Stress is one of the biggest problems in today’s world. Of course, we all have to deal with stressful situations at various times in our lives, but continuous stress can impact hugely on our health, as I found out to my cost in 2010.
BACKGROUND
I taught English very happily for 34 years and even though teaching has become more stressful in recent years, I rarely found the classroom stressful.
Yes, preparation and corrections were always time-consuming and I always put myself under pressure to get corrected work back to the pupils as soon as possible. But I loved the actual time in the classroom.
But I took on an extra role of Academic Head and the stress of that eventually made me very ill. I was a perfectionist in my work life and when I had the dual roles, I often worked 12-hour days. I left the house at 6.40 every morning and was home about 7.30pm most days. One day a week I did not get home until 11.00pm.
ILLNESS
Within a few years in my new role, I had reached rock bottom. Though I fell into bed exhausted, I found myself pacing the floor at 2.00am with heart palpitations. Bursting into tears or just crying silently for hours became the norm when I got home from school.
When sores appeared on my thighs and I lost feeling in my legs between my ankles and knees, I headed to the doctor, though I continued to go to school. Blood tests indicated a very low white blood cell count and low neutrophils. My doctor sent me to various consultants. Eventually, I collapsed and could not get out of bed.
COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES
While waiting for a lumbar puncture (which I never had), I went to Lisa Cassidy, an acupuncturist/complementary practitioner, and cried my way through my appointment.
Lisa told me I had adrenal fatigue, that I was literally running on empty and my lymphatic system was not working properly. She sent me to Andrew Smith at ‘The Willows Clinic’, who used The Perrin Technique (for people with ME) to help me recover.
I also went to Roisin O’Kelly, naturopath at ‘Breath of Life’, who made me a herbal tonic and immune booster, to aid my recovery.
Following weeks of lymphatic drainage massage, acupuncture and cupping (all part of Lisa’s treatment), the feeling started to return to my legs and I began to feel a little better. Slowly, I started to recover.
LEGACY
Even though I gave up that administrative role and returned to purely teaching, I found the exhaustion was never far away. I needed lots of sleep and rest and frequently went to bed when I got home from school to unwind. It was one of the reasons I took early retirement. I was fortunate in that I realised that the job was literally killing me.
My white blood cell count still remains very low.
Even though I’m retired, I still have bouts of utter exhaustion. I recognise the signs now and seek help before I reach the lows of 2010.
WHAT I LEARNED
- There is no such person as SUPERWOMAN.
- I was trying to be all things to all people.
- Don’t be a ‘PEOPLE PLEASER’.
- Seek help early.
- Say NO.
SOME SIGNS OF EXTREME STRESS
1 Disturbed sleep
2 Being over-emotional e.g. crying for no reason
3 Physical signs e.g. headaches/ low energy/ rapid heartbeat
4 Feeling overwhelmed/ depressed
5 Rashes or skin problems
SELF-CARE
My doctor wanted to put me on anti-depressants, but I knew that I did not need them. Conventional medicine did not help me and I was fortunate that I found both the right people and the right treatments in complementary medicine that did.
It has taken me four years of writing the blog before I felt ready to share this. I have been feeling below par recently again and while I am nowhere nearly as bad as before, I have been very tired and realise that I need to take stock and practise SELF-CARE.
So while I was at a lovely lunch (courtesy of Longines) at last Thursday’s Dublin Horse Show (see photo above) I came home early (missing another function) and went to bed. Yes, I am getting sensible in my middle age!
Thanks for reading. I hope sharing my story might help other others to recognise if they are heading down that road and to look for answers from complementary as well as conventional medicine.
Hilda
Oh I’m so sorry you had to go through that. It’s awful, I know. I lived on stress hormones for years until I couldn’t go on anymore. I’m so glad that you learned to stop on time now.
You have a lot to contend with Nancy. You take care too. x
Hilda, at least you have learned to STOP! My issue with this is thyroid related and I call it ‘flat-batteried’. I start to feel exhausted, slow up and know it’s time for a few days doing precious little. Lots of sleep and a good book and daytime rubbish on the telly until my energy levels right themselves with the pills again. No one thanks you for overdoing things for them! Look after yourself, as that ad says, ‘because you’re worth it’!
Jackie I would imagine you are pulled in many directions in your busy life. Take care x
Remember the ‘work life balance’ wall!
