What is STRESS? Everybody experiences stress, with or without a chronic illness such as Fibromyalgia. Stress is the bodies natural response to pressure, emotional changes, tension, and physical changes. Hey a certain amount of stress is a good thing, as it helps make life more interesting, and challenges us to grow!
However, too much stress, can be bad to very bad for you, both mentally and physically, it can also bring on other physical and mental medical conditions. Especially with having a chronic illness! With extended or prolonged unrelieved stress, and high stress times, can lead to serious illness as well as accidental injury. For the sake of your health, both physically as well as mentally, your safety, and general well being and happiness, it is vital to recognize and manage stress before it gets the best of you.
Now, in talking about Stress, I want you to know what my month has been like. For 3 weeks we struggled with flattening the area for the pool, and when we finally got to the last weekend and were able to set up the pool it was a wonderful cooling event.
But physically my wife and I had stressed ourselves out and knew we needed recovery time. So Monday rolls around and my wife goes to work, will get to soak in the pool that night, and I was going to shock it the next day.
So goes the best laid plans of mice and men. Around 11:15 p.m. I hear a buzzing noise while I’m sleeping. I realized it was my wife’s phone going off, and decided to ignore it because no one in their right mind would call that late. Around 11:25 her phone buzzed again, so I got up to take a look at it, and realized it was my mother-in-law.
NOTE: Shortened Video Version from my wife and I…
PS: Please help us if you can, Click anywhere on this link to goto our “Give Forward” page. Our Father, Renwood (Ren) C Flagg – May 6th, 1938 – June 14th (Flag Day) 2016, spent his last 3 month plus in the hospital and various clinics. We are sad at his passing. Fortunately he left Janice, his wife, with enough funds to pay for his cremation and services, with a little (approx 2 months living expenses) left over. So we are asking for your help in gathering funds for mom, to help pay these medical bills, currently estimated at \$40K or more, as we are still trying to figure it all out. Ren is survived by his Wife, Janice Marie Flagg. His two children, Stephen L (Debbbie) Flagg, and Stephanie R (Norman) Flagg Hanley.
Well wouldn’t you know after two-and-a-half months in the hospital and various rehab units dad was back in the hospital under intensive care. So my wife and I are up and on our feet and we find out approximately 10:30 in the morning, with no further sleep that dad had passed away. So with a mad scramble to book airline tickets, rental car, etc… It was a very long day for we were flying out that afternoon from Phoenix which is a two-hour drive from Tucson. When we get to the airport we find our flight is on A 2 hour delay so instead of leaving at 6:30 p.m. we left at 8:30 p.m. now this is all PST. We arrived in Michigan at 3:30 a.m. EST and still had to get the rental car and drive to Jackson. We got into our friends house at 5:30 in the morning and immediately went to bed for the first sleep in 24 plus hours.
4 hours later we were up taking Mom to the funeral home and the church to start making arrangements. Talk about being on the Run. Tuesday night we were exhausted. Now throughout the rest of the week if you’ve ever dealt with putting together a memorial and cremation, all in the space of four days then you know the stress we were going through. Its like putting together a large family wedding, but without the happiness!
So after 10 days in Michigan we finally fly home come up to a house that needs cleaning but it’s late 
enough at night we just went to bed. The next day we spent picking up the puppies cleaning the house and doing laundry. You know the Basic Essentials.
The day after that my wife was trying to go to work, but all the emotions finally hit and she had to take another couple days off to recover. Now I have heard it said that stress is a lack of rest, and I can definitely agree with this. My wife and I we both have fibromyalgia, somehow I made it through this week with minimal flares and good energy. You know the whole adrenal Rush, but we knew that payment was coming due.
So, see the above video for some ideas on how we deal with our stress, or click here for a sneak peak of next weeks article, 20 Ways to Manage Stress!
