Stress does strange things to people. Stress can easily be the cause of weight gain as I'm sure just about every living human can attest to. It can also be the cause for a plateau if you're on a weight loss journey. It can make us physically ill with just about any illness you can imagine. I ended up with mono and pleurisy at the same time as a teenager. I was so sick for about 6 weeks. I remember crawling to the bathroom to vomit and then passed out on the floor because I had no energy. It was horrible. When the doctor was trying to figure out where it came from, I had none of the risk factors and knew no one else that had been sick. The only thing he said was that I was probably just too stressed out. It can make us mentally ill as well. It can make our bodies break out in hives. I've had that happen to me before too. Hives from stress.
Story Time
My best friend and roommate years ago brought one of her work friends to move in with us without asking me. I was not fond of this other person. Erika was her name. I told my roommate as much and she begged me to just give it a little time. So Erika was living with us for about 2 weeks when it happened.
I was so stressed out about her presence and how much I disliked her that one day when I was stepping out of the shower, my roommate noticed my body covered in huge red welts. Hives! I had never had hives or any allergy before in my life so I didn't know what it was. And the roommate was freaking out, insisting that we go to the hospital. So away we went, to the hospital. They gave me Benadryl and asked about any changes in food, soap, clothes, pets, or life situations. The only new thing in my life was Erika.
The doctor confirmed it. I was allergic to her. I made him tell my roommate to her face so she knew I wasn't making it up. He did. And Erika moved out that same week.
Weird things can happen from stress too, you know. I've heard of people developing "situational narcolepsy" under extreme stress. Imagine that. Stressed out at work and just slump over sawing logs at your desk. Crazy.
I use to work with a guy who's fingernails fell off when he got stressed out. Am I the only one who thinks that's crazy and unbelievable? I wouldn't believe it at all if I hadn't actually seen it. So weird.
Wanna know the weird thing that happens to me in times of stress?
Story Time Take 2
When I was in college, my hair fell out. Yes, you read that right. My hair fell out. Like in clumps. It fell out in handfulls. We normally lose hair on a regular basis to make room for new hair growth. A normal loss is around 100 hairs per day. You probably notice it when you shower. Perfectly normal.
Well, what I experienced was definitely not normal. I felt like a cancer patient. Every day, I'd lose a couple handfulls in the shower. Then if I ran my fingers through my hair, I'd come out with another handfull. When I'd take my jacket off, I'd notice the back of it covered with stray hair. My pillow would look like a fur ball in the morning. Gross, I know. Scary was more like it though. I didn't understand it. I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. Turns out, it was just stress. When that quarter was over, I got myself a massage and rested up and my hair stopped falling out. Now I know.
I'm still not the best at managing my own stress but I definitely try. I think that's really all we can do anyway. Try. I know that I tend to overdo just about everything thinking that I'm more efficient and more productive and have more energy than any other living creature on the planet. When I realize that I bit off more than I can chew, I just bare down and push through. Then when it's all over, I realize just how much stress I was carrying and I'm forced to take better care of myself. As I get older, I am better able to maintain balance in my life but I'm not without my moments.
After taking care of myself and taking a bit of a rest from the run run run, go go go...I actually got the scale moving again. I didn't change my diet or my exercise at all. I do and eat all the same things. The only thing that is different is the level of stress I feel. Guess what...I was right. It was the stress. Amazing!
What do I do to manage my stress? Well, I think that's a different topic entirely. Stay tuned and I'll tell you.
What kinds of crazy things happen to you in times of stress?
