Dec 6, 2010

Is It Just Stress?

How are you? It is a simple question with a common answer – “I am stressed.” Whether you admit it to others or silently think it, you likely experience some degree of stress. Feeling stressed seems to be the norm in our hectic lives, where we struggle for balance in a constant race against time. Potential stressors include work, family, school, finances, health, relationships, housing, and parenting.

When doctors can’t find an answer for something, the catch all answer is “it is just stress.” Like many people, I was told this several times. Each time, I felt angry and determined to find the answer. I found new doctors and searched the Internet endlessly.

I did not find another answer. Doctors continued to think it was stress. Eventually, I started to believe them. I could no longer remember what came first: marital problems, daily headaches, migraines, insomnia, or fatigue. Luckily, I developed new symptoms and found another doctor. This time, the answer was not stress!

We blame stress for many symptoms, including digestive problems, anxiety, depression, pain, migraines, fatigue, and insomnia. Ask yourself how long you have been feeling like this?

If you accept stress as the answer, you may still be experiencing the same problems five years from now. As you stress yourself shopping for that perfect holiday gift, take a break to visit a doctor and demand to be tested for celiac disease. It is the best gift you can give yourself and your family!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

And if you accept that 'stress diagnosis,' you end up feeling not good enough, too fragile and emotionally weak to live a real full life. It has been so freeing to find that it was an actual physical disease and not an inability to cope with life.