Stress severity


Guest xforeverxmetalx
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Guest xforeverxmetalx

So Google isn't helping, so I figured I'd try to ask this here.

I don't really know how to word this, but... how bad is it if I feel calm and normal the majority of the time, but every once in awhile (like, every 1-3 days) I start feeling stressed? Ranging from mild worry to full-on "freak outs" where I'm in tears and hating life. Like basically, most of the time I just go about my day, going to school, doing homework, surfing the internet. But every once in awhile when I start thinking about all the crappy stuff I deal with, it really gets to me. So how exactly does that compare to "normal" stress, or normal extreme stress?

This has pretty much been the story of my life for ages now (though with varying frequency of the "freak outs" depending on what exactly is going on). Just now I think it's starting to screw with my sleep - I used to sleep just fine, but not the past week or two. But it could be something else, though I don't know what else. And the lack of decent sleep is what's concerning me at the moment.

So if anyone knows where that kind of situation falls on the stress/anxiety severity scale, that'd help, so I could try and figure out where to go from there. Any other general tips are welcomed too.

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Sounds like anxiety. I understand it completely. Been there and got several t-shirts.

For me, using relaxation techniques has helped me control my anxiety to the point that I can almost always deal with them as they just start, rather than allow them to become full blown.

Here is a link or two where they have some relax technique MP3s. Use one or two of these once or twice a day for a couple weeks, and you'll see your body and mind begin to deal with the stresses much better simply by using the techniques as you begin feeling stressed.

All About Depression: Online Relaxation Exercises

Loyola University Maryland \\ Counseling Center

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Guest xforeverxmetalx

Thanks. Though, I question whether or not relaxation is actually what I need... would it be better to just let it blow over? Like usually what I'll do is IM a good friend of mine and talk through it till I've got it "out of my system", and then I get back to normal, so it does help at least in that moment. I've heard venting can be good or bad depending on how you do it, so is that bad? I don't know, but it doesn't seem right to just try to relax or distract myself from the things that concern me.

And, lizrenowden, do you mean a regular doctor or like a psych? I've gone back and forth on the psych thing for ages... trying to fix things myself for now. Unless something gets too bad I can't, or I've tried everything. You wouldn't be the first to think I should though, so I might just be being stubborn.

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Relax Techniques do not distract or remove you from the stress. It places the stress on a manageable level so you can deal with any issues. My anxiety had me so I couldn't make decisions, but just wanted to curl up in a corner. With the relaxation techniques, I can face decisions and problems head on, and not feel overwhelmed.

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Relax Techniques do not distract or remove you from the stress. It places the stress on a manageable level so you can deal with any issues. My anxiety had me so I couldn't make decisions, but just wanted to curl up in a corner. With the relaxation techniques, I can face decisions and problems head on, and not feel overwhelmed.

May well give some a try myself

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It's anxiety it'll pass. If you can take benadryl, do so when your anxiety attacks start. It will make them almost disappear. Do not go see a doctor unless you cannot treat it with OTC meds and relaxation skills. All the psychologists and psychiatrist that I've ever seen as a patient have all been stupid.

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Have you tried taking a blood test to see if you are deficient in a certain vitamin or mineral? Would you say your diet is pretty balanced? I know it sounds cheezy, but you'd be surprised how many of us eat foods we think are 'good' but actually have all of the nutrients sucked out of them (veggies included).

Vitamin B is the happy vitamin- most people don't get it in their diet- you can even go to your doctor and get an injection of it.

Usually our bodies are trying to tell us something when they are doing abnormal things- hope that helps you :)

Get on google and research different vitamins and what they do for you and go out to the chemist and buy some and try them out! Just bare in mind to make sure you don't take more then your daily allowance.

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Guest xforeverxmetalx

Relax Techniques do not distract or remove you from the stress. It places the stress on a manageable level so you can deal with any issues. My anxiety had me so I couldn't make decisions, but just wanted to curl up in a corner. With the relaxation techniques, I can face decisions and problems head on, and not feel overwhelmed.

That makes sense then. Most of the time when it happens, it's when I'm at home with time to myself, time to think about things and sometimes I end up getting frustrated and then it starts. If something does come up at other times (like, I get really tense when driving in unfamiliar territory and sometimes on the interstate), then I usually do try to keep myself as calm as I can. But it's not usually an issue.

Have you tried taking a blood test to see if you are deficient in a certain vitamin or mineral? Would you say your diet is pretty balanced? I know it sounds cheezy, but you'd be surprised how many of us eat foods we think are 'good' but actually have all of the nutrients sucked out of them (veggies included).

Vitamin B is the happy vitamin- most people don't get it in their diet- you can even go to your doctor and get an injection of it.

Usually our bodies are trying to tell us something when they are doing abnormal things- hope that helps you :)

Get on google and research different vitamins and what they do for you and go out to the chemist and buy some and try them out! Just bare in mind to make sure you don't take more then your daily allowance.

I definitely know I don't have the best diet. But I do take a multivitamin pretty regularly. It's got 100% of vitamin B-12 and B-6. As far as getting a blood test - needles freak me out, haha.

