Wednesday, May 2, 2012

8 Indicators I Have Allowed Stress to Body Snatch Me

Life tends to get a little crazy this time of year. End of school activities, recitals, conferences, coaching soccer, teacher appreciation…you name it. (And that’s not even to mention what’s going on with my writing career.) Though, stress can sneak up on me at any time. And when it does there are usually a handful of indicators that it’s trying to body snatch me right out of my skin.

They are:
While I’m coaching a soccer game my “Go to the ball” encouragement quickly turns to “At least move your two feet an inch, one teeny tiny inch, will ya?” (I jest, but only a little.)

I forget the pill. Yes, that pill. And there’s to be no forgetting that pill around here. We’re all out of babies.
I pick fights with weeds. Yeah, it’s been done. I’ve yanked, tugged, and then yelled at a particularly stubborn one in my time. So proud.

I start a lot of sentences…
Things constantly end up where they don’t belong. I find pens in the fridge. I leave my keys everywhere other than where they’re supposed to be. It’s like an ongoing game of Hide-N-Seek with myself. It was also very freaky reading Still Alice when this kind of stress kicked it.

I toss and turn in my bed to the point where I convince myself I have restless leg syndrome. To the point where I wrestle long enough and flip floppy enough I throw my hands in the air and retreat downstairs for a bowl of Raisin Bran…which brings me to my next indicator…
I stress eat.

Finally, I know I’m at risk of being body snatched by stress when my response to “What’s for dinner?” is “Woo hoo, we’re having eggs and cereal for the 3rd night in a row!”

What are your clues that stress is attempting to snatch your body?

*photo by stock.XCHNG

17 comments:

  1. Ha! Wendy, I was LOL-ing over here. Love the stress-eating of Raisin Bran example (hey, at least it's healthy!). And I think most writers can relate to the breakfast-for-supper theme, 3 nights in a row! Hee.

    I'm praying for you in this stressful time! Don't know what's going on in your writing career, but if it's anything like mine, the ups and downs precipitate major up and down mood swings. Not to mention the WAITING seasons....

    Here's wishing you a very low-stress day, Wendy!

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  2. Ha! I'm with you on the stress eating. Hello, extra 15 pounds. NOT NICE TO SEE YOU!

    And I've found the phone alarm has kept me from potential pregnancy many a time. Otherwise, the thought to take my pill would have just flown out of my brain completely.

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  3. Hehe, this made me giggle. Oh yes, stress eating. I can end up stress sleeping too. Or stress-not-sleeping. :)

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  4. I'm with Heather - this is hilarious! And so you! I find pens in really weird places too!

    Stress....I usually have this very bewildered look on my face. And I eat frozen chocolate chips like they're going out of style

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  5. Oh, Wendy. I'm right there with you. I know I'm stressed when my husband gets annoyed at me for zoning out and not hearing anything he says. Usually it's the other way around. :)

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  6. LOL! This is a great list. Crankiness, being tired and feeling like my body/mind is on high-alert are all indicators of stress for me.

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  7. Totally relate and found myself chuckling because I tend to do the same things!

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  8. Sleepless - when I'm stressed, I have a hard time sleeping. Sometimes I must break out the Tylenol PM.

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  9. This is too funny and something I can relate to! My biggest stress indicator is using the wrong words and forgetting the simplest words. Instead of telling my daughter to go get the broom and dust pan I will either: a) tell her to get the sink or couch, or b) totally forget the name for the broom and/or dust pan. It's frustrating!

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  10. I never thought about stress as a body snatcher, but I think you're on to something! It's definitely lack of sleep for me. I get home and do the daily chores and odds 'n ends, so by the time I sit down to get some serious writing done, it may be 9pm. But then I'm wide awake and feel like I could crank out great work for 5 hours straight. Not every night, but more often than I'd like.

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  11. I can totally relate to this post! I really like the style with which you write.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  12. First things first, Blogger, if you don't stop eating comments and acting wonky I'm going to put you on my soccer team & make you run windsprints!

    Ah, now that that's out of the way...

    Heather, I have a little addiction to Raisin Bran. Pretty sure I could polish off 3-5 bowls daily if I had no worries about what it might do to my bathroom habits. ;) And all is well in writing and more. Yes, it can get crazy but no crazier than me. :D

    Lindsay, So scary when I let that one slip. Oh, and the weight thing, I just make sure to kick in in high gear during my workouts. For years I refused to own a scale b/c #s tend to play with my head. I go the other way too...too nervous to eat.

    Melissa, Hence the Raisin Bran. Gives me something to do.

    Katie, I have that permanently fixed on my face. Hmm, wonder what odd places you put your pens.

    Julie, Yep, tuning out. Good times. If any sport is on whatsover there's no hope for me being heard.

    Stacy, Oh yes, cranky, that's another one. And snappy. And short-tempered. Yikes. I'm scaring myself.

    TC, Good to know I'm not alone.

    Jessica, I feel for you. I've heard these can be brutal. My critique partner gets them and I just want to run warm water on a washcloth and run it across her forehead. Same for you.

    Loree, I'm odd with medicine. I probably should be on a lot more than I am. Guess I'm a fan of natural remedies, but still haven't figured out what they are.

    Gabrielle, My MIL does this and she passed this all too funny trait onto her son. I love it when it happens.

    Donna, This happened to me last week. I stress wrote. I try to be proactive as possible and try to counteract the impact of stress on my life. But sometimes it just has its way with me.

    Gina, Thanks. Kind thing to communicate!

    Okay folks, had a killer run today and it completely helped my stress level. Why do I forget how much exercise turns it all around for me?! Getting ready to head out for Java Mamas (church moms group). So glad we are all stress cases together! Ha! At least we recognize the symptoms. Knowing is the first battle. Then running. My motto. Know then run.
    ~ Wendy

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  13. Oooh, I do a lot of those too. My number one indication might be when the kids have tantrums and I'm the one who runs to my room and slams the door. Wish I could follow that by saying just kidding...but I can't!

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  14. My memory gets foggy. I tend to forget or misplace things. Stress hits me in the breadbasket and I get sick. I have to work at trying to keep my stress level down. But I don't have any small children, just a husband at home.

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  15. You totally crack me up. I needed a good laugh tonight. I thought I was the only one with these stress habits.

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  16. LOL! I guess I'm stressed. I started to put a dirty glass in the refrigerator instead of the dishwasher. At least I caught myself doing it!

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