When was the last time you felt stressed? From sleeping through an alarm and running late to feeling overwhelmed with balancing health, work, and your life, stress can be an underlying cause of why it feels like your body’s check engine light is permanently on. What you choose to do with your stress can influence how you perceive your chronic illness. In this blog, we unpack how stress affects your health and wellness, when it becomes chronic, and we cover new coping strategies to keep your stress levels in check.
Is chronic stress a chronic illness?
Before we jump right in, we need to address the difference between chronic stress and normal stress. Chronic stress is not a chronic illness or disease, but a chronic illness can influence it. Acute stress is the individual moments of stress resulting from an experience or traumatic event. Chronic stress, on the other hand, is the persistent feeling of being overwhelmed that doesn’t leave you. It can result from a major stressor, or small incremental stressors that build up over time.
How does stress affect health and wellness?
In small doses, stress can positively impact your health and wellness as it boosts your body to the peak level of stimulation. It can also help to motivate you to reach a goal and boost your immunity and brain power at the moment. That being said, when stress is unmanaged, it can start to negatively impact your body. When a fight or flight response is constantly triggered, it can impact your growth and your inflammatory and digestive system. Living with a chronic illness adds a new level of stress to everyday life as you learn to adapt your routines, mindset and abilities to work around low days. Unlike a common cold or sprained ankle, chronic illnesses do not have a recovery date, and this can hinder how you cope.
7 Warnings signs you are not coping well with stress
- Insomnia or interrupted sleep
- Body aches, neck pain
- Frequent headaches from jaw clenching
- Excessive worrying and feelings of anxiety
- Racing thoughts
- Chest pain and rapid pulse
- Irritability
Why is stress management important to wellness?
While it may feel easier to bury your stress, it will find ways to reappear. When stress is out of control, you are at a greater risk of heart disease, strokes, depression, and memory loss. Additionally, it can trigger chronic health conditions. But what makes stress management so important? The goal of stress management is to give you the tools and resources needed to reset after stressful events or triggers to help you move forward and build resilience. More importantly, as you learn to manage, it can also have a positive impact on those around you in your support network. In addition to supporting better emotional and physical well-being, you will experience less pain and distress over time. At Supportegy Wellness Coaching, we want to help you create a meaning-filled life with chronic illness, and that starts with finding new ways to cope and move forward each day.
8 coping strategies for dealing with stress and anxiety
- Check-in with yourself: When you feel stress coming on, stop for a moment. What emotions are you feeling right now, and where are your thoughts? Learning to understand how you feel in the moment can help determine what you need.
- Identify triggers: Consider what daily activities, interactions, or moments may trigger your stress response. Can these moments be avoided or are they recurring?
- Choose a meaningful hobby: The only way to get out of stress funk is to find meaning in something that you love. Start small with a hobby that will bring you joy, it doesn’t have to be life-changing but it can help you feel more settled.
- Manage your emotions: When you feel overwhelmed, try to manage your emotions through activities like exercise, stretching, journaling or reading.
- Practice acceptance: You can’t change your chronic illness or the fact that stress is part of everyday life, but you can change how you perceive it. When you learn to accept stress, it can help you come to terms and better cope in the moment.
- Talk about it: Struggling in silence will only isolate you. Consider who is part of your support network that you can talk to. Whether it is a family member, friend, or wellness coach, we are here to help you process in a healthy environment. We offer large, small, and 1:1 wellness coaching to help you find a safe space to process.
- Take a Deep Breath: Practicing deep breathing can help counteract the stress overwhelm as it forces your nervous system to do a reset. As you breathe in more oxygen, your mind and heart rate will slow down, helping you to focus.
- Meditate: How can you practice mindfulness today? Your stress response can cause you to get caught up in negative thoughts about yourself and your circumstances, but meditation can help you think through the positives.
A meaning-filled life is being able to express your thoughts, aspirations, dreams and everything in between. You are not defined by your chronic illness or how you respond to stressors in your life, but we want to help you see your strength in your journey to live more fully. At Supportegy Wellness Coaching, we see value in the mind-body connection and provide you with support that comes from personal experience. Are you ready to kick stress to the curb? We offer large group, small group, 1:1 and online wellness coaching to help connect you to the right resources and support network to thrive. Take the first step and learn more about wellness coaching today!