Which signs or symptoms from a practical nursing assessment suggest a client is experiencing a form of stress?

• A. Diarrhea
• B. Palpitations
• C. Nausea
• D. Headaches

Answer: (D)

Headaches are a classic sign of stress because the body's stress response often causes muscle tension, especially in the neck and shoulders, along with changes in blood flow that can trigger head pain. When a client is stressed, the sympathetic nervous system and the HPA axis activate, leading to tension-type headaches and sometimes migraine-like pain. In a practical nursing assessment, noticing headaches—especially if they accompany irritability, sleep disturbance, or muscle tightness—points toward a stress-related pattern. The other symptoms listed can arise from many different causes (gastrointestinal issues, medication effects, or cardiac conditions), so they’re less specifically tied to stress in this context.