HINDSIGHTS

I have had a few clues in the past that I was overstressed and at that time I never made the connection between stress and a bipolar connection. For one, I had serious migraine headaches for quite some time. Throbbing headaches where I would have to go to bed and have no lights on at all. Headaches that would cause nausea. Severe headaches where I would pray that the medication would take effect NOW.

I had nausea off and on for quite some time (and I wasn’t pregnant) and anything I attempted to do just left me totally sick to my stomach. I remember one time when we decided to clean the carpet at home. My head was spinning and I basically kept leaning over a bucket to be prepared when it was time to “upchuck”. I felt miserable and I think it was a sign of being overstressed. My body was telling me to get some sleep.

Prolonged sleep—for one to two weeks—was a sign that I was overstressed and was having trouble coping. During that time I had to follow through with getting kids registered at school, trying to get a truckload of boxes unpacked, getting used to a new area where I knew no one, and still trying to keep ahead of things. It was especially true of our move to AR. Non-stop stress from January (when the move became a reality) to July (when we moved) and all the way through Christmas (when the school closed for vacation and the holiday rush was over.