fun fact # 3 is I M P O R T A N T: and why I think the DSM-5..

fun fact # 3 is I M P O R T A N T: and why I think the DSM-5 is fucking bullshit. How your body responds to stress is COMPLETELY dependent on your upbringing, your genes, how you were born (C section or not) and many many other factors. This means, how you respond to stress is totally different from every single person out there. It is special to you and you have to adapt to your own body’s needs, not what the internet or your neighbor Karen is telling you. I had a friend open up to me about his childhood and he started off with “but it’s nothing like yours so idk why im even complaining.” You could put someone next to me with different genes, a different childhood and throw them into the same experience I had wit GDP and it WOULD NOT IMPACT THEM THE SAME WAY. You can put someone through my same childhood, but they were birthed differently and they would not have the same stress response as I do. nature vs nurture plays such a big role in how we (we as in our cells/mind/entire being) take ahold of stress. Like I said before, there are so many different factors that impact how well we deal with stress. I was on a call with a friend I made from the autoimmune community and he was telling me about how regardless of what he does, he is super sensitive to sleep. We talked for a good 45 minutes about this because im the exact same way! If he stressed his body out way too much, he will watch his symptoms start to creep back up. (( as you know from me, everyone in the community tracks everythingggg lol so we can tell when something isn’t right )) And as we talked more about why this might be the case, we found similarities in our stories. We both had physically and emotionally distant parents. We were both C Sections. We were high performers in academia. And we both were from Eastern European descent. What’s crazy is his sister is the total opposite of him! She is resilient to all types of stress. She also has a different dad (different genes and upbringing) and went through a natural birth. For me, I become almost borderline/bipolar on little to no sleep. My brain completely shuts down, I become impulsive, my mood swings up and down, side to side. And I’ve tracked it down to my fucking SLEEP. My cells are sensitive, probably, for the same reason my friend Danny’s cells are sensitive too. We were put through more stress than, say, Danny’s sister was. And the DSM-5 would EASSSSILLLYYYY diagnose me as bipolar when I'm in this state. I’ve been diagnosed with a couple of different personality disorders without ever being asked about my life experiences or habits. Which is fucking BULLSHIT because putting a smol kid on mood stabilizers not only fucks with their development, but it impacts how they view themself. It impacted how I viewed myself for many years. That's why I hate the DSM-5 :D :D :D fucking hate it. It has caused so much pain and suffering in my life. No one was ever curious about what things were like for me, they were just chasing symptoms. But I guess that’s for another time. Regardless, knowing what turns your stress on is so important. Again, this goes back to knowing your body and paying attention. Don’t compare yourself and your body to others who have a completely different experience/story than you! It’s not fair to either party. Your stress/trauma experience is just as valid as someone else’s. You are the only person with your story, therefore, you are the only person who has set responses to stress. That needs to be understood. Thoughts?