The connection between chronic illness and mental health:
Chronic disease changes people’s physical and emotional health. One typical emotional response is stress. Stress occurs when the body reacts to perceived environmental demands, resulting in psychological and biological changes that affect well-being.
My uncle faced the challenges of high blood pressure, which was already a heavy burden on his body. He often worked long hours to meet deadlines, leaving him worn out. This unrelenting pressure took a toll on his mental well-being, filling him with anxiety and worry.
Over time, the stress began to manifest physically, leading to a rapid heart rate, shaky hands, and frequent headaches, which only exacerbated his condition. It truly felt like a vicious cycle where his stress intensified his symptoms. In turn, those worsening symptoms led to even more stress. It’s heartbreaking to see how interconnected these struggles can be.
Constant stress can lead to anxiety, characterized by feelings of fear, worry, and discomfort. While some level of stress is a normal response, prolonged stress can become problematic.
If stress continues to escalate, it can exacerbate anxiety and potentially lead to mood disorders, with depression being the most common outcome.
Dealing with chronic diseases can be incredibly challenging, and it’s understandable to feel overwhelmed by the loss of part of your body or the constant struggle with pain. On top of that, long-term stress can make everything feel even more challenging to manage.
Addressing stress early on is essential, as it can significantly impact your overall well-being. Believe it or not, staying optimistic helps your heart recover faster! Optimistic habits encourage health, help alleviate stress, and bolster the immune system. You’re not alone in this journey; taking care of your emotional health is as vital as addressing physical concerns.
I’m here to help you understand the relationship between chronic diseases and mental health, how to recognize symptoms of stress and depression, and how to cope with them effectively.
And remember, you have the power to shape your journey—one hopeful thought at a time. Keep going, stay strong, and believe in better days ahead!
The Emotional Impact of Chronic Illness:
With chronic disease, you may be overwhelmed, stressed, and depressed for a long time. As a result, the body inappropriately releases hormones, such as cortisol, adrenaline, and serotonin, leading to long-term changes in both mental and physical health.
These hormones regulate our mood, appetite, and sleep, and they are essential for recovery. Unfortunately, people tend to ignore their mental effects and focus on their physical condition.
For example, my dad lost his right lower leg due to diabetes, which left him ‘feeling afraid, stressed, depressed, and ashamed. He only focuses on managing diabetes and overlooks stress and anxiety as a normal body response, but one night, we argued about a follow-up with a psychiatrist. He refused and was so angry that I had never seen him behave like that.
It’s normal to have stress. Stress can be helpful sometimes.
However, the duration should not exceed two weeks because prolonged distress indicates an underlying issue that needs intervention.
If stress, anxiety, and depression last for more than two weeks and interfere with your daily life tasks. Then, you could unconsciously learn helplessness, social withdrawal, or unhealthy coping mechanisms like overeating. So it’s better to watch out carefully.
Developing effective coping mechanisms is essential to manage mental well-being and overall health. Ignoring stress and anxiety could lead to Mental Health Disorders, Cardiovascular Issues, Immune System Suppression, Digestive Problems, and Sleep Disturbances.
The impact of uncertainty, lifestyle changes, and chronic pain on mental health:
Uncertainty induces overthinking, which results in overwhelming. For example, when the common cold infects you, you know you will be okay in just a few days. On the other hand, In chronic disease, you don’t know what will happen to you.
You must accept lifestyle changes, such as medications and their side effects, follow-up, restricted diet, exercise, and other modifications. Rejecting these changes will make you frustrated, unsatisfied, and depressed.
Chronic pain is considered the main factor for stress, anxiety, and depression. Thus, each one of these three factors contributes to stress, anxiety, and depression.
Recognizing the Symptoms of Mental Health Struggles:
You need to observe yourself by writing in a notebook; some patients with chronic diseases may think symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression are related to the disease symptoms.
It could be, but some diseases, like specific heart disease, are usually associated with depression.
There are three primary types of Symptoms:
1. Physical symptoms:
- You could have muscle tension, which results in headaches, back pain, and discomfort.
- Sleep disturbance, like insomnia, means difficulty in sleeping. Thus, fatigue occurs during the day.
- Digestive issues occur when fight-or-flight conditions disrupt the digestive system. Fight-or-flight is a stress pattern resulting from hormonal imbalance, such as an adrenal, which increases one’s heart rate and attention.
