Pandemic and More

These last 18 plus months have been difficult for us. In addition to life's everyday obstacles, we have been personally walking through the greatest mass trauma event in some of our lifetimes. Our brains have a way of compartmentalizing things that are very difficult to deal with. It is something that happens on a subconscious level in order to help us deal with trauma. It has been studied widely in different forms of abuse and other traumatic, significant and potentially harmful events. Your brain puts aside or locks away events to prevent harm, for you to continue to function. Throughout our lives and especially in the last year plus, we have been all going through more stressful times. We have lost loved ones, had to deal with the stress of the unknown and had to consider conflicting views in order to come to the best decision to save our lives. We have been more stressed on our jobs and have had to deal with loss on so many different levels. Because we continue to get up in the morning and function, we think we are doing ok. We are not doing ok, even our children are stressed. Stress has a way of affecting our bodies in ways we don't even realize. For multiple reasons, August was a ROUGH month for me, especially at work. I kept pushing through without even realizing it until I realized that within 2 weeks my blood pressure had gone from normal to high. My husband kept having headaches so being the good nurse and wife that I am, I said, You know what, let's make sure that your blood pressure is ok. It was a new machine and because I just knew that my pressure was normal, I decided to check mine first to make sure that the machine was working properly. To my surprise, mine was high!!! His blood pressure was ok. I started to think about the last two weeks from when I went to the doctor and realized that the stress had ramped up to a whole new level and my body was reacting to it. I have a medical condition that when my stress level goes up, my cortisol level goes up and my blood pressure goes up. I had to get it down. I was supposed to go out of town the next week to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday but because of the pandemic, the party was cancelled. God made a way for me to have 4 days off where I could recharge and renew. I added yoga to my regular exercise routine and it made a difference. I also tried to be very mindful of the stress I was adding to my life. Some days I start out with a list of things that I want to do. On the days that things are not going order to plan, I have to cross some things off my list. Some days it becomes minimum necessary for survival. Stress is SO detrimental to our bodies. It affects our blood pressure, our ability to eat healthy, our sleep cycle, our ability to think straight, our hormones, our sex life, the list goes on and on. Sometimes just thinking about the stress that we are under creates more stress! First of all, we have to admit that we have had more stress and anxiety added to our lives and it is affecting us. If you have been just going from moment to moment, day to day and wondering why you are more tired, not sleeping well, putting on weight, think about your stress level. Think about the things that you can do to decrease your stress. Talk to a friend, seek counseling if you need to. Sometimes choose to do the minimum necessary. You are not alone. Your health and happiness depend on you making the best choices for you.