I have been under a lot of stress over the last 7 or so years, as soon as one stressful situation is over then another rears its ugly head. It is really taking it's toll on my body and I can't seem to ease it, no matter what I try.
I have always been an anxious person and I suppose my body just natureally goes into a kind of tensed up default mode. I was also diagnosed with ADHD earlier this year which I am still trying to make sense of (this may or may not be relevant, I really don't know as it is still all new to me).
There are some chronic health issues which I have been suffering from for a couple of decades and the stressful things in my life are exacerbating them which then causes more anxiety and therefore more tension. I really drives me insane.
My body is in fight or flight all the time. I have tmj disorder from night time bruxism, general daily jaw clenching and achy jaw and neck (I have bitten through 4 mouth guards, they really don't help me), my face aches, constant 'coat hanger pain' from tense shoulders, neck and back of head, daily IBS and functional dyspepsia which is very much anxiety driven, headaches, eye ache, lower back ache (although I do have disc degeneration so that could be the cause of that), tension in all my limbs, a weird fuzzy/ tingly feeling in the tip of my right index finger (probably from shoulder tension?) and on it goes..........
Every day I practise yoga, I walk my dog over beautiful countryside twice a day (nature grounds me). I listen to the Calm app every day with daily meditations and night time sleep stories. I don't drink any alcohol or any caffeine products, in fact I only drink water. I eat carefully due to my IBS. I try to get as much sleep as possible although I dream very heavily and always wake and feel as though I have slept on a cobbled street. I do all of these things to help me but it's as though I am a coiled spring because even though all of these lovely strategies feel so nice and relaxing at the time, as soon as they stop my body reverts back to the coiled spring default mode.
As much as I would love to try some acupuncture, full body massges etc I simply can not afford them but am so desperate to feel less tense and wound up all day. It is absolutely draining and I am constantly knackered (all my bloods come back as ok, except for my folate which is a bit low but GP says it's still ok).
Can anyone suggest anything which may help me unwind, anything to take this tension away?