Stress has brought all my symptoms back

[molkogirl]

Hi, I am feeling awful at the moment. I have been ok for around 18 months and even managed to hold down a cleaning job for nearly a year but now all the symptoms are back.
I have been finding work increasingly difficult over the past few months and feel my boss is taking advantage. I have lost nearly half my holiday entitlement because i wasn't granted the days when i asked and she is giving me a lot more work to do than others. I have to rush around to try and get done on time and just feel fed up with it all. Aswell as this my grandma is poorly and living alone but wont accept help, she is causing massive problems within the family because she has become paranoid and is blaming people for things that havent happened. I get very little help from anybody and now i feel like its my place to care for her which i find really hard. She is always asking to die too which i cannot deal with. Im just worrying about her all the time.
For the past few nights i have hardly slept and i have just had a panic attack in morrisons. I thought my panics were gone but now im back where i started because of all the stress.
I dont know what to do as i do not have any confidence to stand up for myself at work or with anybody else.
Any advice would be great as i feel totally trapped
Thanks
Sarah

[NoPoet]

Hi, I really feel for you

Stress is the silent destroyer. It attacks BEFORE it declares war so our defences are down when it hits. Then it's too late for us to protect ourselves, it's already taken over.

Stress has been a major factor in my ilness and my "blips". It sounds like you're going through a blip of your own. A blip is a temporary relapse or worsening of symptoms which is either due to the natural course of our illness, or more often life events that hit us hard.

Keep in mind at all times that you have been recovering and everyone takes backward steps. They are not permanent, you cannot go back to the way you were because you are no longer that person. You have coping mechanisms, medication and a good dose of life experience. Once the stress begins to die down as you either adapt to the situation or resolve the problems one by one, you should find that you gradually start getting better again.

In the meantime you can always talk to the Samaritans. They're there for any problem, no matter how trivial you might think it is.

[suzy-sue]

I can totally relate to your situation ,its very difficult dealing with the elderly at the best of times .You really need to make an appointment with your Nans Dr and explain the situation .She obviously needs some help .Its not fair on you and its not going to help your health at all ...The best thing to do with regards to the paranoia is to just take it with a pinch of salt ,she doesnt mean to be like it and it sounds like dementia .Does she have any social worker at the moment ? this could be arranged through her Dr ..she would be assesed and some form of help would be offered to lift the load on you ..With regards to your job ,if you let this woman get away with it she will just continue .Do you have a union you could go to ?,the holiday buisness does not sound right at all .I would ask to speak to her and try to put your feelings to her in a calm and firm manner.Failing that is there a head office or someone higher than her you could get in touch with ? There is no other course of action im afraid .Stress is a major trigger for panic/anxiety and it needs to be addressed before it gets out of hand ..Try to find some time during the day for youself where you can relax for 30mins ,It would also be worth a trip to see your Dr he may be able to offer some form of help or further advice .Sorry you are having such a bad time ,my heart goes out for you ,i had a very similar experience and it didnt help me either .Every thing passes with time but please do something to help the situation ,Take care luv Sue x

[Just.A.Girl.x]

Yes..the best healer is rest...I was in the same sort of situation a few months ago and after literally resting all the time I could the anxiety went again!
Good luck
Candy xx

[molkogirl]

Thank you all for your replies, i will try the gp again with regards to my grandma. I will have to learn to cope with the stress i guess nobody has a stress free life. Its just so hard at times, i always end up on the neg thought spiral. Thanks again
sarah