Yes..but deed not heed it then… x
Thank you so much for sharing this post! Self care is SO important!
https://colorandgrace.com
Thanks Grace. I know you have been through a lot of stress in recent years and it is great to see you doing so well.
It’s great when you recognize now, when you need to relax, slow down and practice self care. My husband and I retired early and now travel as a lifestyle. We’ve never had any regrets. Middle age must help us all recognize what’s important in life. Thanks for sharing, Hilda.
Thanks for commenting Christina. So glad that you and your husband are enjoying life.
It sounds very scary and debilitating Hilda. I recently had a few months where I felt very stressed, for the first time in my career, because I was in a relatively new job and some of the people I was working with didn’t seem to value my contributions. I was having trouble sleeping, heart racing, over eating through stress. Fortunately I managed to get some changes at work and feel a lot better now. It’s good advice to take care of ourselves. So glad you came over to link up at #WowOnWednesday!
I am glad you got some changes.. your symptoms were classic. I always forget to do the link ups. I need to be more organised. Also going to copy your idea of putting up the bloggers with whom I link up. My blogging etiquette is poor. I just have to work out how to do it…. xxx
Such a great post, Hilda! I am sorry you had to go thru this, but totally love that your healing involved complementary and alternative medicine. I am a total believer in it as it addresses the cause, not symptoms. Doctors are so quick to prescribe pills, which don’t take care of the cause and have a host of other side effects. My husband had a similar experience as yours several years ago; alternative medicine healed him when traditional medicine did not. And take care of yourself – rest is so important.
Thanks Tina.. I am glad your hubby good too. Yes I go to Lisa every 4 to 6 weeks now for massage and acupuncture. She had been in hospital and I had not seen her for 3 months and I reckon she would have picked up the signs.. she always knows when I am below par.. before I do….
Thanks so much for being brave enough to share and to guide the rest of us!
Thanks so much Shannon appreciate you commenting x
Wow, what a story you have! Thanks for sharing. You’re right. There’s no such thing as “Super Woman.” That’s a purely fictional character. And it IS okay to say “No.” That’s a perfectly valid response. Incidentally, I LOVE English teachers. They were always my favorites. 🙂
Thanks Kristine.. xx
Thanks for sharing Hilda and being brave..I wish I could be more raw on my blog..I just have a hard time getting to that place. Anyway too am in the teaching profession. I quit my job last Dec as a reading teacher/tutor after 18 years…it was a very toxicl and stressful atmosphere. I still need to work but taking a very needed break…
Glad you got relief and you are able to rest now…xo
Take care!
Valerie ( The Other Hilda)
Hilda this is one of your best blogs and so honest. You are such an outgoing person, a real people person, that I find it hard to believe that you have been going through this. It seems that you know now how to manage this and thankfully you didn’t resort to medication. Mind yourself Hilda and thanks for sharing.xx
Michelle thank you. I recognise the signs now and get help. xxx
Hilda,
Stress causes depression, heart attaches and so many other illnesses that I’m so sorry that you had to go through with it but happy you now recognize your health is more important than keeping up with a career.
I am happy you decided on a more holistic approach to your health than taking ant depressants.
We are not SUPER WOMEN, but we need to have the courage to ask for help when we can’t do everything.
When we make it look easy people tend to forget the hard word behind it.
Hugs my sweet friend,
Robin
Thank you Robin. It took me a while to admit I was not Superwoman!
An amazing story and even more courageous that you put it to paper. To me it shows how important it is to look for the cause rather than take the symptoms away. Good on you that you said no to anti- depressants. Keep on making time for self care and listen to your gut feeling😍
Thanks Marijke. It took a while to get the courage to do it xx
I said I would come over to read. It seems we’ve both been sharing important stories this week,Hilda.
Like you I’ve learned to recognise the signs of when I need to retreat for a little while.
It surrounds horrendous what you went through with your symptoms. A good friend of mine, since school, is a head teacher. She loves her job but is always ill.
It’s good that we share our stories. Helping others helps us. Sharon xo
Thanks Sharon. Yes we need to take stock and look after our health. Do what we can to keep well. Thanks for commenting. x
Thank you Hilda for being so candid, one never knows what another is going through and you are always in such great form, well done to you. Wishing you the best health from now on, Alacoque
Ah Alacoque you are so kind. I really appreciate your comment xxx