I have been feeling terribly sick for two weeks now. Could it be just the two weeks of stress that caused this?

I went from feeling very strong to feeling extremely weak in a few days. Now I cannot do very simple things. Im very sad and scared.

Stress can definitely make a crash worse. People always say that people with CFS should avoid strong emotions. I always wonder how we are supposed to avoid strong emotions. Life has lots of strong emotions. But, I do try to protect myself from stress I don't have to carry. Get lots of rest. Many blessings.

I think it's the endocrine system that's not working right. Stress triggers hormonal releases of things like adrenalin...then we have trouble processing them and re-establishing a resting state.

I find anything that triggers strong emotions can set me back...dealing with people in tense situations where I'm ill at ease, driving in heavy traffic around aggressive drivers, over-exertion, anxiety over a medical symptom that pops up...even just having a great time doing something exciting like conversation with people I like.

So I live a very quiet life now, and have fewer negative symptoms...a high price to pay, but being really sick is no fun either.

For me, I think 100% of STRESS contributes to CFS. High-anxiety, how I eat or NOT tells me, It's coming! Looking back, chronic rocky relationship, Chronic dysfunctional parent, brought on CFS and later on Chronic stress. The brain fog started out in a very subtle manner. I used to forget to take the key out of the entry door, not ever thinking why this came about; this happened more than once when I was 29 years old. Today, I'm very aware of ALL of the symptoms because I've had to deal with them all at different times in my life.

I've always handled everyday stress very well, but I know it does affect my CFS. My current prolonged crash is a direct result of a prolonged extremely stressful situation in my life a while back.

stress can cause relapses just as much as physically overdoing it. I find meditation helpful and distancing myself from people I find stressful. Just rest and recover like you would from a normal relapse,

Absolutely, YES! Stress has a major effect on CFS'ers. I've learned this from personal experience as well as from my CFS specialist. Stress can come in many forms. Too much noise is stressful for me! A large crowd......an emotional conversation (good news OR bad). These things cause changes in our brains. We are easily confused while under stress and our body has to try and make up for that with energy that we don't have.

No one can avoid stress. No one! It's called life. We used to be good at "letting things slide" in our healthy life, but now as chronically ill people, our worlds have become very small, and stress is hard to avoid.

I just took care of my cancer stricken husband for five months in our home. I was with him every day, all the time. I had to become a chronically ill caregiver. I did it! PTL! However, I am now in a five week crash that is the worst one I've had in years. All those months of stress and loss is now taking it's toll on me. I'm getting better. We always do.

I would just say to try to keep your stress to a minimum. There are some things we CAN control. Who we surround ourselves with. There are a lot of negative people that affect us in a bad way. Avoid them. Do things that relax you. Watch things that make you laugh. Rest/sleep often. Get outside in the sun! And just know, that if your stress is coming from a situation you are now dealing with, this situation will eventually end, and you will feel better. We always pick back up with CFS. We go down hard, a lot, but we always pick back up!

And come here for support!

Ok, I really got yappy today, didn't I ??? Jeepers!

Darla is so "right on" with her comments about how stress affects us. I just want to remind others that there are stressful things in our life that are good. Positive conversations, happy events, etc. It is so wonderful to have those things in our life, but we also have to limit them and/or plan for them. I just spent a weekend at a retreat with some very emotionally strong women (cancer survivors). I got pampered with massage, hot tub, acupuncture, and good food. It still was stressful on my body. Finding the pacing and balance of enjoying life and taking care to not over stress our bodies is one of the major challenges of having CFS.

