Years ago when I was working for the Red Cross, I started having heart palpitations from time to time. I talked to my doctor about it, and she asked me to record them on a calendar so we could see if there was a pattern. It quickly became apparent that I was having symptoms on those days that I had the most going on. I would have them coming back from a fire call, or when I had several things on the calendar that I was juggling. Based on that observation, she "officially" diagnosed me with anxiety disorder. We never did anything about it, but it was good to know that I my body would act that way when it was under stress so I tried to take things slower.
Fast forward 12 years...
All day long I've been having heart palpitations. Even when I haven't been doing anything strenuous. The first one surprised me, but I didn't think anything of it. By the third one, I started wondering what was going on. That's when I remembered my former diagnosis. Anxiety. Stress. Was I feeling it today? I was a little stressed out this morning, but that was it, or so I thought. My body was telling me differently.
I took a few minutes to sit quietly with my feelings, and I was able to realize what was bothering me all day. In fact, it's been bothering me since counseling yesterday. Because it's extremely personal I won't share it here, but suffice it to say it's "a doozy".
So what's my point? My point is that our bodies really will try to tell us things if we can but listen. We all have ways that we exhibit stress and anxiety. According to this website, some of these are:
- A tense, uptight feeling
- Inability to relax
- Feeling restless, keyed up, or on edge
- Muscle tension, aches, or soreness
- Trouble falling or staying asleep
- Difficulties concentrating
- Irritability or impatience
- Physical symptoms such as sweaty palms, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, nausea or diarrhea, and trouble swallowing.
Recognizing our own stress indicators will help us figure out our problems "in the moment", or close to it. And who wants to carry around stress or anxiety for longer than we must?
I sure don't.
When the children all talk to me at the same time, I feel it. I tell them, "This is giving me anxiety." When I express it verbally it helps. I know that the work you do in counselling over your "doozy" is going to help too.
ReplyDeleteYou know, some of your blog posts hit awfully close to home. I think it was important that you "took a few minutes to sit quietly with (your) feelings," & were then able to realize what was going on & choose how to respond.
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