Missed my last post? Read Part 2 of My Highly Sensitive Recovery where I discuss the health effects of being a highly sensitive person.
The past two blogs of my Recovery may sound like someone describing classic, clinical depression and anxiety. And yes, there was some of that in there too. However, it was wider and deeper than that. I had experienced lesser versions of some of these symptoms my entire life but nothing close to this. It was the accumulation and culmination of years of constant stress on a highly sensitive central nervous system.
Constant Stress on the HSP nervous system could exacerbate predispositions to Anxiety and Depression
I was also diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue and later Myalgic Encephalo Myelitis (formerly known as Chronic Fatigue) as a result of my self-destructive pace of life. My unconscious anxiety caused me to grind my teeth at night and despite the grind guards I used, I broke my teeth repeatedly and needed 14 root canals and an equal number of crowns over the years.
My white blood cell count didn’t even register in the acceptable low range, therefore, every opportunistic virus or flu that was around found an open door policy in my body. Whatever medications and remedies professionals prescribed, I tried. I took them believing they would heal and restore my health. The result was that I couldn’t live without my anti-inflammatory meds, became dependent on sleep aids, muscle relaxants for the high-pain nights, antidepressants for depression and anxiety, over used food and alcohol for comfort, thus gaining weight, losing my creative edge and so it went.
I’m sure many of you reading this are quietly nodding your heads in recognition of what I call my repeated slow descents to hell.
A lack of sufficient Down Time for the HSP could contribute to in an increase in Anxiety and Depression
I needed so much time alone that my friends stopped calling me to go out and started to call me a recluse. It was almost true though I didn’t want to be. I knew I had always needed more downtime than others, but now perhaps the recluse label fit.
When I was well and rested, I was a very social and even a gregarious person. Yet at that time, I needed more and more downtime to recover and recuperate and there simply wasn’t enough time for anything more than my businesses and my alone time.
Looking for more? Continue reading Part 4 of My Highly Sensitive Recovery where I discuss the pros and cons of high sensitivity in HSP.
