What are the long-term effects of stress and fear?

[Deja Q]

I've noticed myself stammering much more frequently.

I'm having trouble typing; I'm missing keys and having to arrow over to re-type the missing ones.

My mind is starting to wander even more. I've had a couple of close calls when driving and I now avoid routes which I've already deemed as being dangerous as my dcreased ability to concentrate could lead to bad trouble.

I nearly had a nervous breakdown at work and as a result and now am taking zoloft.

I've used the stress to my advantage at work (which is odd as most of the stress is caused by my work); but the situation there will give me a meltdown depending on the outcome (I can't say, not now...)

Can long-term stress and fear induce physical ailments in the brain?

A co-worker thinks I may have MS. Many of the symptoms are there, she thinks. (I don't think it's MS, though I see her point...)

Thanks./


(edit: corrected grammar in subject line)

[Mara Steele]

1. What's going on, Hypno?

I was going to say PTSD, but that comes usually after experiencing a particular trauma such as rape, assault, or combat...

Hope you're okay. :hug:

[Deja Q]

6. Thanks.

Nothing like what you'd said. Well, nothing like that in years but that's not important...

Some of it is just fear, but I'll know how certain it is in a month or so. I will act if things turn out for the worse...

[Mara Steele]

19. I think I know what you are referring to

And I can understand your anxiety completely, god, that must be awful...

Hang in there... :hug:

[phaseolus]

2. get thee to the gym...

A good, hard workout several times a week will help mitigate the bad effects of stress and fear - physically, mentally, emotionally. The normal squirt of endorphins that a workout gives you turns into a real high if you've had a crappy day or you're upset. "Nature's Speedball", I guess...

But long term -- you need to remove the stressors if it's possible. If it's job related, start working on your resume now & be ready to move the second hiring starts to pick up. Bad relationship? Dump the evil bastard....

I hope things start looking up for you soon...

[Deja Q]

5. I will admit that

I'd been getting lax in my exercising.

Since late June I had been exercising 20-30 minutes each day.

The last couple of weeks have been once or twice per week, 25 minutes each time.

(my weight loss has also slowed considerably so I will get back on it. I've 20 pounds to go...)

[jukes]

3. stress & fear

drain needed hormones; flight/fight response.

work stress may be compounded by government panic mongering.

working a heavybag or other exhausting physical exercise can help.

"san chin" breathing helps enormously: inhale *slowly* through your nose, *slowly* exhale through your mouth. CONCENTRATE on slow, relaxed, full-lung breathing. moderate the tempo or you can hyper-ventilate.

[TroubleMan]

4. It hurts your immune system...you get sick more often

nt.

[Jackpine Radical]

7. I was going to give you a long, technical clinical answer

about epinephrine/nor epinephrine, cortisol, etc. until I got in here & saw it's a question about your own condition. I'll shorten it up some. To some extent the effects of stress are pretty individual. Irritability, decreased mental acuity, & eventually depression are among the psychological effects. Depressed immune function, tension headaches, gastrointestinal complaints, etc. & eventually cardiovascular disease are among the physical possibilities.

What to do? I usually treat anxiety/stress in several ways. First, learn various kinds of relaxation. Diaphragmattic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, hypnosis--whatever works for you. I like to use various kinds of biofeedback with my patients. You can buy a cheap biofeedback thermometer on eBay for $20 that is surprisingly effective (temp is the most underrated form of biofeedback). I have had excellent luck also with alpha-theta EEG biofeedback. Long-term, meditation is an excellent thing to do. For a simplified instruction set, see Herbert Benson's old (1975?) book The Relaxation Response.

Next start figuring out what you have to do to place yourself into less stressful circumstances if possible.

Try to avoid medeications, especdially the benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, etc.), which are habit-forming & should only be used short-term. If you must use a med, try something like Inderal, a beta blocker, which is not habit forming.

PM me if you want to extend this discussion.

[TroubleMan]

8. Does weed work?

nt.

[KT2000]

13. Inderal??

I know that most people can tolerate Inderal but some can not. One must watch for worsened emotional problems - depression, disorientation and hallucinations in the ill and elderly.

Doctors tend to downplay negative effects from drugs and as a result are not vigilant enough. Years ago I was put on Inderal and reported difficulty with memory and a creeping depression. The doctor grilled me for sources of stress and increased the dose!!
Needless to say it took a long time to get over that fiasco.

An elderly, mentally sharp friend was put on Inderal - it did not take long before she was lost in a haze of hallucinations, and she has never fully recovered.

Anyway - this is a drug that is great for some and disastrous for others.

[Jackpine Radical]

20. All drugs have the potential to be really bad for some people.

Inderal is usually prescribed as a blood pressure med, but also can be effective in reducing anxiety. Unlike many beta-blockers, it crosses the blood/brain barrier fairly readily.

Anyway, my initial point was that you should avoid meds if possible, and I wanted to discourage the use of benzos in particular because they are so habit-forming. Unfortunately, family practitioners hand them out like candy.

[politicat]

9. Toad, I can't diagnose because you're not here, but get thee to a

physician.

Those are typical symptoms of a broad range of disorders - from PTSD (which, contrary to other post, can be non-specific) to an anxiety disorder to a neurological disorder.

