Posted by Racer on August 29, 2004, at 14:21:20
Since I'm being very defensive about everything right now, I'll say up front that I'm concerned but not worried about this right up front.
It seems as if I've been in a state of hyper-arousal for so long, with the pressure and stress just building and building and building, and no release for so long. I'm finally kinda coming to grips with how much of what I've always identified as "Depression" is actually in the "Anxiety" family -- man, sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake -- and it got me wondering about how this has affected my stress system, and what that will mean for my future. So, can anyone tell me about the long term effects of chronic, unremitting stress over long periods on the HPA axis? I know that it's damaging to a lot of body systems -- and I know that I can look it up, and probably will when I can manage it, but I just can't right now. No matter how much I read about the concepts, it just doesn't match having someone tell *me*. Dunno, maybe because it adds the comfort of personal reassurance.
If one's HPA axis is in hyperdrive for a long time, and getting ramped up more and more, what effects will those wormholes cause in the fabric of the space/time continuum? (And what is the nature of the Q Continuum?) Man, I can't even ask the questions today. I guess what I'm asking is really this: how much chance is there that this whole nightmare, now lasting one year with The Agency Of Darkness and two years before that with the situational stressors that led to their involvement, has simply 'broken' that system? Will it leave me always more vulnerable to stress? Can it regenerate enough to compensate reasonably well? Is it possible that it has compromised my ability to respond to treatment for depression and/or anxiety?
Yeah, the whole gamut, guys. Am I broken? Can I be repaired? Can the doctor test for the effects to give me a more informed answer?
Thanks for anything you have to offer. Even -- or especially -- if it's just reassurance.
poster:Racer
thread:383709
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20040729/msgs/383709.html