HealthBoards - View Single Post - Could subconscious stress be causing all my medical issues?

ammerybob · 02-10-2012, 08:27 AM

I have had a hard life. I was raised by an abusive and frantic mother with BiPolar disorder who moved me around constantly and instilled in me various anxious and neurotic personality traits.
I have always had a lot on my plate going into adulthood, including taking care of my mother, dealing with her mood swings, caring for my younger teenage sister, dealing with other dysfunctional family dramas, a couple particularly long and arduous relationships, financial instability, and now graduate school.
I notice in myself that I have a particularly sort fuse. A mistake from the phone company will send me into a complaining fest, and I will tense up, feel overwhelmed and shut down. I whenever I am expected to take on more than a few task in the same week I start to shut down. I frequently break down in tears when the going gets tough. I look at other people around my age range (I am in my late twenties) who work full time, and still juggle graduate school and parenting, and I am simply astounded, as I, alternatively, have worked to find jobs that I know will be particularly low stress, only take one class at a time, and put off parenthood... as I am aware of my own limits.
On the other hand though, I do know how to unwind, and nights on the couch having a beer and nice meal with my boyfriend make me feel peaceful and content. Additionally I have an intense love for comedy and I enjoy letting lose and having a laugh frequently. So.. it's not as if I am in a constant state of anxiety.
My issue though is, I know the stress is there, and I think it may be effecting me physically. You can see by my signature, that I have a myriad of chronic conditions, all of which, if you Google, have a direct connection with stress. I am sitting here right now for instance with huge cold sores on both sides of my mouth. (I usually take a preventative prescription for them, but I was changing doctors and there was a lag time.) I look so awful I couldn't even go into work. When I ask my doctor what could be causing my immune system to be so low that this virus would hit me so hard, so consistently, he just said all my test came out normal. So maybe, it's stress...
Does anyone have any insight or stories for me? What can I do?

02-10-2012, 08:27 AM	#1
ammerybob Junior Member (female) Join Date: May 2011 Location: United States Posts: 15	Could subconscious stress be causing all my medical issues? I have had a hard life. I was raised by an abusive and frantic mother with BiPolar disorder who moved me around constantly and instilled in me various anxious and neurotic personality traits. I have always had a lot on my plate going into adulthood, including taking care of my mother, dealing with her mood swings, caring for my younger teenage sister, dealing with other dysfunctional family dramas, a couple particularly long and arduous relationships, financial instability, and now graduate school. I notice in myself that I have a particularly sort fuse. A mistake from the phone company will send me into a complaining fest, and I will tense up, feel overwhelmed and shut down. I whenever I am expected to take on more than a few task in the same week I start to shut down. I frequently break down in tears when the going gets tough. I look at other people around my age range (I am in my late twenties) who work full time, and still juggle graduate school and parenting, and I am simply astounded, as I, alternatively, have worked to find jobs that I know will be particularly low stress, only take one class at a time, and put off parenthood... as I am aware of my own limits. On the other hand though, I do know how to unwind, and nights on the couch having a beer and nice meal with my boyfriend make me feel peaceful and content. Additionally I have an intense love for comedy and I enjoy letting lose and having a laugh frequently. So.. it's not as if I am in a constant state of anxiety. My issue though is, I know the stress is there, and I think it may be effecting me physically. You can see by my signature, that I have a myriad of chronic conditions, all of which, if you Google, have a direct connection with stress. I am sitting here right now for instance with huge cold sores on both sides of my mouth. (I usually take a preventative prescription for them, but I was changing doctors and there was a lag time.) I look so awful I couldn't even go into work. When I ask my doctor what could be causing my immune system to be so low that this virus would hit me so hard, so consistently, he just said all my test came out normal. So maybe, it's stress... Does anyone have any insight or stories for me? What can I do? __________________ Cold Sores; Eosinophilic Esophagitis; Hiatal Hernia; Hypoglycemia; IBS; Interstitial cystitis; Neck pain (Chronic, myofascial); Ovarian polyps; Scoliosis; Yeast Infections