After my last drive into town, my cerebrally-induced PEM was dramatically worse than after previous trips. The difference this trip was that the roads were covered in snow and ice, which is somewhat more stressful. Aside from slippery curves at highway speeds, the center line is hidden, which is a bit nerve-wracking when encountering a tandem tanker with all those 'Flammable! Explosive!!!' stickers on it. So, my question is: does stress make your PEM worse? I've included choices for cerebrally and physically-induced PEM, since they are different.
I haven't experienced much in the way of stressful physical activities; no being chased by wolves on my daily walk, so I don't know if it affects that type of PEM for me. However, stressful social activities should be more common.
I suppose the effect could also be caused by the extra neural processing involved in judging traction, lane position, etc. If several people report that the degree of mental activity makes their PEM worse, I'll open a separate poll. Whichever it is, if this is a common effect for us, it might be useful for researchers, or at least offer some possibilities for reducing PEM severity.
I haven't experienced much in the way of stressful physical activities; no being chased by wolves on my daily walk, so I don't know if it affects that type of PEM for me. However, stressful social activities should be more common.
I suppose the effect could also be caused by the extra neural processing involved in judging traction, lane position, etc. If several people report that the degree of mental activity makes their PEM worse, I'll open a separate poll. Whichever it is, if this is a common effect for us, it might be useful for researchers, or at least offer some possibilities for reducing PEM severity.