The word "stone" is used loosely here. Rarely are they very hard, mostly they are pretty soft. There is no correlation with stress or anxiety; this is a coincidence. These are harmless (but can be smelly...).
ok, that makes me feel somewhat better, but what causes it? is it caused by bacteria or do some people just have large tonsils where food can get trapped easily?
Both are probably involved, but bacteria make up the bulk.
If you put this title into Google, you will find an informative story in the NY Times:
"In tonsils, a problem the size of a pea"
ok, interesting article...just read it, but can tonsil stones be a once in a lifetime thing or will they always reappear? also my doctor also said that if you havent been getting proper sleep and your body has been run down due to the stress im under that it can be hard for the body to fight off the bacteria and that could cause them also. does that sound like it could be right?
I suppose that doesn't sound entirely implausible. Sure, why not. 'Tonsil stones' can come and go in that you may have many of them at one time and then not so many (or none) another time.