Stress and the body

Stress does odd things to the human body. For most people the physical manifestations of stress fall within a realm of certain, predictable patterns. For me, those patterns cycle every few years depending on stress levels, hormones, medications, eating habits, and just plain timing. Sometime in middle school, around when we moved into the house that my parents live in now, my body's reactions to stress and anxiety became much more physical. My body gives me away, if you know what to look for. It betrays me. In middle school one of the worst symptoms was hives. Red, blotchy skin got itchy, swollen, and broke out into irritating, obnoxious hives that would combine with a corn syrup allergy to maximize my dismay. It eventually took a very strong prescription antihistamine to stop the ones that would pop up in my mouth or on my lips or on my tongue. It's been awhile since that cycle has been a regular part of my life, but I'm starting to see the warning signs again. :( Speaking of stress, it's been about two weeks now since I had a good, restful night's sleep. Today, it's really putting roadblock in my plan to focus more on the positive. I'm SUPER irritable.

We're headed out of town in hopefully (*fingers crossed*) less than an hour. My mom hasn't replied to any of my emails or texts today, letting her know what time we'll be getting there, but hopefully she's just busy at work. My paternal grandmother has been in the hospital for close to three weeks now and she might be getting to leave today. I plan to see her at least for a few minutes, if I can keep this returning cold away. I really want to see my dad's dog too. Her health is declining and I'm not sure that I'd want her to live that long, even if technically her body could make it. Layla's getting aggressive and losing her hearing and has alot of health problems that are making her life rough. The real reason we're going home is to attend the wedding-ish party of some friends. I met the bride when I was a little shy of 13 and we've amazingly managed to stay friends. I'm so excited for them!!! It should be fun. It'll probably be another weekend where I feel like I didn't have a weekend afterwards, but I can deal.