Physical Reactions

Around a decade ago I began getting a rash on my arms, chest and neck. I went to the doctor and he said it was nothing to worry about, just something my body did. I didn’t accept that reasoning. It may be nothing to worry about but I wanted to find out why it happened. I started to notice patterns and for the 2nd time in my life I took myself off to get some counselling. After a few weeks of talking about the patterns of these rashes it seemed clear that they manifested when my body was stressed in some way. It could be for a variety of reasons but mostly seemed to occur when I was emotionally stressed or drained. I was a single mother with a toddler who was working part time and wanted a social life. I was burning the candle at both ends. I didn’t want to say no to anything for fear of missing out. So I learnt to say no. I said no when I felt it was too much. I said no when I felt like it would be a strain on me emotionally. So for a while that was ok but then it happened again. I thought to myself but I haven’t done too much. What is it this time? Again, no real answers. So again I looked to myself. What was going on? My body was screaming at me! Things around me were getting on top of me. Slowly, slowly my stress levels were rising. I was keeping things in. By not acknowledging the feelings I was having, my body couldn’t release all the things it needed to, so it expelled them in a physical way. Stress reveals itself in so many ways. Everyone is unique. That Dr was right, it was something my body just did but looking back why didn’t he refer me for counselling to look at the reasons why? The human body is so clever. It tells us things all the time but I wonder how often we listen?

When I’ve discussed this with people it’s amazing how many say oh I get this when I’m run down or I know I’m over doing it when I get…

So it led me to wonder, what warning signs do we get? Why aren’t we noticing them? How can we avoid this?

Interestingly whilst writing my first blog I had the onset of one of these flair ups. I went to bed reasonably early and when I woke up I fully expected to be red all over. Surprisingly, the rash never manifested. It went away. That was the first time it had ever happened. It was a triumph for me and I truly believe it wasnt a coincidence that I got my feelings down that night. I opened a doorway for the stress to let itself out. I acknowledged my feelings and I listened to my body. I often think back to that time in therapy and feel grateful that I took the opportunity to self-reflect. It was a positive therapy experience and one I definitely attribute to my decision to become a counsellor.

My question to you is – how does your body communicate stress to you and either how do you manage it or how would you like to manage it?