"MOM, come here quick!" I run upstairs to find one of my boys leaning over the toilet. "I feel like I'm going to throw up". I stroke his back and comfort him. The door bell rings. It's the plumber. I pat my boy on the head and comfort him that I'll be right back. The plumber comes in, looks around for 5 minutes and leaves. I get my son settled on the couch with a Disney show turned on and a bucket in is lap. Call hubby back to give report and play 20 questions. Hubby decides plumbers report is not adequate and needs to leave work to come home and take care of it.
I scramble to get all of the dishes out of the cabinet in case the water damage causes it to break away from the wall. I tell my little girl, "You won't be taking a shower this morning, go get dressed and look as clean as you can." Time to walk out the door for school. Nope... I have 3 lunches to pack. Husband calls back with 20 more questions in transit on the way home with a statement that really pushes me over the edge, "you'll have to go to the gym and shower before you head to the airport". Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be at the airport in 2 hours to head home to Texas for a family funeral........As far as I'm concerned, an earthquake might as well have taken my whole house down. These little incidents felt that BIG to me.
Stress. A lot of it. I feel like I'm going to crack sometimes, more than sometimes and I'd like to run away from home. I get head aches. I get nausea. I have night sweats. I'm tired. This is pretty typical for me. But not near as bad as it was 18 months ago. In August of 2011 I was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder (GAD). I never have heard of it, but I was/am a text book case.
Stated from an article by the University of Michigan Psychiatry department, "Generalized Anxiety Disorder occurs when you feel worried and stressed about many everyday events and activities. Often the things you are worried about are small or not important. This type of worry disrupts your life most days. Everyone gets worried or anxious sometimes, but people with generalized anxiety disorder experience more than normal everyday worries."
Symptoms are:
- Feeling tired or irritable; having a hard time concentrating.
- Having headaches or muscle aches.
- Having a hard time swallowing.
- Feeling shaky; sweating or having hot flashes.
- Feeling light headed, sick to your stomach, or out of breath.
- Having to go to the bathroom often.
- Feeling like you can't relax; being startled easily.
- Having problems falling or staying asleep.
Women are twice as likely to have this disorder as men. If you are feeling these symptoms and have for a quite some time- GO TO YOUR DOCTOR! Many women suffer from this problem and I'm here to tell you ladies- it's real! GAD can be treated. Get help if you need it and admit you have a problem if you do. Life is so much more enjoyable and clearer when you learn how to control the stress.
I'm happy to say kids made it to school on time with lunches. The throw up symptoms were a false alarm for my son. Plumbers came back to discuss with my husband man to man. I made it to the gym for a shower. AND, I made my flight.
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is admit that we aren't well and we need help. One of the best things to happen to me was having a medical reason why I couldn't seem to handle life. My husband is amazing and understanding now to my sensitivities and I manage day to day by putting one foot in front of the other. One of the biggest solutions for me was reducing the stress I could control. There are things we stress about that we can control and things we stress about out of our control. Don't waste time on the little things. If you have GAD, you have to learn how to manage your stress- it can be done, but don't try to do it yourself. Go to your Doctor and ask about GAD if you think you are suffering with this disorder.
AND most importantly know- you are not alone!
G
Oh, Gwenda! I can't believe you had to deal with this! So happy you were able to get help :]. HUGS
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