I am a total stress monkey---things that normal people would find not stressful or only minimally stressful will send me into orbit. Stupid things upset me, like having to use the phone or dealing with a bill collector, and I get so anxious that I break into a cold sweat and hyperventilate. I can hold a job (though I have trouble doing so for very long) and do what I need to do, but sometimes I put off tasks that make me anxious until I'm faced with the deadline, and then I'm REALLY stressed.

I wasn't diagnosed as bipolar until a couple of years ago, but stress has been a major problem for me my whole life, and I don't seem to tolerate it any better at my advancing age than I did when I was young.