Our bodies and our minds exist in conversation — and the health of one has a strong impact on the health of the other. People faced with chronic illness confront this reality daily, although the link isn’t always clear.
Chronic illness touches every part of your life. Accounting for chronic illness as part of your day-to-day life comes with a certain amount of stress — and that stress comes with a cost. In today’s post, we’ll explore that bidirectional flow.
Mental Health and Chronic Illness
Every chronic illness comes with its own unique concerns and challenges. This is as true of diabetes and heart disease as it is of conditions like irritable bowel syndrome or alcoholism. Each condition comes with a certain amount of stress. These stressors can affect emotional health by causing:
Low self-esteem
Feelings of isolation
Difficulty sleeping
Anxious thoughts
Mood swings
Inability to focus
Increased fatigue
Chronic illness can also lead to feelings of depression and hopelessness. This is especially true after a recent diagnosis but may also build up over time.
Stress and Wellness
Our bodies are complex systems, and the chemistry of stress plays a powerful role in our overall health. When faced with uncertainty or danger, our bodies respond by producing stress hormones that help boost performance. Prolonged exposure to stress hormones, however, takes a toll. Just like a machine pushed past its limits, high-stress levels can harm your physical health. High stress is linked to:
Migraines
Digestive Issues
Sleep Disruption
Weight gain (or loss)
Skin conditions
Loss of libido
Breathing problems
Heart disease
In women, high-stress levels have even been linked to issues with painful or irregular periods. High-stress levels can exacerbate not only chronic illnesses but other conditions such as ADHD as well.
Cycle of Stress and Illness
It’s important to understand that stress and illness exist as part of a cycle, with one feeding into the other. Breaking out of this loop can be extraordinarily difficult. This is especially true if you lack a strong support system or are used to being independent and self-sufficient. The key to breaking this cycle is understanding it and adjusting your life accordingly.
Some areas that contribute to this flow include:
Changing Abilities
Both chronic illness and stress make it harder to keep up with everyday tasks and perform at the level you’re used to. Coworkers, friends, and family members who previously relied on you might find it difficult to understand this change — something that can feed feelings of guilt and low self-esteem. Accepting these changes can be difficult for both you and them, but it is critical to managing stress.
Care and Capacity
Managing a chronic illness comes with an increased cognitive load. There are appointments to be scheduled, medications to fill, and dietary restrictions to account for. Juggling day-to-day life along with a chronic illness is hard work. You may fall behind and struggle in different areas of your life — all of which feed into stress, which, in turn, can impact your physical health.
Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Consider how you cope with your chronic illness. Many people self-medicate with rich, unhealthy foods, drugs, or alcohol. It’s natural to turn to behaviors like this as a distraction — but these behaviors often negatively impact your physical and emotional health.
Counseling
Are you struggling to cope with the impact chronic illness has had on your life? You are not alone if so. I have extensive experience helping clients adjust to chronic illness. Part of my job as a therapist is teaching people the skills and strategies necessary to manage this dynamic and short-circuit the negative bidirectional flow of chronic illness and mental health. Remember, this flow is bidirectional: good mental health can help you manage your illness and vice versa. Reach out today to learn more about depression or anxiety therapy.
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