Feeling stressed? Feeling anxious? (another question we must ask amidst the COVID-19 outbreak is Feeling Fearful?) You may not even realize that you are feeling stressed or anxious more than usual, but research has proven your neuropathy does. Research in 2017, concluded that chronic stress indeed exacerbated neuropathy pain. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have also stated that COVID-19 has caused our society a great deal of added stress, anxiety, and also fear. All of these of which can also manifest into neuropathic pain. So for neuropathy sufferers and their caregivers the question becomes, how do we know when we are stressed, and what can we do to alleviate these effects on our neuropathy.
Signs of Stress
A certain amount stress and anxiety are a part of life for people of all ages. Whether it is raising your children well, accomplishing those professional goals, or even health related issues as we grow older, throughout different life states and age groups, we all can feel stress. Most neuropathy sufferers will also feel stress of the condition itself because of it's physically limiting, chronic pain, and life altering effects. Here are some signs of stress we can identify which would be a cause of concern for neuropathy sufferers:
Sudden Changes in Eating Habits
People tend to change their eating habits when stressed. You may have noticed that during the first weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak, the two main items missing from stores early on were toilet paper and chocolate, I hope for unconnected reasons. People tend to respond to stress by binge eating or indulging in salty snacks and junk foods, which may have a negative impact on the body, potentially restricting blood flow. If a sufferer is prone to eating significantly less when stressed, the body could become deficient in nutrients causing irritation to peripheral nerves. Sufferers and caregivers should be mindful of how stress may affect a person’s diet.
Mood Swings in the Form of Increased Irritability, Depression, or Extreme Sadness
Notice you are getting mad at the kids or pets more frequently? Feeling sadness from watching the news? Depressed about having to stay inside? These are all huge signs of stress and can indeed add to our neuropathic pain. Suffers under mental duress may be prone to experiencing mood swings. With physical health causing pain, it may be easy for sufferers to ruminate on feelings ranging from irritability to sadness. Regular contact with a support circle or community is essential. An encouraging word from a friend or a loved one may help them shift toward a more positive mood, potentially helping the body to reach a more relaxed state.
Changes in Sleeping Patterns
Sleep is key for a neuropathy sufferer as during our stages of sleep the body maintains and repairs itself including nerve function. Too little sleep can cause increased body aches, increased flare-up episodes, and lead to increased mood swings. Too much sleep can cause issues with lessened physical activity and less beneficial nighttime sleep cycles. Keeping a set sleep schedule is even more important during times of stress.
Detachment from Social Circles
An effect of COVID-19 obviously, but also as peripheral neuropathy symptoms worsen, sufferers may withdraw from friends and family because they may feel that their presence puts a burden on others, forcing them to do things at a slower pace. In these situations, caregivers, friends, and family must maintain regular contact with the sufferer. Not only does a support circle help people with physical needs, it may help them to incorporate positivity into their mental well-being.
Ways to Alleviate Stress
Meditate - A few minutes of practice per day can help ease anxiety. “Research suggests that daily meditation may alter the brain’s neural pathways, making you more resilient to stress,” says psychologist Robbie Maller Hartman, PhD, a Chicago health and wellness coach. It's simple. Sit up straight with both feet on the floor. Close your eyes. Focus your attention on reciting -- out loud or silently -- a positive mantra such as “I feel at peace” or “I love myself.” Place one hand on your belly to sync the mantra with your breaths. Let any distracting thoughts float by like clouds. Try on of the mind body exercise we mentioned here.
Simple Deep Breaths - Take a 5-minute break and focus on your breathing. Sit up straight, eyes closed, with a hand on your belly. Slowly inhale through your nose, feeling the breath start in your abdomen and work its way to the top of your head. Reverse the process as you exhale through your mouth. “Deep breathing counters the effects of stress by slowing the heart rate and lowering blood pressure,” psychologist Judith Tutin, PhD, says. She's a certified life coach in Rome, GA.
Move Your Body - you do not have to be a runner to get a runner's high. Any type of exercise has been proven to ease depression and anxiety by helping the brain release feel-good chemicals and giving our bodies a chance to practice dealing with the stress. Check our our article about exercising with neuropathy here.
Be Present - Slow down. “Take 5 minutes and focus on only one behavior with awareness,” Tutin says. Notice how the air feels on your face when you’re walking and how your feet feel hitting the ground. Enjoy the texture and taste of each bite of food. When you spend time in the moment and focus on your senses, you should feel less tense. Take a break from the news, your finances, or other stressers and just be. This is when I like to go outside and scream for a minute and follow it up by the simple deep breaths.
Tune In to Your Body - Mentally scan your body to get a sense of how stress affects it each day. Lie on your back, or sit with your feet on the floor. Start at your toes and work your way up to your scalp, noticing how your body feels. If you can focus on where specifically your neuropathic pain is coming from, it sometimes will ease the feeling that it is radiating further through your body.
Reach Out - Your social network is one of your best tools for handling stress. Talk to others -- preferably face to face, or at least on the phone. Share what's going on. You can get a fresh perspective while keeping your connection strong. Often times just speaking to someone who knows what you are going through, will lesson your stress. This is especially important with COVID-19 keeping us away from people.
Decompress - Place a warm heat wrap around your neck and shoulders for 10 minutes. Close your eyes and relax your face, neck, upper chest, and back muscles. Remove the wrap, and use a tennis ball or foam roller to massage away tension. “Place the ball between your back and the wall. Lean into the ball, and hold gentle pressure for up to 15 seconds. Then move the ball to another spot, and apply pressure,” says Cathy Benninger, a nurse practitioner and assistant professor at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. Depending on your specific neuropathy, doing the same with the tennis ball on the bottom of your feet can have similar effects.
Laugh - A good belly laugh doesn’t just lighten the load mentally. It lowers cortisol, your body’s stress hormone, and boosts brain chemicals called endorphins, which help your mood. Lighten up by tuning in to your favorite sitcom or video, reading the comics, or chatting with someone who makes you smile.
Pump up the Jam - Research shows that listening to soothing music can lower blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety. “Create a playlist of songs or nature sounds (the ocean, a bubbling brook, birds chirping), and allow your mind to focus on the different melodies, instruments, or singers in the piece,” Benninger says. You also can blow off steam by rocking out to more upbeat tunes -- or singing at the top of your lungs!
Focus on Being Grateful - Keep a gratitude journal or several (one by your bed, one in your purse, and one at work) to help you remember all the things that are good in your life. Use these journals to savor good experiences like a child’s smile, a sunshine-filled day, and good health. Don’t forget to celebrate accomplishments like mastering a new task at work or a new hobby. When you start feeling stressed, spend a few minutes looking through your notes to remind yourself what really matters.
Be safe!
“In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.” ― Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember
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