Is it stress or something else?

Image by Mike Moore

Have you ever felt fatigued without doing much, sweaty for no reason, mouth dries up; ever get chest pains, indigestion, peeing like crazy without drinking much; you feel like screaming at inanimate objects like the phone, the remote, the computer?  You may be experiencing the physiological effects of stress. 

Sometimes we don't even realize that our body is reacting to stress.  Case in point.  I'm supposed to be moving this month year, well sometime in 2009.  The thing is we have been waiting for Military Orders since March, so the threat to move has been on the table but until we get orders is not a good idea to move forward with things like selling our house, selling a vehicle, taking the kids out of school and investigating the new location, particularly if you don't know where that might be.  We missed a huge window of opportunity to sell our house over the summer, waiting for orders, very frustrating.

Finally, at the end of July we get our orders.  My husband, Mike, has to report at the end of September, he wants his family with him.  OH OK honey that's sweet but it's just not possible.  Don't get me wrong, I want to move with him just as bad but there is the issue of selling the house, selling a vehicle, and getting us all ready for travel.  Why?  Because we are going over seas or over one sea anyway.  We have orders to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (aka GTMO pronounced 'git-mo'.)  You know, that long island located 90 miles off the coast of Florida.  No we're not going to be living among the prisoners, believe it or not, the U.S. has had possession of "GTMO" since 1903 and no they are not closing the base, just to clarify.

So anyway, moving to Cuba will be an adventure.  We have plans to go sailing, scuba diving, snorkeling, travel to neighboring islands, etc. While the base is restricted to travel to the rest of Cuba, we can go anywhere from there so that's a big plus.  The move or location is not the stressor, we are looking forward to a new start, even my moody 15 year old girl is ready to go, couldn't be easier. 

So what's the problem.  Well everything than can go wrong or be delayed HAS.  From getting new GI passports to failed contracts on the house to getting physicals and updated shots for everyone in the family.  UGH... I could scream sometimes.  But I don't.  I keep it all inside, I write, I talk to friends each time telling them how it will be fine, no big deal, I have to wait for an appointment and even though its not my fault they want us ready yesterday some government agencies just look at me like it's not their problem when I need to be ready.  OK.  So I just do what I'm told and what I can within my reach.  I say I'm relaxing and coping with stress just fine.

That is, until a few days ago when I honestly felt like I was having a heart attack...ok maybe not that drastic but I did not feel well at all.  The first thing that popped into my mind was my friend's words a year before "you know, once you turn 40 everything starts to breakdown."  Well great, I'm forty something I guess I'm due for a breakdown; but I just had a physical what is going on with me.  Why do I feel so yucky?

I hit the Internet, WebMD and other medical diagnosis sites trying to figure out what all this meant. 

Here are my symptoms:

Dry mouth, stomach discomfort, headache, tired all the time, nausea, lightheaded, and pain under my ribs that spread to the back.

When you punch that in to a diagnosis site you get this:

Diabetes, Angina, heart attack, Anemia, and a host of other issues.

You know what that did to me? Stressed me out even more.  To the point that I called my doctor to ask about my blood work because I just know something is wrong.  I grabbed the diabetes diagnosis and went with it at least until I heard back from someone.  Yes I self diagnosed, stupid me.  I wondered how I would handle this diagnosis.  Both my parents are type II diabetics.  But I was concerned because what more could I do? Well, I guess I could give up a lot of the foods I still enjoy.  Ouch.  OK it's doable. I can do this.

Do you see what happens when we self diagnose.  Soon I got my results - "you are perfectly healthy, all is well with your blood work."  So then what's going on here I asked.  After a few pertinent questions about my symptoms the Nurse Practitioner responded with "You are most likely experiencing heartburn, take some antacid and if it doesn't get better, give us a call."  Are you kidding me, I thought I was at death's door, heartburn?  YES the antacid helped and some well needed sleep did wonders for me.

