Does anyone here get worse in relation to stress?

There is so much to unpack in this question.

What is meant by stress?

• Psychological
• Emotional
• Physical
• Environmental
• Physiological
• etc.

[added - The everyday meaning of the word 'stress' include both the idea of stressful circumstances and stimuli and our psychological/emotional response to them, and it can be hard to separate the two when discussing this issue.]

A number of posts above respond by trying to define the physiological or hormonal responses to stress within the body. Though interesting, it seems this does not directly answer what is our experience, unless we are answering the question with the statement that stress is whatever triggers specific hormonal responses within our body. To me that seems to be putting the cart before the horse.

We have a set of stimuli and our response to them in terms of our ME symptoms, which I understand to be what @robertw27 is raising, and in parallel to this we have the science of the physiological mediation of people's response to potential stressors and how it may interact with the physiology of our condition which at our present level of knowledge requires a lot of speculation.

I think it is generally agreed that stress can be a trigger for PEM, but

• do we respond to stressors differently because of our illness, for example with hypersensitivity, I now find sound a potent cause of distress in a way that never happened pre onset;
• do different stressors trigger PEM equally for each individual [added - for example, when experiencing hypersensitivity to sound, builders across the road cutting stone can be much more stressful in the short term than say the death of a close relative];
• do different individuals with the condition respond differently to stress;
• is it even possible to compare different the impact of different forms of stress, as how do we decide if say the death of a close relative is more or less stressful than losing our main income;
• does our stress response vary with our condition, for example dealing with a practical issue such as my car having broken down might not be a problem on a good day, I just call the rescue service, but on a bad day it is completely overwhelming and retreating to bed is the only option;
• which in turn raises the question is a given event only stressful because of the consequences of our illness, for example dealing with the Inland Revenue on the phone, becomes overwhelmingly stressful because my cognitive difficulties that make any phone call difficult are so much worse when I have to try to think about complex ideas and try to remember specific details at the same time
• is our condition in itself a source of stress, either through its practical implications or through how it physically makes us feel or through any disruption of our brain physiology;
• does stress incrementally impact on our symptoms, or does it require reaching a sufficient level to trigger PEM;
• etc.

Certainly we would expect anything that requires the expenditure of energy, be that mental energy, emotional energy or physical energy to be an issue in a condition that is fundamentally about reduced availability of energy. For me getting too cold can trigger a crash and wipe me out for several weeks as could for example dealing with the emotional fall out of finding someone close to me had been assaulted. These are external stimuli, that demand energy and because of our condition have very different consequences compared to ourselves pre onset or to someone without the condition.

But also, my condition impacts on how I emotionally and psychologically react to potential stressors. Some stimuli, through such as hypersensitivity, become more inherently stressful because of our condition, but also because our reduced resources, be it available energy, physical fitness, cognitive processing capacity or finances, our condition can indirectly make dealing with many issues much more stressful, which in turn increases the chance of them triggering PEM.

 

Exhaustion is not the same as fatigue.
Fatigue is what happens after exertion, and is relieved by food, rest, sleep. Exhaustion isn't the same thing. At least as I see it.

ETA - Fatigue is malleable, people can carry on when fatigued, if the desire to do so is there.

People cannot do this when exhausted.

Fatigue means, IMO, that resources are limited, that perhaps other options should be considered.

Exhaustion means the tank is empty. That no amount of will power or determination will alter that.

Fatigue is susceptible to being out thought, exhaustion is not.

At least that's my interpretation of those 2 words.

Words are such clumsy things.

 

Bravo for the reliable and complete answer. Clear and rational. Thank you for taking the time to write this. I've bookmarked it.

 

I don't notice any problems in relation to stress unless it involves extra exertion, which then causes post exertonal symptoms.

Do better with hydro-cortisone. Also with Sudafed that has psuedo ephedrine in it.

 

Same here. Although it's hard to say, as I've never had much stress, I'm a pretty laid back person with an easy life (except for this illness). A little bit of stress (something needs to get done now!) makes my symptoms better actually, but it's of no use in the long term off course, as that only makes me do too much and makes me worse the next days. It's the exertion that makes me worse, because if I'm only stressed about something, but don't act on it, it doesn't affect me.

 

+1

Second wind. Good when you get it but you pay for it with a vengeance.

 

I get better when I'm stressed. I'm at my best when I'm totally pissed off and fucking furious. ME symptoms just evaporate. Not even sure I get much of a payback for it. All I need is a constant supply of people or situations which annoy me. Fortunately there's no sign of that running out any time soon.

 

Seems trying to put the words ‘stress’ and ‘fatigue’ in association with ME is a bit like pouring petrol on a smouldering fire.

I wouldn’t bbq sausages on that lot!

I like @Wonko s description of fatigue vs exhaustion

I agree the word stress is too vague.

if I get runaway heart racing/palpitations I deteriorate quicker...perhaps this is Adrenalin ...I don’t know. I think hormones are bloody complicated so thinking you can feel what’s going on is not likely to be possible with any precision.

Thinking of other words that could ignite a post I would suggest avoiding the following too close to each other:

Questionnaire
Fight flight response
Positive mental attitude

I’m sure there are others