Stress...we all know what it is and we all wish we didn't have to deal with it as much as we tend to. While there is of course the "good" stress (the kind that keeps us focused and motivated), this post will talk about the negative impact stress can have, how it affects me personally, and what I have done (and continue) to do for it.
If you're reading this as a Gastroparesis (GP) patient I hope you will feel a "ah yes me too" feeling when reading this. If you don't have GP, you may also get that feeling or I at least hope you will learn something about the impacts stress can have, especially when you have health condition.
Stress impacts people differently as well as presents itself differently from person to person, (as does Gastroparesis). What I may find stressful, someone else may find is easy, or on the flip side, completely debilitating. We all live such different lives and what's "normal" and routine to us, isn't for the strangers you pass by each day. If you take a minute to really think about your friends and family and how they handle their stress, it's probably pretty different from what you do or how you feel with yours.
Stress to me before getting GP was always annoying, but it never took me out for days at a time. I never paid much attention to how it was making me feel because it wasn't "enough" to notice; I wasn't listening to my body back then. But, many things have changed since then, not only because stress now can physically take me out for days or make me feel unwell for weeks, but because I now think about stress in general, differently. Nowadays I can physically, mentally and emotionally feel when stress is starting to boil inside me ahead of time. Part of this feeling are the GP related physical symptoms I feel, and the other part of it is just me listening to my body better because GP opened my eyes to it... either way I am grateful for this awareness.
So what do I actually feel? First, it usually starts off with me feeling pretty fatigued as well as a fuzzy brain; like I can't remember anything I'm learning (such as during school right before a big exam). Next, I usually get a headache. Months ago I got a wicked migraine that took me out of work for almost an entire week... that's when I knew I needed to slow down. After that, another very common feeling I get is stomach pain.
My main symptom of GP was intense and constant stomach pain. For many others, their main symptom is often could be nausea, loss of appetite or weight loss, etc. (which I had as well), but stomach pain was definitely my number 1. My stomach pain isn't comparable to an upset stomach like one would get if they feel nervous or anxious, but it tends to hurt quite a lot in the middle, upper portion of my stomach right under my ribs. I am not sure why this place specifically, but it very much only happens when I started to get incredibly stressed out.
What have I done/currently do for it all? Now, after well over a year and a half of acupuncture, my stomach pain only arises when I am overly stressed, as I mentioned. When this happens, I usually try to stretch, drink water and tea, relax, take a bath and make sure I eat mushy foods, and meditate. After relaxing for a little while I do tend to exercise but I make sure I am in a state of exercising for stress relief instead of exercising and overexerting my body/mind.
There are many other things you can do for stress apart from how to deal with it the very instance it occurs. Practicing more self and body awareness is so, SO helpful. I can feel when I am going over the top... three years ago I couldn't. It takes a lot of time and practice. I highly recommend taking a mindfulness course online or in person and/or a mediation class (even better if they're combined!) The mindfulness-based-stress-reduction class I took in undergrad has benefited me every single day and is definitely in the top of my "favorite classes" list.
On a personal note, this past week my partner and I traveled from Maine, U.S. to Toronto, Canada where we will be for at least the next 4 years while I attend Naturopathic Medical school. Moving, especially during these current times, is incredibly difficult and draining. The visa process, the long drives, getting through the border, covid test after covid test, the current day 8 of quarantine we are now in... my stress was beyond what I thought I could handle. My stomach pain started the day we arrived in Canada but thankfully I was able to feel it before it got too bad, I slowed down and it subsided the next day with sleep, hydration, food, and rest.
Something I have only talked about on my Instagram page, was an acupuncture appointment I had a couple months ago. Before my session started, I spoke to the acupuncturist for a while. I asked him to help me with my stress and he talked me through how and what I was feeling at the time. Not just how are you and how does that make you feel, but where do you feel it. The talk ended with him saying "Loreal, I want you to sit there and listen to me for a minute, then, after I'm done I want you to tell me how you physically feel". He went on "acting" as me/my life, talking about everything I have going on...
In the past past year and a half I have gone from studying for the LSAT (to apply to law school), to taking my prerequisite medical school classes, to graduating with an international business degree. I was working as a legal assistant for 2 1/2 years before recently quitting to be a full time student and gear up for our move, which the move alone was a 6-8 month stressful process. I took almost 60 credits between fall and spring semester for my undergrad and premed courses, not to mention family and friends, holidays, covid, etc. making for added stress and a busy schedules Towards the end of the acupuncturist pretty much explaining my entire life at that time, he asked me how I felt. I said "man, that's a lot". He said "yes! it is a LOT and you need to allow your body enough time to process all these changes you're making." It was honestly the best advice I think I have been given thus far.
My point to all this is that I know what stress is, I know there is far worse out there than what I'm going through, but that doesn't mean my thoughts and feelings aren't real and don't matter. I know how tiring, frustrating and painful stress can be sometimes... how life can be. I know the feeling of "is this really worth it?" Part of me would give up med school to fly to Belgium or the UK right now, buy a small cottage, grow plants and sit in the grass eating fruit for the rest of my life.... but, every day I choose a different life, the life I do want. I choose what I can handle, I listen to my body and I know. Every single one of us chooses how we want our life to end up and how much we are willing to sacrifice our health, for it.
I know that nothing in this post is too "oh wow that's super educational and insightful", but what I hope it can be for you is purely a reminder that we all experience things differently and that stress really can have such a powerful impact on you life and health. It's OK to ask for help, to slow down, to talk with school administration or your boss about your stress levels and work load. We live in such a fast paced world where the "go go go" is the attitude, motivation and goal/desire... but trust me when I tell you that you can be JUST as successful if you take care of your health first - heck, you can be more successful if you do.
Don't wait until it's too late,
Loreal
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