Can’t Feel Pretty If You’re Stressed Out! (Who am I?) Part Two

My name is Kelley and I live with the misunderstood disability, “photophobia,” and recently wrote a book about it, “My Curly Hair Self: Living with a Visual Processing Disorder,” and by having this disability I’ve endured stress-related ailments, such as irritable bowel syndrome, premenstrual tension syndrome, migraines, and a poor immune system. I lived with these problems throughout my childhood and until recently, did not know these ailments were stress-related.

In fact, one of the most tragic experiences that can happen to anyone involves the loss of a relationship, and of course, I’m only human and it happened to me. Healing from a broken relationship isn’t something that can happen ove
ight. It can take a long time and for me it did!

Of course, one’s love life can certainly cause stress, but more so, worrying about our planet is much worse! It took one billion years for our Earth to develop into a living planet and…now…the threat of climate change can destroy it in the blink of an eye. For those with inquiring minds and want to know how life developed on Earth, check out this e-book:
https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Our-Earth-Mother-ebook/dp/B07YGQKNZ4

So, when I found myself in a new relationship with Mike, I had no idea it could trigger signs of stress, such as not sleeping, irritable bowel syndrome, sick with a cold, and constantly running to the bathroom. Of course, I didn’t know what was wrong with me, since I was dealing with all of these problems at the same time.

So, I called my mother spilling out my guts. I couldn’t seem to stop crying. Mother came to my rescue with some words of advice. She knew I had a wonderful Christmas being at home with family and friends. In fact, my father had paid for my flight, so I wouldn’t have to drive the distance from Kentucky to Virginia. My boyfriend, Mike, had drove from Pennsylvania to Virginia just to be with me. For the past six months, we’ve had a distance relationship one that has become quite serious.
Therefore, there was nothing for me to become stress about, because I was always under the impression that school, work, and family were the culprits for one’s stress. For me, that included, of course, my disability.

Having to live with any disability is truly a hardship, especially when one has to seek academic-related and/or job-related accommodations. Many times, I had to really speak up to obtain these accommodations which should never have been a problem in the first place, especially since I had the correct documentation. However, as one gets older, one has to handle life’s ups and downs to the best of one’s ability. As the saying goes, “when the world gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

So, on this day, shortly after Christmas and I was back in Kentucky, I had these stress-related ailments, all at once! As I let out my frustration over the phone, my mother calmly said I was dealing with stress, due to my happy time. My stress-related ailments had everything to do with spending time with my family and especially with Mike. As I spoke with my mother, it was plain to me that my stress was triggered by having this new relationship. I admitted to my mother that I really loved Mike, which I don’t think I ever did in my other relationship which ended more than five years ago. That’s right! I had not been serious about anyone since my break-up with Tom.

I was attending college at that time and Tom had been on his way out…literally kicked out. He had wanted me to drop everything, since he was having a meltdown. I was in the middle of moving into the dorms and had some friends who volunteered to help. Tom was a student at a nearby college and was making ends meet by working at a fast-food restaurant, when he found out he no longer qualified for Federal loans. He had too many withdrawals and had simply run out of time to complete college. Unfortunately, I was not able to drop what I was doing to drive twenty miles to come to his aid and he really didn’t want to hear that! So, we broke up!

More to come…

Disclaimer: I am an avid reader with a craving for learning about life itself, especially when conce
s health, happiness, outer and inner beauty. I am not a medical professional. I am just someone having a need to share what I’ve learned and discovered.