Mindful Monday#40 Stress: You're not alone butterfly

Happy Monday y’all!  
 
When I was first diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 2011, I had so many emotions running through me, and as you can imagine, I was incredibly stressed out. What is stress anyway? Dictionary.com states it as a physical, mental, emotional strain or tension. MayoClinic.com shows that just by having stress, it plays a pretty significant role with Fibromyalgia. April is Stress Awareness Month. I’ve always felt that stress will eat away at you until you finally release it. Sometimes, it’s harder to do that than other times. What role has stress played, if any, for you? What did you do to help it?
 
For me, there was the stress of being a burden on, not only my family, but my friends because I was afraid to drive while taking medicine. At the time my medicine was so powerful I would have horrible fogs and dizzy spells. Another problem I was having (and I know several of you can relate) was that my doctors were saying it was all in my head, or they were not listening! I finally got the courage to tell Dale how I felt like a burden on the family. It took some convincing, but he told me I was not a burden at all. Why am I telling you all of this? To let whomever, may be feeling the same way that I did, know that everything will be okay. When I need to have girl time, I call my best friends and we chat about our day. Most of the time we can solve our situation in a phone call. If not, we’ll always have each other’s back. I’m blessed with four best friends.  
 
I strongly believe we have each other’s back, especially when it comes to something as serious as stress. Celebrities are popping up all over the world telling their story of chronic pain, Fibromyalgia, as well as other painful health problems. Some of our American "royalty," consist of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (aka Lady Gaga), Morgan Freeman, Kathleen Turner and Jennifer Grey. They are often gushed over but we often forget that they are human too. I admit I felt a bond with the celebrities when I found out about their chronic illnesses.  We are a part of the same "team." I applaud Lady Gaga for speaking out about Fibromyalgia Awareness. Stress, much like chronic pain does not affect everyone the same way. Lady Gaga's chronic pain affects her when she becomes depressed. My chronic pain happens from overdoing it, or when I'm relaxing at home. 
 
I found two helpful links: April is Stress Awareness Month and Stress Awareness Month 2021 for those who are interested. I’ve always found it never hurts to bookmark major things such as this. You don’t know when someone else might ask about it! Reading what fellow bloggers have posted about their experiences has given me perspective as well as inspiration. Now that I have been blogging for almost two years, I hope I am giving back to the community as much as they have given me. What are your thoughts about stress?? I’d love to hear them! Please let me know in the comments down below! Please continue to stay safe! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends!
 
Till next time! Be well!
 
~ Rachel
#stress#aprilstressawarenessmonth #aprilstressawarenessmonth2021 

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