Dealing With Stress When You Have Health Issues

How To Balance Health Issues And Stress

No one likes to deal with stress. But this unavoidable part of life can be even more difficult for people living with chronic health conditions, as stress can cause symptoms to flare up or worsen. For a better grasp on daily stress, check out these quick tips:

Understand your condition. It can be empowering to learn everything you can about your illness and treatment options, restoring a sense of control and ownership over your body. Check out patient organizations and your local library, and make sure anything you read online is from a reputable source, like a research hospital.  

Manage your emotions. Whether you’re stressing out about a big project at work or the news an upcoming doctor’s visit will reveal, it’s important to take time to help mitigate any negative feelings and the effects on your mind and body. You can do this by eating healthier, sticking to a regular sleep schedule and being more active. Even if your condition keeps you from doing a tough workout at the gym, you can go for a long walk, practice low impact sports and do gentle stretches.

Enjoy your leisure time. It can be hard to unwind when you have to worry about taking medication or monitoring yourself, like when you have diabetes. In fact, three-quarters of people living with diabetes rarely/never go out on weekdays, and 34 per cent experience a high level of stress when being invited for a drink with friends. Fortunately, smart tools like mySugr, an app create by people living with diabetes for people living with diabetes and the Accu-Chek Guide System featuring a uniquely designed test strip with a wider dosing area, work together to help reduce the hassle of every day blood glucose testing and can make testing on the go a breeze.

(Source: NewsCanada)