So what happened?  While I was talking myself out of being or acting like a maniac due to stress, my body had other ideas.  Physiologically, I had the symptoms of stress and I was ignoring them.  I ignored my symptoms long enough to get sick and actually feel it.  I have been sleeping poorly and getting mild headaches for weeks now but I took whatever over the counter stuff I needed to keep me going.  While I wasn't having a heart attack, we should never ignore the potential signs because seemingly healthy people can have a heart attack and not even know it.  It isn't always heartburn or stress.

In my case, it was heartburn and anxiety all brought on by stress.  I feel much better, took on a few extra classes at the gym and worked off some aggression :-) I put the focus back on the things I can control like my fitness, nutrition, the kids education, and our move date.  We will follow dad later in the year - preferably stress free.

The moral of the story here is NEVER ignore the symptoms of stress. Learn to treat, manage and cope with the stressors in your life and take time to heal when you become sick or injured.  It is counterproductive to cover up the pain and keep going because you will likely get worse, not better. 

It is also unwise to self-diagnose using the internet.  While this is a good way to get information about specific diseases and symptoms, it is best to consult with a professional to get clear diagnosis and care.

Take a few minutes in the quiet early morning hours to reflect on the day, get yourself mentally prepared and focus on taking care of you so that you are healthy enough to take care of the ones you love.

Stay Well,

SpinDiva

Comments

[Miranda]

I like your blog. There are some really interesting articles featured by our experts on the bizymoms Newport-news community experts page.

[Fitness Surfer]

Great post. I had the worst heart pain the other night in the middle of the night when i changed sides. I latter decided it was heartburn. Never eat stwarberries and mil right before laying down...They don't mix well and cause...heartburn.

Today i had very sharp (almost brought tears to the eyes) pains i figured it was heart burn again. Could also be anxiety. I need to disconnect for a while and slow down a little. Thanks for the reminder.

[Faith]

Thanks for stopping by my blog and leading me to yours! Wow, it's really eye-opening to think of all the negative effects that stress can have on the body...this is such an important reminder!

[Evita]

Wow SpinDiva that is one heck of a story!!!! As I was reading it, I was picking up on the very sense of high energy. Isn't that amazing how it can come through our screen like that :) LOL

Anyway, deep breath...deep breath indeed Terri...

The only advice I can offer, is take it all one day at a time. Yes this is a huge change for you and your family (and by the way, Cuba is AMAZING!!!!!)

But ultimately at every fork in the road, we choose how we are going to react, how we are going to perceive something, what meaning we will give it, how much power we will allow it over us...and on and on.

I know this is easier said than done, but the point is, it is possible. Usually stress is most pronounced when we live too much in the future moment, and why, because to us the future seems so out of our control. So uncertain. So scary.

But this is when if we can step back into the present, over which we always have full control, things can lighten up tremendously. Living a present-based life does not mean we never plan for the future, but it means we plan consciously and focus on the now, knowing that we did our best, and since we are always in charge of the present, whatever comes our way then, we will also be able to deal with, how we choose (the more conscious, the better) at that time.

My thoughts are with you :)

[Andrea@WellnessNotes]

You sure have a lot going on in your life... And it's so easy to ignore the symptoms of stress. A few years ago, I had numerous, unexpected life-changing events happening in the span of a few months. I, too, ignored the symptoms of stress and actually got quite sick because I ignored them too long.

I'm glad that you are focusing on what you can control at the moment and that you are focusing on your health! :)

[Mike Foster]

Very telling story, and your moral is so true: the body (and mind) have a way to letting us know when we need to do something: take a break, lose weight, get away, laugh, cry, scream...listen to your body.

peace,
mike
livelife365

[Terie]

Thank you Miranda and thanks for the tip on the bizymoms site. I'll check it out.

[Terie]

Hey FS-- I see you were feeling my pain in stress. Keep up your exercise routine, it really is a great remedy - so far that works for me.

[Terie]

Faith, thank you so much for visiting. Sometimes we forget to take care of number one and we need a little nudge.

[Terie]

Evita, thank you for stopping by. Life is still prety busy with my husband leaving next week and me trying to keep things "normal" around here. It's crazy but I stick with my exercise no matter what, get the kids to do the same so they can learn early on how important it is to exercise, eat well, sleep well and take one day at a time. Living for today is certainly a true idea and the way to go. Thank you for the advice and your thoughts :)