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You would be surprised how little multivitamins actually have of each vitamin. Example, my 'multivitamin' I was taking has only 70mg of vitamin B! My sister told me I should take a capsule of 1000mg and boy did it make a difference! Same goes with the other ones listed in there. Educate yourself on vitamins. Trust me, even the most expensive multivitamins do NOT have enough in their if you have a vitamin deficiency.

So by the 100% does it mean 100% of 50mg? 500? 1000mg???

Plus, most vitamins are not exorbed 100% into the blood stream- you might be taking 50mg, but only 25% of that is getting absorbed- which means you have to up your does.

Trust me, I think everyone always jumps on the anti depressant bandwagon because doctors want to subscribe drugs to make some $$$- but please, try natural remedys first which are most often overlooked.

What we put into our bodies are really important on our mental as well as physical wellbeing. You might find your emotions can be out of control because your body isn't getting what it needs from what you are putting into it.

Thats my two cents! :)

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Kitty is right. Vitamin D is also considered a happy vitamin, which is why people are more depressed in winter, when they get less sun. Most are now saying we should take 2000 units of Vitamin D a day now. My doctor prescribed me 50,000 units twice a week, because I'm deficient (in vitamin D, not deficient in other ways...).

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I've been taking some St. John's Wort lately to help me with my own stress/mild depression. It has helped! My pulse is lower (normally 100+ bps). My outlook on like just feels better and I feel that I have more confidence.

As for my stress, let's just say that I've got a lot of life's major events happening all around the same time.

I finally feel like I can focus on doing some cold-market prospecting to make an income. Normally, my heart would be beating itself right out of my chest. I'm feeling much calmer and at peace with myself.

It might be worth looking into, in addition of B-vitamins as well. (Most of those 'energy drinks' have a certain amount of B-vitamins... but the pills have many thousands more mg than the energy drinks!)

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So Google isn't helping, so I figured I'd try to ask this here.

I don't really know how to word this, but... how bad is it if I feel calm and normal the majority of the time, but every once in awhile (like, every 1-3 days) I start feeling stressed? Ranging from mild worry to full-on "freak outs" where I'm in tears and hating life. Like basically, most of the time I just go about my day, going to school, doing homework, surfing the internet. But every once in awhile when I start thinking about all the crappy stuff I deal with, it really gets to me. So how exactly does that compare to "normal" stress, or normal extreme stress?

This has pretty much been the story of my life for ages now (though with varying frequency of the "freak outs" depending on what exactly is going on). Just now I think it's starting to screw with my sleep - I used to sleep just fine, but not the past week or two. But it could be something else, though I don't know what else. And the lack of decent sleep is what's concerning me at the moment.

Kind of funny, replace the word "stress" with either "loneliness" or "depression" and this describes some of my patterns pretty well. Particularly tonight, as I should have been to bed about two hours ago.

All the vitamin information seems pretty interesting, I'll have to look into it myself. You might also want to add more exercise to your daily routine. It should help get rid of some excess energy and hopefully release enough endorphins to help even you out during the "freak outs". Me, personally, I think I'm going to set a tv up in front of the treadmill and do a couple of miles while watching Metalocalypse :).

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Im sorry that you have issues with those type of things. Through out my life I've noticed this pattern and the only thing I could share with you, which is my opinion but seems to do good for me, is to not deal with this alone. As you know this is probably just going to be with you for the rest of your life. Life at times is not fun; it's stressfull, annoying, and dissapointing. There's times I felt that I should be big enough to handle these things by myself. I realize though that just because I continually go to others and talk to them about certain things it doesn't make me weak or look crazy. So continue talking to those people you know you can rely on.

When you have those realy good days write them down in your journal. And then go back to those days when you are having those episodes.

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Guest xforeverxmetalx

I've been taking some St. John's Wort lately to help me with my own stress/mild depression. It has helped! My pulse is lower (normally 100+ bps). My outlook on like just feels better and I feel that I have more confidence.

As for my stress, let's just say that I've got a lot of life's major events happening all around the same time.

I finally feel like I can focus on doing some cold-market prospecting to make an income. Normally, my heart would be beating itself right out of my chest. I'm feeling much calmer and at peace with myself.

It might be worth looking into, in addition of B-vitamins as well. (Most of those 'energy drinks' have a certain amount of B-vitamins... but the pills have many thousands more mg than the energy drinks!)

A friend of mine has recommended that as well actually. I'm probably going to give it a try.

Kind of funny, replace the word "stress" with either "loneliness" or "depression" and this describes some of my patterns pretty well. Particularly tonight, as I should have been to bed about two hours ago.

All the vitamin information seems pretty interesting, I'll have to look into it myself. You might also want to add more exercise to your daily routine. It should help get rid of some excess energy and hopefully release enough endorphins to help even you out during the "freak outs". Me, personally, I think I'm going to set a tv up in front of the treadmill and do a couple of miles while watching Metalocalypse :).

Funny thing is, I was actually trying to exercise. But not getting enough sleep makes it pretty difficult to wake up a couple hours before I would otherwise to go for a walk, or to stay up long enough to go at night. :rolleyes: Hopefully I can work it in soon.

Anyway, thanks everyone. I guess it's something to be concerned about. I just wasn't sure how big of a deal it was, compared to people who say they're constantly stressed out.

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