It's terrifying to know how psychological stress can negatively impact one's physical well-being.
Last year, I learnt that one of my friends had to miss a few months of school due to a skin disease brought on by stress (the doctor figured it was caused by stress because the condition was uncommon) and those were difficult months for him. Apart from angry red welts - I think it was contagious - on his body, he felt tired and lethargic all the time and he hardly ventured out of his house during that entire period. I can hardly imagine how frustrated and lonely he must have felt then. It's scary how psychological stress weakened his immunity system to the extent that the uncommon viral infection was able to set in (I can't remember what his condition was but I hope I will never have to find out) - and in the process, actually worsened the state of mind he was in.
Since then, I've been careful in managing my stress levels but boy, it's really tough(!) when one is living in a pressure cooker environment and the mind is something that is immensely difficult to control. It's also my first time experiencing such (extreme) physiological effects of mental stress (haha no, pre-exams tummyaches do not count) so it got quite alarming at some point. I think my stress levels spiked midway through last semester - no thanks to
dino and post-exchange withdrawal - and the effects were frightening to say the least. There was the in-class anxiety attacks, the heart attack scare (this freaked me out big time), the inexplicable skin allergy and the constant
la du zi-ing (gosh, and on a daily basis! This was the most serious symptom and lasted the longest as well..), Suffice to say, it was a horrible experience. Both the mind
and body were suffering.. T.T
Now, I try
even harder not to let stress get to me but.. it's challenging (just what is university life doing to meeeee?!). Just last night, I experienced numbness in my right arm (it lasted till today and contributed to the ugliest handwriting ever in my morning exam - the writing was so hideous, I didn't even know I was capable of it) and this afternoon, the numbness spread to my left arm. To not know what exactly is going on with one's body - the fear of the unknown? That fear is crippling. Oh, and something real coincidental and funny - my horoscope reading for the week actually predicted that I might be pushing myself too hard lately, impacting my health and work and suggested that I should shed a couple of commitments! This was even before the stress symptoms (think 'pukey' sensations and stomach discomfort) started this week so yeah, 太准了! Haha I think I may have been too hard on myself lately and/or that my self-expectations are too high but we'll see what I can do about that.
Learning point:
It's really important to be both mentally and physically healthy. Don't ignore the SOS calls from your body and give yourself a break whenever you think you need it. It's not worth screwing up your health just for grades and a better (short-term) future. Life is long, we only have one body. In other words.... I think it's time for me to sleep now and leave the project for tomorrow morning hahaha :P
Hopefully, I will be able to squeeze in some Sheldon-time tomorrow! ^^
(Pssst, I'm really in love with
The Big Bang Theory series now but more on that another time!)
Goodnight!
Note to self:
Post on Christmas surprise still in the works
Post on Taiwan trip still in the works
Challenge: To finish all the draft posts!