I agree it affects us. I'd say stress affects pretty much everyone and we who have CFS, and other chronic illnesses, are more affected simply because our systems are more run down.
A hypothesis:
Stress=cortisol and cortisol is so damaging to a sensitive system.
We get stressed and the adrenaline kicks in to handle the cortisol (or is it the other way around I forget) and our adrenal glands, which are already a mess, are even more stressed. The energy our bodies need to help our adrenals is stolen from the rest of our system and wham, crash!
I too was a caregiver when my final crash that led to my permanent disability ruling happened. For 3 1/2 yrs I was caring for my elderly, wheelchair bound mother in law who had schizophrenia and often screamed at the top of her lungs at all hours at people who were not there. I loved her very much but it was so hard. I was her primary caregiver and her only one the last 4 months of her life. I tried to heal after she passed but it was obvious I would never get back up again after that long a fall. I think that kind of stress might make a well person sick, and it certainly can make a sick person sicker. Such it is being a member of the sandwich generation.... at the same time I was caring for my grandsons (4 and 1) while my daughter finished school, whenever I was not with Mom...
I don't regret it at all. I think I would have gotten here eventually anyway so at least I got to help first .....

I think we all agree that stress is a real trigger. I've removed myself from situations for just this reason. But a crash doesn't always need a trigger. Sometimes you just crash for a day or months and there is nothing that can be done about it.

Absolutely Yes, stress can make you sick and take years off your life. Knowing this is the first step. Life is stressful. Its not always easy to manage stress. That is why its important for you to listen to your body. Get to know you and know how things effect you. So you can decide who or what things you are going to let in your life or give priority to.
Get back to basics, exercise, stretching, healthy eating, drinking lots of water, regulating your routine and bed time to help reduce stress and ensure rest and plenty of sleep. Not taking on to many projects or activities (work or fun) at once so you are not over whelming yourself. These are proven things that help. You just have to find what helps you. For me its making sure I stretch every day and go for at least a twenty minute walk. For a friend of mine its yoga and meditation. I prefer walking my dog sometimes its a quick pase other times its slow. So, I can enjoy looking at the flowers, mountains, clouds (or spider webs one day, the beauty of the web in the sun light after the rain caught my eye). What ever brings you joy while you exercise, you got to keep moving. My stress reducers are laughing, smiling taking in life's simple pleasures (beautiful ski, flowers, sunset etc.) walking my dog, praying, going to church, reading and taking time to stretch through out the day. Some times just a few second others five or ten minutes. Stretching really helps my body aches and perks up my energy level.
Right now you don't feel well so stick with the basic. Take care of you, do what you can and try not to worry about what you can't do. Be thankful for what you can do and try do a little more when you do feel better. Don't be so hard on yourself, you're important and matter. Please take the time for you, listen to your body, eat healthy, exercise, rest and enjoy life's simple pleasures so the CFS doesn't over whelm you. It will get better and you will have bad days. Take those days to rest and reflect and figure out what you can do differently so you have less bad days. One day and one project at a time is what my mother always told me. I find those words to be so true and helpful.
Take Care, God bless you, and if you are not feeling better Go see your doctor! Don't over whelm yourself with worry, ask your doctor what they think and recommend. I just started mind body cognitive therapy and it is really helping. The foggy brain forgetfulness from the pain and unrestful sleep was getting over whelming but I'm getting back on track, you will too. (:

I had to laugh when I read what Triunfadora wrote when she
said life has lots of strong emotions. How are we supposed to
avoid these? I so agree.
I'm sorry you've had this relapse. There's a lot of good
advice here. I too was a care giver several times for family
who had cancers, and other illnesses. This was at a time when
I too was becoming more fatigued on a regular basis. Like
Nina, I'm glad I had the ability to do it at that time, but I
was relapsing and getting worse on a regular basis.
When I had to stop working, I did improve. I have been
able to focus on my health. So, yes stress can cause a
relapse.
Hopefully, you'll be able to find a balance. I think we
all find our balance here the best we can. Sometimes just
by trial and error and picking up on signals that we might
be getting into situations that are too intense for our nerves.

Stress can definitely make me crash. A month ago I had a few stressful weeks and it made my symptoms worse. I still try to get back to where I was before. For me stress is the worst of all. I'm so sorry that you are going through a relapse. Hope you feel better and stronger soon.

I once was in remission with my CFS then went to have a root canal done. The next day I started with a huge flare up that lasted about 2 weeks. I also once had an infusion, Reclast for my osteoporosis, again a huge flare up for 3 months and was bedridden. So yes to your question, stress has a huge affect. And then too, I can just have a flare up from just daily living. It waxes and wanes.