Alexis Senge JohnsonI’ve noticed that talking about stress and anxiety seems to be taboo for some reason. Instead of discussing what you might be experiencing, people are encouraged to pump their body full of chemicals until the feeling goes away. I’m not okay with this and I’ll tell you why. This way of thinking isn’t actually getting to the root of the problem. Instead of solving the problem by finding the cause and fixing what is starting the whole cycle, doctors are just masking the symptom.
If food in my refrigerator is going bad the day after I bought it and all I do is keep throwing it out and buying more then I’m not actually solving the problem. (Plus I would be wasting a lot of money!) I’m just dealing with the situation at hand at the moment. Maybe my refrigerator is actually broken and not properly cooling the items I’ve purchased. Maybe the grocery store I’ve made my purchases at is not a trustable location and they are selling items past their actual expiration date. Who knows, but what I do know is that if I just keep throwing out food and replacing it then I’m not getting to the root of the actual problem to put a stop to the wasteful cycle. This is how I feel about those who frown upon speaking about stress and anxiety.
I’ll admit I spend a good majority of my day under stress and trying to work through anxiety. Do I think I’m clinically a nut job? No, but I do think I face a lot of the same taxing issues that everyone around me does every day. Therefore, I can’t be the only one experiencing stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, because of my Fibromyalgia, the stress and anxiety takes a toll on me physically more than it would on someone else at times. Stress and anxiety goes straight from a mental issue on to a physical one within a few hours if I let it consume me.
The last month or so has been rough in my mind and it has caused my stress level to rise and my anxiety to be almost crippling at moments. I’ve spoken in the past about how I don’t handle change well and I’m almost boringly predictable. That fact combined with making major life choices has drastically started to take a toll on me. However, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I’m breezing through each day without a care in the world.
I’m definitely not a Bridezilla, as everyone around me can attest to right now. I’m probably more laid back than most brides I know. However, until a few weeks ago I was quietly keeping everything to myself and I finally cracked under pressure. Luckily it hasn’t affected my job, but it has now affected my dress alteration situation. When I bought my dress it was a smidge loose on me and needed the top to be taken in about a half inch on each side. Now the top won’t stay up at all as it is sliding off of me after another round of losing weight occurred unexpectedly. Funny how when you’re trying to lose weight it seems impossible and then when you’re not trying it just disappears overnight.
The point of today’s rant was to point out that if I had opening my mouth and talked about the stress and anxiety I was facing earlier I might still be able to fit into my wedding dress. Talking about things like this shouldn’t be so taboo. We should be able to talk to those closest to us without someone asking if we’ve seen someone to prescribe something to get through what we’re experiencing. There was a time in this country when people had to learn to deal with things without drugs and I don’t see anything wrong with that. I know there are some cases that require medication and when it is without a doubt needed I’m in support of it, but I’m not in support of drugs just because life’s hard. We all have to find a way to deal with what comes at us each day and I think it’s time we start talking about it.
