That sucks :( Stress is a pain, because all the symptoms you get just worsens it, creating a spiral of stress that's difficult to get out, even if the initial reason is resolved. I hope you're better by now!
My dog kinda has something similar. She sometimes overgrooms the underside of her paws to the point where they get all reddish and raw in between the pads. It initially started because she did get something stuck, but she seems to have just developed a habit of doing it whenever she gets bored. It's a hard thing to deal with :(
Miss yours more!!