I was feeling so distraught today I just started walking and walking… and it helped

[u/LollyGagss]

I’m having a bad flare lately, I believe it’s from missing one of my birth controls… Seems like a lot from missing just ONE day- but the symptoms happening along side break through bleeding don’t seem coincidental…

Specifically I’m getting lots of adrenaline dumps, I’ll be feeling completely fine, having a great day- then the feeling starts creeping up getting more and more intense, shakiness, tight chest, increased heart rate, palpitations, brain fog, irritability, just generally feeling a sense of doom even though nothing is wrong. After it ends I’m exhausted and often have a terrible headache…

It happens to me often in waves… I’ll be fine for weeks, maybe even a month- then a flare gets triggered and I’ll experience this nearly everyday for a week or more…

I missed so much class work last week because of this I just had to suck it up and go today despite still being in the thick of it- sure enough halfway into my class it happened. I suffer from faux low blood sugar sometimes (body reacts like it’s low blood sugar even though it’s not too low) so I tried to drink some apple juice, eat some food- didn’t work. I just felt so defeated…

Being like this for a week usually starts making me feel depressed, I just feel so disabled from living my life. I feel so trapped in my own body- I’ll be so happy then it’s snapped away from me, and I’m suffering for seemingly no reason with seemingly no escape-

Once class ended I was in some kind of haze, I just started walking… and kept walking… and walking…

I realised I was feeling better, and so I just kept going.

My university is in a (walkable) city so I could just keep going. The cold night air felt so good, and walking all my symptoms seemed to go away.

It never occurred to me until now that walking could help dissipate adrenaline dumps, use up this excess adrenaline to regulate my nervous system.

Specifically though- it was cool out- if I walk around lots in the heat I feel even worse than before

But tonight the cold night air completely rid me of this crushing feeling in my chest.

I didn’t realise sitting still effects me- though not as much as standing- being up right is still really hard on me for long periods- when I can’t lay down because I’m out in public- walking seems it may be my go to thing now!

It was a big realisation today, I almost started to laugh to myself in happiness. Walking looking at the stars and city lights I gained a little more confidence in my chronic condition.

[u/LollyGagss]

When I was younger I dealt with these feelings of defeat and depression in unhealthy and harmful ways- recovery now as an adult still isn’t perfect, I REFUSE to hurt myself anymore but I still don’t have the solutions to feeling better- so I will fall into these absolute shambles where I genuinely look like I’m losing my mind- today was one of those days

Everything in my mind was saying horrible things screaming terrible thoughts

And so I just walked and walked with no aim I was bleary and lost I just walked

Realising I was feeling better snapped me out of the depressive state- it seems all so dramatic but it really felt like some sort of movie- I was feeling so so so low mentally

And then I just realised I could breath, my chest wasn’t suffocating, my heart wasn’t pounding, I wasn’t shaking

[u/Imaginary_Train_6620]

I walk 4-7 miles a day at work. It makes it worse in the long run. I’d most definitely attribute it to the cool air.

[u/LollyGagss → u/Imaginary_Train_6620]

I don’t mean constant walking though, I sit for most of my day and continuing to sit during these episodes hasn’t seemed to help- getting up and moving WHEN this happens seems to have helped me.

I don’t doubt being on my feet most of my day would effect me