these things when you have a lot on your plate, you’re not doing your stress levels any favours.
1. Creating imaginary deadlines for everything
Stress makes us feel like everything needs to happen right now. We start setting arbitrary deadlines for tasks that don’t actually need immediate attention. A simple email reply suddenly feels urgent at 11 PM, or weekend chores become emergency missions. These self-imposed time pressures create a constant state of rushing that makes actual deadlines harder to meet. The urgency we create rarely matches reality.
2. Letting your living space spiral
When stress hits, it’s tempting to let dishes pile up and laundry overflow. Small messes grow into bigger ones as clothes cover the floor and takeaway containers stack up. You tell yourself you’ll deal with it when things calm down, but the growing chaos actually adds to your mental load. Your space becomes another source of stress rather than a place to decompress.
3. Scrolling through social media before bed
Late-night stress often leads to endless scrolling. You’re too wired to sleep but too tired to do anything productive, so you fall into the social media void. Before you know it, it’s 2 a.m., and you’re deep in a stranger’s holiday photos from 2016. The blue light keeps you alert while comparison stress creeps in, making quality sleep even more elusive.
4. Trying to power through without breaks
Stress convinces us that breaks are a luxury we can’t afford. You skip lunch, ignore bathroom breaks, and push through fatigue signals. Your body sends increasingly urgent messages that you keep dismissing. This marathon approach actually slows you down as your brain gets foggy and mistakes multiply, creating more work in the long run.
5. Making big decisions late at night
When daytime stress follows you to bed, midnight often brings the urge to make major life choices. You start drafting resignation emails, planning cross-country moves, or making significant purchases. These late-night plans feel crystal clear until morning arrives, bringing regret over hasty decisions or hours spent on options you’d never consider in daylight.
6. Avoiding people who actually help
Stress can make us pull away from supportive friends and family. Messages go unanswered, calls get declined, and invitations receive automatic “maybe next time” responses. You convince yourself you’re too busy or stressed to socialise, but isolation usually amplifies whatever you’re dealing with. The people who help most become the ones you see least.
7. Stress shopping without a budget
Retail therapy provides quick relief that your wallet pays for later. One small treat turns into a cart full of items you convince yourself you need right now. The temporary high of purchasing fades quickly, replaced by money stress when the bills arrive. What started as self-care becomes another problem to solve.
8. Taking on extra commitments
Source: Unsplash Sometimes stress makes us overcompensate by saying yes to everything. You volunteer for extra projects, agree to help everyone who asks, and add more to your plate when you can barely handle what’s already there. Your people-pleasing response turns into a cycle of more commitments leading to more stress. Each new “yes” makes existing obligations harder to meet.
9. Neglecting simple self-care
Basic maintenance starts feeling optional when stress takes over. Skipping showers, wearing the same clothes, or forgetting to drink water become normal as you focus on “more important” things. These small self-care lapses add up quickly, affecting your mood, energy, and how people respond to you. The basics actually become more important during stress, not less.
10. Stress eating convenient junk
Drive-thrus and delivery apps become too tempting when stress leaves you drained. Quick sugar and carb hits provide temporary energy that crashes hard later. Your body craves easy calories while rejecting anything that requires preparation. This pattern leaves you physically depleted when you most need steady energy.
11. Creating worst-case scenarios
Stress turns us into disaster planners, imagining elaborate worst-case outcomes for simple situations. A missed call becomes a potential firing, a minor mistake spirals into career ending consequences. These mental disaster movies drain energy you need for actual problems while adding layers of unnecessary anxiety.
12. Avoiding small tasks until they become big ones
Little tasks feel overwhelming during stress, so they get pushed aside. Unopened mail piles up, minor repairs get ignored, and small errands keep getting delayed. The tasks you put off grow from quick fixes into major projects, creating real problems that validate your original stress. The five-minute job becomes a five-hour ordeal.
13. Comparing your stress to other people’s
Stress often leads to unhelpful comparisons about who has it worse. You minimise your struggles because other people seem to handle more, or resent people who appear to have easier lives. This comparison game prevents you from addressing your actual situation while adding social stress to the mix. Your stress levels are valid, regardless of what anyone else carries.
14. Bottling up emotions until they explode
Keeping stress contained feels safer than expressing it, until it isn’t. Small irritations get swallowed until something minor triggers a major reaction. You snap at the wrong person or break down over something tiny because you’re carrying weeks of compressed stress. These emotional pressure cooker moments damage relationships and trust, including with yourself.
