I can't handle any stress!

So, I came home from hospital 2 weeks ago (I had a manic episode), but now I can't handle any stress...
If my 18 year old is screaming at his video game in his room it's like someone is taking their nails to a chalk board or if something unexpected happens I just can't handle it.
My husband was talking about building a garage (but we don't have the money) and I felt panic stricken! Or if something doesn't turn out right...I made cornbread last night and the middle wasn't done and I was so upset!

My job is very stressful... I'm not working right now, but I wonder how will I ever be able to go back if I can't take ANY stress at the moment? This was my first true manic episode, before this it was hypomania or depression. I wonder if that's why I'm so touchy or what?

dijmart do you have a therapist or pdoc to call? when i'm hypomanic i have symptoms like yours. tweaking my meds with pdoc's approval often minimizes the anxiety, etc. also are u on new meds? perhaps you are not compatible if so with the med. i had an awful reaction to abilify. within days of stopping it i returned to calm.
hope this may help.

I cannot handle any stress whatsoever. For the past few weeks I have had to do million things a moment and I cannot deal with it all. I got physically sick with a swollen lymph node in my throat and it is not getting better with antibiotics so I have to go back to the dr. tomorrow.

I don't know why most of us can't handle stress. I haven't even had the time to do the specific meditation my therapist is teaching me, and I don't feel well enough to even do it.

I think you should talk to your therapist about the stress you cannot handle. She/he can teach you coping skills to deal with it.

Good Luck!

Try some intense exercise and meditation, try to get your mind off things for at least a short period.

I am the same way... I cannot handle stress either.... I'm not currently working and the thought of going back to work causes me to get very anxious....

Going out in public is hard too. People upset me very easily by either walking too slow. driving too slow or just being in my way when I want to get by them....ugh ugh ugh!

Well to elaborate...
Do to the mania I had my meds were increased to the point where I was lethargic, so Pdoc decreased 2 of them just last week. I do have a therapist and I'm seeing her tomorrow- so maybe she can help. But this not being able to handle any stress has been a symptom since when I was in the hospital until now, whether manic or lethargic, it's just NOT my norm and I'm kinda worried it won't go away.....
Thanks for the replies.

Hi firstly your not alone I can't handle stress of any kind and any noise can make me irritable,especially the kids squabbling or their music. A little about me;
I have seizures also when I get stressed but It doesnt matter how much people are aware of this I still get stressed,and unfortunately for us this is everyday stuff that once never annoyed us or made us irritable or upset.
I've recently had some sort of breakdown but was not hospitalised,only because of the children going away on holiday with their gran.
I'm personally awaiting for some kind of therapy to teach me coping techniques. I also get worried about things,infact everything possible to the point of been so irrational my family don't understand it,and I'm so terrified anything will go wrong things have to be done correctly,but I think that's my OCD coming back.
To think I used to be so carefree and encourage noise from the children omg!
There are so many of us like this,its not our fault,i would mention it to your doctor
To see if they can suggest anything,and perhaps ask if the mania or hypo mania may have caused this.
Sorry I can't be of more help I juist wanted to know your not alone
Take care
JK

Hi firstly your not alone I can't handle stress of any kind and any noise can make me irritable,especially the kids squabbling or their music. A little about me;
I have seizures also when I get stressed but It doesnt matter how much people are aware of this I still get stressed,and unfortunately for us this is everyday stuff that once never annoyed us or made us irritable or upset.
I've recently had some sort of breakdown but was not hospitalised,only because of the children going away on holiday with their gran.
I'm personally awaiting for some kind of therapy to teach me coping techniques. I also get worried about things,infact everything possible to the point of been so irrational my family don't understand it,and I'm so terrified anything will go wrong things have to be done correctly,but I think that's my OCD coming back.
To think I used to be so carefree and encourage noise from the children omg!
There are so many of us like this,its not our fault,i would mention it to your doctor
To see if they can suggest anything,and perhaps ask if the mania or hypo mania may have caused this.
Sorry I can't be of more help I just wanted to know your not alone
Take care
JK

I have mania fequently, and I cannot handle any stress at all, all of the time. When i am on antipsychotics I am quite a bit more mellow, almost too mellow tho. I have always been this way as far as I can remember, and I don't have any advise, sorry. Just thought I would share that with you. But it is noise, routine change, work, anything that I was not expecting. I just can't handle it, and not in a spoiled brat sorta way.

Sorry your dealing with this now, I really hope you find something that works, or that it will pass. Best wishes,
Anika

Thanks for the replies!
Seems like it's pretty common with Bipolar since many of you are also suffering with not being able to tolerate stress. I did tell Pdoc last week, however he already had made med changes during that visit, so he said nothing when I brought up not being able to tolerate stress. I will ask my therapist today if the mania caused this because I had never had a full blown "manic" episode before, it had changed my dx from Bipolar II to Bipolar I....

at least you have an excuse with bipolar disorder. I dont know how most people here are relating yet just have confront and pysch issues

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.

If you've had your first recorded manic episode, then you can at any time experience a mixed episode, but in any case, you must protect yourself from high stress and anxiety if at all possible. Among the "situational triggers" that can cause a person with bipolar to decompensate, stress and anxiety are at the top of the list.

Certainly, your pdoc and therapist together can help you with a customized plan of attack (so to speak). I've found that "coping skills" help me quite a bit. Even posting on this site is a great stress reliever, but unfortunately, we cannot avoid all sources of stress and anxiety and here's where the proper medicine added to the mix can accentuate your personal plan. Whatever you do - don't go postal!

Wow, i am amazed at how many of you can't handle much stress. That is why I can't hold a job for long. Stressed since I was young, since 3rd grade. I have finally held on to a job as a nanny for a year now.

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I once held a job for four years. I've held 4 jobs for 3 years each. I was fired from 2 of those. I've quit several, I mean several after 2 or 3 weeks. I have went to a few for only a couple of days. The last real job I tried was too much lifting, as I need a back surgery. It bothered me so much to quit, I almost shot myself.

Now, with this BP diagnosis finally added in to the cards, I am terrified just to try to find a job. And I do mean terrified. I am scared of what I may do to myself if it don't work out or if I don't get hired.

When I was younger I never had trouble like this. I just cannot shake this funk off of me. It has stolen everything. It has stolen my mind and my ability to function.

God bless anyone who feels like me. This is the hardest thing to ever enter my life.