On mind's command!

I have been feeling tired and dizzy for the past few months. After the dizziness did not stop with home remedies, I visited practically every specialist in town — ENT specialist, neurologist, general physician, spine doctors, and ayurvedic and homoeopathic consultants. No one has been able to pinpoint a cause for my dizziness & fatigue. Yet, each one of them has cited that my lack of sleep, worry, stress are the contributing factors for this issue. I have been recommended to see a psychiatrist by many, but I am somehow not convinced that such an issue can arise from my mind because I am not making it up. I do have a lot of stress about work, personal matters but this is the biggest source of my woes currently.

Your quest for an answer is valid. Mind and body are often considered as two distinct entities, while the reality is that they are always in sync. Our physical condition is often a manifestation of our mental worries, and our mental worries can be compounded by our physical illnesses.

Of course, you are not making it up. Our brain always looks for answers and you have a right to know the reason and understand the phenomenon behind your dizziness.

We all think that stress is only capable of causing blood pressure and diabetes. Let us discuss a few lesser-known symptoms of stress that may persistently torment an individual. Also, please be aware that stress is not always bad. We all need that little bit of stress to push us out of our comfort zone. But constant stress, or stress that is extremely high and hard to manage, if ignored for a long time, can impact your body and mind.

Lesser-known physical symptoms include:

✼ Constant fatigue: Under chronic stress, our body senses dangers even when there aren't any, and releases stress-response hormones. The body begins

working overtime even though it was meant to rest. This can accelerate your heart rate, breathing and also leave you feeling tired all the time.

✼ Indigestion, irritable bowel: The gut is lined with receptors that squeeze out loads of hormones and chemicals when it senses stress. IBS, constant belching and burping are common stress-related complaints.

✼ Dizziness: With high stress, there is a physical response, along with changes in CO2 levels in the blood, which can lead to dizziness. Add to it the fluctuating blood pressure resulting from the release of stress hormones. Dizziness or lightheadedness often occurs when we are over-tired.

✼ Getting sick easily: The immunity breaks down further under constant stress.

✼ Dry mouth: This occurs due to adrenaline response in the body when stress occurs.

✼ Teeth grinding: Our muscles tend to be in spasm when under stress. Teeth grinding or bruxism is a common presentation that you may be doing unknowingly. You may present with pains and aches of the jaw.

Treatments

✼ Acceptance

✼ Avoid doctor shopping and bid a temporary goodbye to the google doctor

✼ MBSR: mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques

✼ Therapy & medication

✼ Lifestyle modification: exercises and managing stress

✼ Meditation

✼ Family support

Send your questions to help@dreradutta.com