While a good workout three times a week or more will mitigate some of these symptoms, using exercise as the end all and be all if you have an underlying disorder will only harm you in the long run. (It's neglecting the cavity till you have an abscess...)

Were you my client, I'd be ordering a full physical workup, blood work, and a sleep clinic (because lack of attention is often a symptom of lack of sleep, and stress causes sleeplessness....) You're not, so all I can do is advise you to go see your physician and get referred to a psychologist/psychiatrist (your GP should not be prescribing psychoactives.) Since this is recent onset, you should probably see a neurologist, as well.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Pcat (who really is a psychologist in her day-time life....)

[Deja Q]

11. Thank you for the advice

I will have to find another GP as I'm not happy with any of them. (that's been a nightmare since the one I had seen quit over a year ago... I try to get referrals without needing the GP's permission... which is odd as HealthPartners claims one doesn't need a referral... :crazy: )

[politicat]

15. PM me with your location

and other preferences, and I'll see if I know anyone in the field in the area.

I graduated from an absolutely massive school and the psych and medical schools had a lot of interaction.

Pcat

[politicat]

16. duh....

Did these symptoms emerge before or after Zoloft?

You may be on the wrong scrip for you. These things happen, too.

Pcat

[Deja Q]

17. Before...

There is definitely a socal anxiety issue, I can't deny that.

Given my childhood, I'm hardly surprised that I've managed to interface with other people as pitifully workable as I have done... You'd think I would have otherwise ended up as aCEO or other type of person I hate; to screw people as revenge for what they did to me...

But some of it may be physical as well. I know I've neck and shoulder problems due to lots of computer work and I do feel an unusual pain in my fingers at times (a throbbing sort), though I can't say it's constant nor is it related to missing keys on the keyboard (I'm not typing hard enough on the key and with the amount of keyboards I work with, I know it's not at the one I'm at gone bust...)

Zoloft has only caused one side-effect. I'll be coy and say it like this: I like to joke that the one thing it's going to help me with is the one thing I won't be able to do while I'm on it. :D

[Mara Steele]

18. Did make sure to say "usually"

re: the post traumatic stress being specific...

I am curious however, about the kinds of cases in which it is actually non-specific...

Thanks :)

M. (just a student in her day-time life)

[Jackpine Radical]

21. Early, chronic abuse

of nearly any variety--physical, emotional, sexual--combined with attachment difficulties will often generate a bunch of symptoms ranging from dissociation to exaggerated startle, flashbacks, dreams, intrusive memories, extreme emotional lability (often misdiagnosed as bipolar d/o), etc. There is talk of creating a new category, "Disorders of Extreme Stress, Not Otherwise Specified" (DESNOS) in the next edition of the DSM.

[Mara Steele]

23. Thanks!

I'll look for more on the topic.

[Syncronaut Seven]

10. Dude, That's me!

To a "T". Yes stress plays a big part. I also suffer from PTSD due to an assault a few years ago (I'm getting better).

Even though I suffer from wicked depressions at times I had to kick the SSRI's They were only making me worse due to the underlying knowledge that things WEREN'T all right, the SSRI's just masked the symptoms for a while then just stopped working.

[Union Thug]

12. Sounds like the effects of stress, alright.

I can empathize. I try to leave it all at work. It's hard, I know.. but it's better than taking zoloft. I can recommend something far better for stress than zoloft, but I would probably be breaking some law or another. Nature has her gifts, let me just say that much. =)

[amazona]

14. You know what? You're going to be fine

I wouldn't jump the gun and assume that you will have any long term effects from your stress. Your short term effects sound very normal to me. I had a few weird experiences last summer when a tree crushed my house, with me and my partner in it, everything from tics like a twitching eye to a strange out-of-body experience. And you know what? I'm fine. I'm OK. It's perfectly natural to be a little jumpy when "stuff" happens. There is nothing wrong with checking with your M.D. to verify that you don't have any undiagnosed illness, but I honestly believe we freak outselves out too much when we experience perfectly normal reactions to outrageous stresses.

Keep in mind that we're all pulling for you. I've stammered at weird times, nearly crashed my car, and had my mind wander too, and it's perfectly normal. So don't panic yourself. You've got a lot of folks sending good thoughts your way and chances are excellent that you'll ride out your current issues and look back and laugh.

[Droopy]

22. Anxiety can be a debilitating illness

When I was in college I knew this one guy who would not go back to a class after having an anxiety attack in it. It was such a horrifying experience that he took an F instead of trying to work through it. And with anxiety, like many other mental illnesses, it can be impossible to nail down the root cause. People who suffer from anxiety can be anxious for no discernable reason. This isn't just the garden variety anxiety that we all feel from time to time. One person I knew who was having anxiety attacks said when they come on it feels like you're literally going to die.

Hypnotoad's problem seems to be with anxiety. He's admitted to having social anxiety. The condition can be made worse with stress. I don't think this is something that is going to just pass like stressfull and anxious moments pass in your average, healthy person. I think it's a serious condition that needs to be treated.

[samplegirl]

24. Try Vitiamins

Im a nervous wreck most of the time so i can relate.
There are alot of good vitiamins that truly do help with
stress. Vitimin B Complex, Kava Kava, and Inostol all have
a caliming effect.
Its worth a try