Is it anxiety or just stress?

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Forensicmom

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How do you know if it's anxiety or just stress?

I've always been hyper and feel like I've got to keep moving. I'm 38 and have 4 kiRAB (ages 4, 7, 10, & 14) that keep me very active. I'm in great shape and feel good except for LOTS of nausea and stomachaches. My dr's immediately said it was stress 2 years ago. After I joined the gym to relieve stress I felt good but my stomach issues got worse. They eventually found that my gallbladder wasn't working. It was removed 1 1/2 years ago and I did great for about a year. Now the last 6 months or so I've had LOTS of problems again. They gave me meRAB for acid reflux and none (I think it was about 8-9 I tried) did anything to help. They gave me anti-spasm meRAB that only gave me diarreah. The anti nausea meRAB didn't do anything either.

So the dr's are starting to think that it's from stress or IBS. I don't have anything specific that I stress out about, other then running my house and taking care of my family. I've been a Stay At Home Mom for 10 years now and love it. My old job was a CSI, which was very stressful. I also get some "me" time when my youngest is in preschool or after they go to bed at night so it's not like I never get a break.

My dr said that even though I might not have "bad" stress, "good" stress can still do a nuraber on your body. How do you know if it's just stress or anxiety?

How do you handle the good stress without medication?
 
Stress or anxiety can both do a nuraber on your body. Neither are good. There is no such thing as constant "good stress" if it wears on you.

Talk with your doctor about a therapist who can give you tools to better manage your stress or anxiety. Mine was fantastic. Tools to put in my toolbox to deal with things as they came up. It's important to talk with your doctor about what kind of therapist you want. I didn't want one to examine my past or the touchy feely stuff. I wanted concrete things to manage my day to day life. Found the perfect one for me.

I went from not being able to leave the house my anxiety attacks were so crushing to back to work in 6 weeks. Therapists are wonderful when you find the one that is best suited to what you need :)
 
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