Stress Level?

How do you determine what your stress level is? This is something I have battled this week. In the past my stress has manifested as physical ailments. Upset stomach, headache, etc. or it has been obvious through my level of crankiness. The past week I have been upbeat and not much in the way of stomach problems. Last night I finally broke. I have not felt like I am stressed. I have been sleeping well and no more headaches then I would say is normal but knowing this morning I am going to the dentist I thought I would see more signs of stress. It turns out that over the years I have trained myself to just ignore stress. This is not something I feel is entirely healthy. I am sure it serves a purpose of getting the "job" done but is it really healthy to completely ignore your stress? This morning I am completely aware of my stress. LOL My stomach is churning, I feel like hiding in the closet and crying about it. I HATE the dentist. I am terrified about how I am going to do and what might happen. I know I have to do this. The pain I have been living with is not healthy and the infections I have had in my mouth are causing harm to the rest of me. If I am going to work hard to lose weight and become healthy I have to be healthy all over.

This morning the funniest thing is that the thing upsetting me the most is I can't drink water. They are going to put me out and I can not have anything in my stomach. I have trained myself for several years to drink water at every available oppurtunity. I usually drink about 3 liters a day and it is almost painful to be so dry like I am this morning. I don't trust myself to even stand in the kitchen or brush my teeth because I know my intinct will be to down some water. LOL I walked past a bottle of baby oil and thought how soothing that would be on my dry mouth. UGH!

Well I am leaving in 6 minutes. Wish me luck!

Leslie