To not realise the impact stress can have on your health?

[Jindle1]

Like most people, I've had a lot going on over the last few years. Bereavement, redundancy for my DP, a stressful, front line job and some ill health.

I've been having some odd symptoms for a while. Stomach trouble, hair loss headaches, weight gain and the worst fatigue I've ever had. I've powered through for months, added some more exercise, tried to clean up my diet and added some vitamins. No change.

After falling asleep at 8pm for the last 2 weeks, despite sleeping a full 10ish hrs a night, I finally went to see my GP.

It's stress! All of the weird symptoms, the general awful feeling. I would never have thought it could make me feel this bad. Especially without me putting that together in my head!

Just wanted to flag because I know many people are finding things stressful at the moment. And taking things onto your plate may feel like the 'quickest' or 'easiest' option but it very well may have a bigger impact down the line so look after yourself!

Women's health symptoms are routinely dismissed and under-diagnosed compared with men's. Read about the Health Gap here:

www.bbc.com/future/article/20180523-how-gender-bias-affects-your-healthcare

How did the GP decide your symptoms are stress-related without doing a full blood panel? Your symptoms could be thyroid related, PCOS, worsening anaemia, or IBS. A year is a long time, please go back. Yes, it could be stress but as other posters have said, it could very well be something else.

I hope you feel better soon.

Get some blood tests. Iron b12 thyroid d3.

That’s GP wasn’t thorough enough

Since I found out my husband was cheating and threw him out , my health has spiraled downwards. I had a huge panic attack and thought I was having a stroke. Since then , I have gained a lot of weight, had to increase anti depressants , developed high blood pressure , can't sleep , hair has thinned , stomach and digestive problems , chronic tiredness , joint pains . It is horrible. I am trying to learn ways of coping with it all . It definitely was a life changing event as while trying to get my emotions in place, my body decided to let me down also. Long hard struggle to get back to some semblance of normality.

i was under so much stress i got diagnosed with an emotional breakdown (new term for nervous breakdown)

i wasn't depressed so "they" couldn't help me with medication

my stress couldn't be rectified as it was no fault of my own

it was a combination of my ex of 22 years leaving me and my 2 disabled sons over night for our close friend.

i was already struggling as i was fighting tooth and nail social services and a corrupt toxic social worker.
she lied so much to get the kids on a CPP (she came out on a fake referral and took an instant dislike because i wouldn't allow her to break the law and bully me) and made-up fake evidence in the first report.

she made my life hell all because she disagreed with home education and attachment parenting, kids were not neglected she just didn't like it and used her personal opinion over her legal job title and did all she could to bully me (not the person to put up with that as I'm an alpha personality) in to parenting how she saw fit. She even enrolled both kids in the local school behind me back.
head did get in trouble for this as only a parent can enrol a child

ironic thing is the local ELA (other home edders know who these are) never bothered us and we started home eding 2015

all illegal harassing behaviour as home education is a legal option, but her manager was as corrupt as her

she had zero evidence and harassment me to the point it was 2 visits a day (all on her own back never part of the plan she was never let in though) many phone calls and messages all to try and get me to do things how she saw fit. never answered or i did what she said but this angered her, so she persisted and persisted.
i even had a solicitor fighting my case

this was March 20-june 22 ex left in oct 20 as he couldn't cope anymore as looking back i was in the first stages of a breakdown.

we were 24/7 carers and home educators, he left it all for a single mother with 7 kids by 7 different men (had a new baby by a different man every 10 months none involved she just had a one-night stand and got lucky every time, her 6th child was sperm off Facebook)

he left at 3am by 9am they were engaged, slept together pooled money ie she took him off my claim and put it all on hers and trying for a baby

he went missing for 3 days and we had no idea where he was so to me i was still in a relationship.
he turned up on day 3 to get his things saying I've moved in with * told me all of above and walked away from a 22-year relationship (never married as i don't agree with it but he knew i was lifelong committed) he was 17 me 18 and only ever been with each other sexually and romantically

always happy never any problems in 22 years, he left me a single person for the first time ever, a lone parent and a lone carer to 2 boys that need 24/7 carer as neither sleep

put this on top of the SW harassment i had a breakdown

she and her manager who was lying and covering up her lying reports that was based on zero evidence,

both got their comeuppance finally in May 22 as i did 2 stage 3 complaints and both got fired and SW was issued with a non-molestation order (she was that bad)

I've had zero compensation (boy am i due some) for it though and zero medical help as because I'm not depressed the doctors not interested so I've had to deal with all of the above by myself
I'm coping by using herbal medication and crystal therapy and protection spells(im a white witch but SS didn't know that)

I'm nowhere near recovered as I've also got PTSD but i can now look forward and try and live a new life without fighting a system you can't fight when you know your innocent and making legal choices

both my boys have complex need and was diagnosed each with a range of different conditions/disabilities years ago

this toxic bitch accused me of fii (google Fabricated or induced illness) and tried to get me committed as apparently, I'm bipolar and wanted to put kids in care

I've never had any mental health issues ever

it all folded when all the evidence of their corruption came to light if the timing wasn't right i think she would have succeeded somehow

I'm still struggling tbh even though it happened on oct 20 they have got married and anew bay in May 22(her 8th by 8 men) so my partner became a day of 10 instead of 2, they're trying for another as well.

he lost my family and his own parents as they didn't agree with what he did, so he give everything up for her

my son sees him very rarely as even though hes 12 this happened at 10 and he won't forgive

Hes's bee diagnosed with trauma as well.

i no longer trust professionals as i believed SS only get involved because you have done wrong, since my ordeal I've joined support groups and there are so many families who are victims of corrupt workers and a corrupt system that put you on plans with no actually evidence it all goes on the workers say so/opinion I got lucky as my kid stayed, many didn't

i will no longer have an innocence that people can be trusted fully, up until then i had a very innocent outlook on life.

