Last week i had to go in for some blood tests. i havnt been feeling too well, and didnt know if it was menopause, stress, or some illness.. you may remember my post about it last week.. anyhow, yesterday i got the results.. they checked for
thyroid, hemoglobin count, white blood cell count, cholesterol, liver function, diabetes, menopause( estrogen lvls i reckon), pretty much everything.. it ended up being stress from what we can figure. he took my blood pressure and it was elevated a bit , but we were also discussing some pretty stressful issues at the time ( he asked me what stresses i have been under.. poor man never shoulda lol).. what he ended up sayin was ' i would never advocate being obese, but for an obese woman, you are very healthy'... he is referring me to a gym here in town where i will get a program worked out for me, have use of all the equip during 'non' peak hours, and im thinkin that will help with my stress as well as losing weight. one other thing he mentioned was to talk about what is stressing me in the last couple years.. to start im gonna list some here, but i dont wanna bore anyone, so you dont have to read the rest lol... i just wanted to thank everyone that was hopin and keepin their fingers crossed for me to get good results from my tests.

1. grandkids taken from daughter and state wouldnt let me have em as i live in another country.
2. mom almost died 3 times
3. son got hooked on lsd and a multitude of other drugs and wont speak to me ( he is 24)
4. my sister was givin 5 years to live ( she is only 40) due to COPD, and a multitude of other health issues.
5. i moved to england - this one may not sound like much, but things are so diff here and i dont know anyone but my husband and his mom and dad. i have no friends here, dont know my way around, dont recognise half the things in the grocery store, dont have my 'bearings' if you will.

okay, enough of my pity party lol... if any of you have any ideas, or ways you de-stress, i would love any imput you have.. i think the gym is going to help with a lot of it as exercise does help with stress.. any other ideas? im open to anything lol...
thanks for taking the time to read this

Exercise is my biggest stress-reliever, no doubt about it. I work from home and I have to juggle dozens of details for way to many clients. Sometimes, by the end of the day I have lists running circles in my head. I pop on my headphones with a great book loaded into my iphone and go for a nice long walk. The goal of these walks is to keep going until the lists stop and hopefully I am so exhausted that I can sleep hard.

My other suggestion is to try and build a support network for yourself. Moving to England sounds like a HUGE deal to me and being alone outside of your family can be rough. I know that meeting new people is hard to do, keep an eye out for fliers and surf the internet for activities. Now is the time to do it while it's still warm and summer and more stuff is happening.

I used to love to journal during really bad times. That might help too. Sometimes pouring it all onto paper helps to get it all out and that helps to lessen it.

Good luck!

See if the gym has a yoga class.
Yoga is great for stress relief.
Even if you can't go to a class, have a quiet time each day when you just do deep breathing and think about all the things that you are thankful for.

Best wishes to you

Oh honey - I can give you a real life hug....but here's a virtual one.

CONGRATS on being healthy!!

I use exercise to burn off stress as well. I pity the spin bike on the days when I hit the gym after a rough day at work. Exercise doesn't have to be as formal as at the gym, either - just walking is a great stress reliever.

I'm with cdiem - moving to a whole new country is a huge deal...you need a real life support network as well.

You are doing so well in spite of all the crap life has given you. Give yourself a big pat on the back.

Oh my goodness...so many stresses. I am sorry to hear of it all.

You've gotten some great ideas...I'd like to add meditation and guided imagery to the list. You can order CD's online and listen. It takes practice. But, they really work.

Good luck with all your dealings. Keep posting.

That is wonderful that you are so healthy! I think the gym will help a lot! I really can't add anything to what everyone has already said, but I know that working out is a great stress reliever!