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Who has abnormal stress response, and what is normal?

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Posted 9/24/2022 5:34 PM (GMT 0)
Stress is part of life some people are unaffected by it, I really don’t know what is normal and what isn’t. Obviously going off the deep end is abnormal and I’ve never been that bad.

I posted just last week about morning coffee no longer gives me the jitters, so I thought my adrenals were finally a little more calmer.

When I do experience in acute stressful situation it affects my sleep hopefully that’s a minimal now versus in the past it’s been a week sometimes.

So when that happens my theory is it raises my adrenal output, and then I wake up earlier in the morning than what I normally should feeling kind of warm - like there is excess cortisol flowing through me I can even feel it in my arms and legs.

The above happened this morning after yet another bad experience with what I call a slimy dentist. My old dentist for years he was honest and very fairly priced retired a couple years ago. My search for a honest and affordable dentist has been very difficult. My opinions of some that I’ve encountered are reinforced by negative reviews online.

So quick summary - I got weaseled into something while I was in the dentist chair which the final price ended up being Hundreds higher than the verbal estimate given to me while in the chair. I used my insurance money on something that now I realize didn’t need to happen.

And now the work done that needs to be done has to come out of my pocket 100%. It’s of course A couple thousand – unexpected. That right there made me lose sleep. I don’t know how normal that is.

I’ve been sleeping well but it doesn’t take much to push my stress over the edge, then my sleep suffers.

I suspect this has been a very financially stressful year for many. Inflation is now crazy. I don’t know how common it is to lose sleep over it or not though.?

Since I don’t know what normal is, I’m asking. Of course in day-to-day life men aren’t “ socially allowed” to ask this question because it’s not manly lol. So here I am online asking this.

So when I get this way it goes in cycles.

I asked similar questions to this in the anxiety formum in the past, the people over there are 100% pro- medication every day.
I don’t think I’ve ever been at that point. As you can tell, like many people here, I am very self-aware.

Note: A lot of people have financial help from others in life. When you are in it alone, the perspective is different.
Posted 9/24/2022 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
yep - stress response all out of kilter here also

i always used to be able to deal with stressful situations easily - in fact i used to do a high profile job - a troubleshooting role in business start-up and business turnaround situations - typically involving large corporate customers that were literally hopping mad and aggressive that someone had to go visit and try to repair the damage, also lots of big company internal politics that were deeply unhealthy, lots of international travel, long hours etc

none of it phased me very much - at least not to the point of affecting my sleep - its what i had done for years and i seemed well accustomed to it

these days its very different, a small altercation with a neighbour and my body is overrun with stress reactions - adrenaline through the roof, shaking etc for half an hour afterwards, then lost sleep etc
this is not normal - certainly not normal for me - but a v clear exaggerated response
i am reacting as if its life and death - when in fact is a minor frustration or insult in the larger scheme of things

i believe its primarily an issue with the amygdala - the region of the brain that is responsible for triggering the fight or flight response. this known to be an area dramatically affected by Lyme and co
Dr J who Girlie and others here see - talks extensively about that in his youtube sessions

there are some causal mechanisms that involve inflammation and excitotoxicity
the excitotoxicity is a key one because it drives more inflammation and even cell death - and that keeps the cycle running and prevents it calming down again after the initial trigger as it should.

the amygdala then triggers the hormone releases that are intended to prepare the body for fight or flight - but they are just way more extreme the the situation needs - due to the way the amygdala is reacting

my responses are getting somewhat more normal as i continue to recover - cannot not be sure what has driven this improvement - possibly the buhner herbs as many of these are anti-inflammatory in the CNS and some specific for excitotoxicity and the cascade that it causes - eg Gou Teng and Kudzu

i do not believe it is all a purely biological function though. as i have noticed that i sometimes find myself ruminating on the incident in a way that is less than healthy, in so far that it keeps these feelings running - so that's a clear example of cross talk between the mental processes causing reinforcement of the biological cycle.

can be hard to catch oneself doing this and get off the merry go round.
have seen it in others too
Posted 9/24/2022 6:35 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, when I was in full lyme mode stress would send me to the ceiling. I would get Trembling and shaky sometimes too, glad those days are gone or at least it seems like they’re gone.

Just when I think it’s all gone and becomes obvious there’s still some remaining.

I do have the ruminating also which is not good. I try my best to talk myself out of it. I always rethink the situation and how I could’ve handled it better. Fact is you can’t change something once it’s done, but I am hard on myself that way.

I don’t think I would fall for that dental scam if it was an afternoon versus in the morning when I’m not completely awake.Too bad we live in a world we constantly have to doubt others Motivs.
Posted 9/24/2022 6:42 PM (GMT 0)
yep - none of us are perfect - but some are downright despicable

i actually came to think that the rethinking how i-should-have-could-have-would-have-liked-to-have-done it - is all a part of the ruminating - and so as you say - what's done is done - i now try to find ways of writing it off and moving on as quickly as possible without more than the minimum of that needed to avoid doing the same again next week (which is generally not much)
Posted 9/24/2022 7:01 PM (GMT 0)
I’ve had a few extremely stressful jobs in the past with wacko bosses who yelled at employees. One guy ...I just had enough and I yelled back at him double the amount. He was almost shocked. And the end result - he got demoted. One other eventually got fired. (justice was served) . one other place I changed departments for sanity’s sake.

—————————

“what's done is done - i now try to find ways of writing it off and moving on as quickly as possible without more than the minimum”

I think when I have time I’ll read up on ways to ruminate ......less. Prob can’t totally eliminate it.

Post Edited (astroman) : 9/25/2022 8:35:02 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 9/24/2022 7:30 PM (GMT 0)
Normal? I have forgotten what that is.

I have weird responses to stress and can't handle it like I did before Lyme. Sometimes I'll find myself crying like a little boy, and it isn't even that big of a deal. I do believe there is autonomic dysfunction playing a role with me, and stres really makes things jump.
Posted 9/25/2022 2:37 PM (GMT 0)
I have very low stress tolerance. I had thought it may have improved - but, nope. I have been in a stressful situation for months now regarding my car that I wrecked in May. I got a dreaded phone call a week or so ago that had me unraveled. Definitely not normal, functioning adult reaction.

Mine is exacerbated by cognitive dysfunction. I truly do not comprehend correctly when I am presented with a difficult situation that is forced on me by an external source. Especially if it involves me having to make some kind of decision.

On the flip side, my cognitive dysfunction allows me to fairly easily forget what is distressing me, which can cause further problems down the road with procrastination on doing something important or forgetting altogether. If I continue forgetting, I will often be visited by stressful dreams that jolt problems back into my conscious mind to be dealt with.
Posted 9/25/2022 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
I must say I envy people who are unaffected by stress.

I slept better last night, still woke up earlier than I wanted to at 6:30, with my mind thinking and feeling warm all over , even though my room was a cool 64°.

That warmth I felt that woke me was elevated stress hormones Circulating throughout my body. So I just laid there for another hour and a half trying to turn my thinking off because I wanted to sleep in today.

And then I have more things I want to get done today than I have time for on top of the ever increasing stressed financial times were currently living in (I went grocery Shopping, got gas yesterday, and looked at my increased electricity bill). Most all can relate to the last part. Of course the latest crazy man’s regime threatening the west with nukes again isn’t very reassuring either.

Post Edited (astroman) : 9/25/2022 9:13:39 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 9/25/2022 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
WBF- I can relate to the decision part, I need to think about them. Having one suddenly forced upon me that is important and needing an immediate answer does not suit me very well.
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