I was once in hospital for a while following surgery and couldn't keep anything down, being sick all the time, came off all my pain meds as I was convinced it must be them. Delayed my physio as they didn't want to risk me being sick in the pool. Went home with lots of anti nausea tablets and what do you know? No vomiting at all once I was back home. It never occured to me the stress of being immobilized could do such a thing but it was bloody powerful.

Low iron causes hair loss. Oh so common and it could definitely drop below normal in the space of a couple of months. @Jindle1 I've been under prolonged intense stress for something horrible for the last few years but my hair is fine - because I'm taking iron. Push for bloods!

Ahhh - when I get stressed I just want to eat chocolate...

I would put lack of exercise, general unhealthy diet before stress and sugar but I agree with you.

Lurking

Stress is completely normal. Ongoing acute stress is not.

I get this is so much. Finally saw a GP f2f about my psoriasis yesterday. He said 'it must be awful for you. You have a very hectic life, but you know stressing about this as well just makes it worse?'
I'll just pretend I'm OK with constant pain, itching and bleeding then..... 🤬

I have requested online for a blood test - thanks everyone for the concern.

I've realised that work is actually incredibly hectic at the moment. Like many others, breaks, finishing on time etc have been gone a long time but I think the extra fear around cost of living and an ongoing redundancy programme are adding to the already high stress levels there.

Personally, my DP was made redundant earlier this year and hasn't found something yet and so I'm even more on edge/frightened about how we'd pay the bills. It's a real push now.

It's just eye opening to realise that stress has very real, physical symptoms.

Yes

Yes, I think modern life is a lot more stressful. We have to be everything to everyone, all the time, the advertisers tell us. Crazy commuting, way too much traffic. Colleagues in active addiction, too much. This constant grind to consume, it's exhausting.

This is very important. I have had an issue diagnosed incorrectly to begin with as "stress". Sure I was stressed about it. And the stress might have been making it worse. It might even have been the root cause. But simply saying it's stress, and signing me off for 2 weeks wasn't going to help. This is in no way intended to dismiss those for whom stress is the issue, it is an issue, and it can make you feel very unwell. Just if you think there may be more going on you might have to push for more investigation.

Lurking - and wondering what did your doctor suggest to reduce/treat stress? Obviously, reduce the sources of it, but anything else?

Did you have covid at all? That made me exhausted, hair loss , sleepless, agitated for many months afterwards.
yes stress doesn’t help but sometimes there is also an underlying cause/trigger .

Stress can also trigger autoimmune diseases that lead to hypothyroidism which could be causing your symptoms. The GP shouldn't be diagnosing stress without running some tests first.

Stress is a killer.

I thought I was unflappable until my body fought back and I ended up getting an autoimmune illness. I'm convinced it came on because of me living in a constant state of stress for a number of years.

I was convinced I was menopausal. Or peri at least. Weight gain, hair thinning, dry skin, aches and pains, extreme fatigue and memory loss. Terrible acid reflux. Dry twitchy eyes.Had all the blood tests. Everything was clear.
The gp asked me what I had going on in the last year or so.
Daughter badly assaulted. House move. Bad House fire. Temporary homelessness until we could find somewhere else. Daughter suicide attempt and bullying and we had to switch her to a new school. Trying to deal with CAMHs.A new job. A terrible family court situation for DP. I had to concur with her when she said it was no wonder my body was retaining weight in case of further disaster and my hair was a bit thinner. I hadn't even considered that the physical effects were down to stress.
I mean there is not much to be done about any of the stressors, bar just working through it-but at least I know and can recognise the effects.

Stress is awful, but GPs are too quick to diagnose stress without doing any basic diagnostic tests. My mum almost died from diabetes that was, apparently, ‘stress’. A friend had ‘health anxiety’, it was cancer. She’s dead.

I absolutely believe stress is a literal killer. I too have walked into more stress in the last 4 years than I ever have and it's seriously aged me and I feel much less 'well' than I did.

Obviously it can't be proven but my seemingly very fit and well 50 year old aunt had a hugely stressful legal issue (could have seen them serving a sentence) that went on for about a year. For someone that was so chilled and happy before this, she was beside herself with the stress. One day she had sudden chest pains and was rushed to hospital where found her aorta had partially ruptured. She died during an operation to save her. Can't help but think stress brought it on.

I have had covid but not for a while now and the symptoms didn't start straight after sp I don't think it's that?

Some breathing exercises, a look at reducing sources of stress and a referral to a waiting list on 'stress busting techniques' have all been suggested by the GP. Long waiting times at the moment though of course.