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Diverticulitis and Stress
It was interesting when we did the survey for the End
Diverticulitis Reference what our Newsletter readers had to
say about stress. (If you haven't joined our Newsletter you
can on the right hand side).
Stress was something that we had suspicions about and its association on Diverticulitis and Diverticulosis, and a few people had
mentioned to us that when under stress they noticed problems.
However we were amazed at the result about Stress and it's affect on Diverticulitis.
It turns out that Stress was the number 1 cause for people to have a
flare up, ie Diverticulosis to turn into Diverticulitis.
Really is it such a big surprise?
Many many years ago I was in a job and there was a big problem looming
with one of the customers I dealt with. I knew it was going to be
a problem, and the company I worked with was working very hard to find
alternative solutions. However in the few days that this
situation remained unsolved, I was under some pretty serious
stress, I had trouble sleeping, and all those things.
Now I think
back on it, I also had a knot in my stomach, some issues
with heart burn, and irregular bowel movements.
We finally found several solutions, and approached the customer
presented our case, told them what had happened and worked toward
a resolution. Needless to say my concerns vanished overnight,
once we had solutions in place and was working with the customer,
the knot in my stomach disappeared, and so did my heart burn etc.
I also had the best nights sleep that I had in ages that night.
After thinking back on that experience it is no wonder stress and
Diverticulitis are related. All my concerns and worrys were
directly effecting my digestive system. Now if your digestive
system is not healthy what do you think those sort of effects are going
to have on your Diverticulitis? Not Good.
What happens?
Well Stress causes your body to not digest food properly. Usually
when under stress blood and oxygen are not directed to the digestive
system but to other areas in the body. This has a direct effect
on how well the digestive system works. When the stressful
situation is resolved the blood and oxygen is directed back to the
digestive system. So imagine that you have the Diverticuli and
you body is busy fighting an infection in them. A stressful
situation comes up, blood and oxygen is taken away from where
your body is fighting the infection. Guess who starts
winning, yep, the infection. So you have a full blown flare
up of Diverticulitis. It is important to give your digestive
system the best possible chance for fighting any infections, and stress
does not allow that to happen.
So what do you do?
Well avoid stress. That's obvious isn't it.
However while it is obvious we all live in the real world and not some Utopian society.
So it will not always be possible to avoid stress. So we need to
learn to manage it and control it. Controlling and managing stress is
not something at is inside the scope of this section, and there are
numerous books and programs about Stress and dealing with it. For a stress controlling solutions click
here.. And we have added a stress section into the library so check it out.
There are things you should consider.
If it is your job that is causing the stress, is it continuous?
Are you under constant pressure to perform and is the place you
work a high stress work place?
You need to ask yourself. Do you really need it? I know
some people thrive on it and love the stress and high action jobs,
but if your health is failing then why risk Diverticulosis for
the sake of a job.
Might be time to have a look around at something else.
Is it something specific in your life, money, illness (Diverticulitis
can itself cause stress, which can cause Diverticulitis, nasty
circle that one). Then you need to face the problem and find a
solution. Once it is brought out into the open and discussed you
might find the solution is closer than you think. But keeping it
inside will not help.
2. deep breathing, very simple take a few deep breaths when you feel the stress building and calm down.
3. identify what is causing the stress and take actions to fix it.
4. understand what you can and cannot change. and change the things you can
5. avoid unrealistic expectations
6. have a break
7. enjoy a pastime, be it family, hobbies, something you can loose yourself in.
8. avoid chemical stress enhancers, coffee, alcohol etc
9. learn relaxation techniques, from meditation to sport
10. if all else fails GET HELP don't be too afraid to ask a professional
I recently heard the Dalai Lama speak. He is a very interesting speaker.
He was talking about a whole of self approach to like.
Physical, mental and spiritual. This doesn't necessarily
mean to go out and join a religion, it means getting yourself to a
place of contentment. Get yourself to a physical level that is
sustainable, make sure your mind is active and involved, and make
sure you are content, be happy with who you are.
Is it yourself? This one is a tough one. I know a lot of
people are worriers, spend all their time worrying about things
and places and a lot of the time it is really just pointless.
You need to control concerns and anxieties as if they get out of hand
they will cause stress which can flare up your Diverticulitis.
I strongly suggest that you seek some sort of solution if Stress is a
major factor in your life. As Stress is a major factor in
Diverticulitis. You need to control Stress, manage stress and
avoid stress. Things will go wrong and problems will happen.
It is how you face these and treat these problems that will
determine how well Diverticulitis is managed.
Some simple things you can do RIGHT NOW to help relieve stress.
1. exercise. get out and stretch the legs
That is enough from me on this topic, stress management is an
entire subject in itself and there are heaps and heaps of different
ways of managing stress. The one thing that I really want to get
across to you here is that Stress and Diverticulitis (in fact Stress
and the Digestive tract) are linked. Learn to manage your stress
and you will help the management of your Diverticulitis.
If you are looking for books on Stress and Stress management check out our library,
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