2. Psychological Symptoms:
- Persistent Worry: you may be scared and think too much about your health and treatment outcomes.
- Irritability and Mood Swings: when you are in a stressful condition, you will try to overcome it, which results in increased irritability and mood changes.
- Overwhelm: Managing a chronic illness alongside stress can cause individuals to feel overwhelmed or unable to cope.
3. Behavioral Symptoms:
- Social withdrawal: I went through burnout during my med school final exams; stress and anxiety left me exhausted. As a result, I no longer enjoyed gathering with people; indeed, I escaped from them.
- Changes in Appetite: Besides social withdrawal, I lost my appetite. Thus, my nutrition suffered, and I got sick multiple times. You may experience overeating or loss of appetite; stress can be one of them.
The relationship between chronic diseases and mental health is bidirectional. Chronic illnesses increase the risk of developing anxiety disorders. In turn, anxiety worsens the symptoms and progression of chronic diseases.
Chronic anxiety could result in depression; in some patients, anxiety and depression often coexist, and it’s hard to differentiate between them.
When to seek help:
You must gain the mindset of Desiderus Erasmus, who said,” Prevention is better than cure.” To effectively manage stress, anxiety, and depression, you need to master some techniques.
To do so, a coach will help you effectively impress these techniques and ensure you make them correctly. In addition, the coach will constantly measure your progress through symptom evaluation and overall well-being.
You should schedule a meeting with a doctor in case of persistent symptoms from the following:
1. Worsening Physical Symptoms Related to Stress
2. Persistent Emotional Distress
3. Cognitive and Behavioral Changes
4. Social Withdrawal and Isolation
5. Thoughts of Self-Harm or Suicide (Emergency!)
If you have thoughts of harming yourself or feel like life is not worth living, seek immediate help!
The Role of Social Support:
We need to feel we belong, are cared for, accepted, and emotionally supported, especially in stressful situations. Finding someone to help you will improve your recovery and overall health. You can join a support group in person or digitally, but you must ensure it fits well and meets your needs.
Managing Stress and Building Resilience:
Developing coping mechanisms for stress management:
Coping mechanisms play a crucial role in managing stress and preventing depression. For example, in medical school, I feel overwhelmed whenever I remember that I must memorize a lot of information.
I thought carefully and found that we are always learning in life. Learning is only beneficial when you can retrieve the information you have memorized. Then, I accepted this fact and started to make my studying more effective. Finally, I felt good, got a better grade, and developed resilience.
There are many coping mechanisms; you can use more than one for better results. The main mechanisms include deep breathing, relaxation, and harmful thought changes.
You can learn this skill alone or hire a coach, but to get results, you must be consistent and practice daily, especially during stressful situations.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques for self-help:
Simply put, it is part of mental health enhancement; it aims to explore and then change negative beliefs, emotions, and behavior. When you talk to someone openly, the load of emotions decreases, which helps you think positively.
Your feelings, behavior, and thoughts change when you endure long periods of pain, discomfort, and daily medical intervention. Therefore, consider cognitive behavior as early as possible. You will need to change and gain some behavior as an approach to self-care.
Finding hobbies and activities that bring joy:
Finding joy while feeling pain or discomfort or not being in the mood for hobbies and activities is challenging. Although there are many things you can do with minimal effort, you may figure out new hobbies.
Choosing how to spend time with things you love will make you happy, relax, and take your focus from the illness. Moreover, finding something you enjoy doing will boost your mental health and give you a sense of control.
My friend’s father was diagnosed with kidney failure, and he was eagerly reading most of his time. Even when he was not reading, he was thinking. Suppose reading is not your thing. Don’t worry; you can listen, watch, or communicate. It doesn’t matter where you find joy as long as it brings happiness.
To sum up, chronic diseases affect your emotions, and if you don’t handle these emotions, they could result in long-term stress, anxiety, or depression. Then, it’s going to be more challenging to deal with chronic disease and mental issues.
Therefore, you must recognize the signs of stress, anxiety, and depression and seek help as soon as possible.
Additionally, you must integrate prevention techniques into your daily life, like communication, breathing, and so on.
Remember, taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body—don’t hesitate to ask for help when needed.
