FEAR THE REEP

[cleolinda]

Not feeling so good--haven't felt good since Wednesday or Thursday, actually, which makes me think it might be part of the hypomanic episode. But it's starting to wear on my nerves.

Comments

[particle_person]

The butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling is caused by your fight-flight response. There are drugs that can control it. I have trouble with stage fright, and I also have high blood pressure, so I'm on beta blockers which treat both problems at once. (The specific drug is Toprol.) You probably DON'T want to take beta blockers because one possible side effect is depression, but the fight-flight thing does sound like what your problem is.

ETA: You might read a little bit about chronic stress from a biological perspective (rather than a psychological one).

[cleolinda]

But why am I having a fight-flight response in the first place? I can't figure out what triggered it.

[particle_person]

All the money problems and things might be putting pressure on your family in general, and the atmosphere is affecting you? (That's a question.) I mean, maybe it could be that PLUS your usual hypermanic thing being in the "up" phase, so you end up with "I feel emotionally fine but my stomach disagrees."

[cleolinda]

You know, I was just coming back to say the same thing. After reading the Wikipedia article, I'm wondering if it was just the same-old same-old stress, but then it suddenly collided with a hypomanic episode. Because I really have worried about my blood pressure this week in particular--it's usually pretty good (back during the cat bite episode, the clinic nurse was surprised that it was so good), so I notice when it gets high. I went back and read over the entries here to see if there was anything in particular that could have triggered it (ah, the usefulness of LJ), and on Tuesday we had the water damage, which might have increased the stress somewhat. And then on Wednesday I started reading Twilight. COINCIDENCE?

Re: humane mousetraps

[cleolinda]

Huh--I wonder how they manage that, if you really do take them so far away?

Re: humane mousetraps

[cleolinda]

Heeeee.

[purple_chalk]

Your butterflies actually sound a lot like what I sometimes get when, cyclically, I should be getting a hypomanic episode (it's beautifully predictable for me, hence no meds). I always try to either sit it out (usually it only lasts a day or two), or go induce mania by starting projects and such, but neither option has proven exactly ideal... If you do find a solution, share?

[peloquyn]

My mania phases are sometimes joined with the "fight-flight" jitters - I actually find that the longer the manic phase, the more likely I am to get into exactly what you describe.

My best trick? Vitamin D. Get it in 1000mg (I think that is what they are, at least, I don't have the bottle handy) tablets, take one or two before you really get going for the day. It won't screw with any meds, AFAIK, and I swear that it helps concentrate the aforementioned jitters into useful "OMGWHEE" phases instead of non-eating pre-exam-like angsty badness.

Also, cheese.

;)

Hope you get to feeling better!

[cleolinda]

Huh. Well, I could get some sun, if nothing else. (Cheese? Really?)

[peloquyn]

Cheese makes me happy, but I was (mostly) joking about that...

But really, do try the vitamin D thing. We in the Oregon don't get strong enough spring sun to get enough vitamin D, so I swear by the supplements. Cheap and, well, hey, it works for me!

[cleolinda]

Well, me too--I was wondering if cheese was more filling or something. Because both of the meals where I actually choked down some food and felt better involved cheese.

[kismeteve]

I don't have a good feeling about Elemental, even if I would love to have Rufus Sewell on weekly tv.

Keira and Gwyneth as sisters could be interesting. Hmmm, it all depends on who they cast as Goneril.

[wmetoile]

Stella McCartney! She could just swan about with that one-leg necklace she made to mock Heather Mills. Ooh, or Kate Winslet.