Ace the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training 2026 Exam – Practice Like a Pro!

Anxiety is a psychological symptom of stress because it reflects an internal emotional state—feelings of worry, fear, or unease—that people experience mentally. Stress activates brain circuits that influence emotions, leading to heightened anxiety as a subjective experience, not just changes in the body.

The other options describe physical or bodily changes that can accompany stress. Digestive changes involve gut functioning and autonomic arousal; sleep pattern changes reflect how stress disrupts circadian and arousal systems, altering sleep rather than the emotional state itself; headaches are physical symptoms often stemming from muscle tension or vascular changes. While these can accompany stress, they are not the mental or emotional experience that defines a psychological symptom.