It is a good idea to be vigilant of symptoms that may suggest that you are experiencing too much stress since this can lead to more serious illnesses.

You can have all the money in the world but it means nothing without your health. This is why it is important to take as many precautions as possible to avoid experiencing health issues that can significantly diminish your quality of life. One way to improve your health is to try to minimize the stress you experience in your daily life. Experiencing stress over longer periods of time has been shown to be the cause of more serious health problems and illnesses. It has even been shown to increase the likelihood of fatal diseases such as cancer.

 

Therefore, you should always be on the lookout for signs that stress may be an issue. The following are symptoms of experiencing too much stress.

 

Emotional symptoms

 

Some symptoms which are more emotional in nature may include frustration, moodiness and becoming easily upset. Stress is commonly accompanied by an overall feeling of being overwhelmed. You may have a hard time relaxing because your mind continues to keep racing from thought to thought. 

 

It is possible stress causes you to have self-image problems. This could mean feeling bad about yourself. You may even feel lonely, worthless and depressed.

 

Physical symptoms

 

Stress can also cause physical symptoms as well that you should be aware of. You may find yourself having lower levels of energy than usual. Headaches are one of the most common symptoms resulting from too much stress. Stress oftentimes is accompanied by upset stomach issues, such as nausea, diarrhea and constipation. 

 

You may have chest pain and an elevated heart beat when you have been experiencing stress over a longer period of time. Stress can also result in you coming down with colds and infections more often. Many report having a loss of sexual desire when they are under stress for longer periods of time. 

 

Cognitive symptoms

 

Along with emotional and physical symptoms stress can result in cognitive issues as well. Commonly, those experiencing consistent stress will find themselves constantly worrying about a variety of things and plagued with racing thoughts. You may become forgetful and disorganized due to stress. Many find themselves having more pessimistic thoughts with an inability to see the positive side of situations. Stress can also be the cause of poor judgement and an overall difficulty to maintain focus.

 

Behavioral symptoms

 

Stress can also show up in changes in your behavior. The following are some behavioral symptoms of too much stress. One common symptom is a change in appetite which could mean you will eat too much or not want to eat at all. 

 

You may procrastinate on tasks and avoid taking on responsibilities. Also, an increase in alcohol and drug consumption commonly accompanies stress. It is possible you can start exhibiting nervous behaviors such as biting your nails, pacing or fidgeting.

 

Reducing stress increases longevity

 

The whole point of being on the lookout for these symptoms of stress is to let you know it is time to take action to minimize stress in your life before it is too late. Allowing stress to perpetuate can actually decrease how long you will live. On the other hand, reducing stress can help you to avoid more serious diseases and health issues.

As an investor you have the opportunity to choose from a variety of different types of mutual funds. Each type has varying levels of risk and opportunity. 

Mutual funds are a type of investment vehicle that allows you to combine resources with other investors for the purposes of making investments in securities such as stocks, bonds, commodities and sometimes other types of alternative assets. Essentially, these investment vehicles are funds which are managed by a professional financial expert who makes investment decisions based upon the mutual fund’s prospectus. Each prospectus will determine a certain risk profile, financial goals and specified types of asset purchases that the fund manager will adhere to.

 

The advantage of mutual funds is that they allow you access to a professional fund manager without large amounts of money. There are several different types of mutual funds that you can choose from.

 

Equity funds

The most common type of mutual fund is the equity fund which invests in mostly stocks.

 

Fixed-income funds

Another type of mutual fund are fixed-income funds which focus on investing in assets that provide consistent income streams via interest payments. These assets usually include government bonds, corporate bonds and other similar debt vehicles.

 

Index funds

This type of fund will invest in stocks with the aim of tracking the movements of specified stock indices, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500. 

 

Balanced funds

Investors who want a broad-based allocation across various asset classes may want to consider balanced funds. The types of asset classes invested in may include stocks, bonds, money market instruments and a variety of alternative assets.

 

Money market funds

More conservative and risk-averse investors may prefer money market funds. This type of fund invests in short-term debt investment vehicles, consisting mostly of government Treasury bills.

 

Income funds

The objective of income funds is self-explanatory: to create a steady stream of low-risk income to investors. This type of fund invests in mostly government debt and high-quality corporate bonds. 

 

International/global funds

An international fund invests in assets based outside of your home country. On the other hand, a global fund will invest all over the world, including in your home nation. 

 

Specialty funds

These types of funds will concentrate specifically on particular economic sectors or they may target companies with a particular type of business strategy. Some of the economic sectors specialty funds commonly target are technology, medical and financials. 

 

Exchanged traded funds

Based upon the general structure of mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs) are curated groups of stocks and securities that are meant to track the movements of specific indices, economic performance of certain geographic areas or particular industries. ETFs allow investors to control a broad range of assets with a single market position.

 

Which type of mutual fund is best for you?

Each type of mutual fund has its own advantages and disadvantages. The type of mutual fund you should choose will depend on what you are trying to accomplish through investing. There are types of funds that are more suited for more aggressive investors and others that are better for conservative investors looking to avoid taking too much risk. Your wealth management advisor can help you sort through all of the options. 

 

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All investments and strategies have the potential for profit or loss. Different types of investments involve higher and lower levels of risk. There is no guarantee that a specific investment or strategy will be suitable or profitable for an investor’s portfolio. There are no assurances that an investor’s portfolio will match or exceed a specific benchmark.

 

Hyperlinks on this blog are provided as a convenience. We cannot be held responsible for information, services, or products found on websites linked to our posts.

 

Every type of investment, including mutual funds, involves risk. Risk refers to the possibility that you will lose money (both principal and any earnings) or fail to make money on an investment. Changing market conditions can create fluctuations in the value of a mutual fund investment. In addition, there are fees and expenses associated with investing in mutual funds that do not usually occur when purchasing individual securities directly.

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), commonly known as “The Dow” is an index representing 30 stock of companies maintained and reviewed by the editors of the Wall Street Journal.

 

The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market.