The Stress Factor and How Does It Affect IC~

               Let’s set a scene. Your tired and frazzled, the car just broke down for the 3^rd time in a month, your boss is giving you a tough time, and you’re faced with deadlines and late nights. The kids just can’t get along, if only you could escape to a remote island far, far away from the hustle and stress of the everyday life. Or you’re trying one treatment after another and nothing seems to touch your pain. Your facing yet another surgery and have to figure how, how do you manage if you will be out of commission for a couple of weeks.

             How many of you have experienced any given situation, and the worry of the what ifs almost paralyze you with fear or anxiety and you don’t know the outcome, you’re trying so hard to remain strong, knowing that a lot is riding on you being the rock, you being there for your spouse, and if you have children, so much weighs heavy on your heart. If only, what if, oh no they questions just keep haunting your mind, sleep is nowhere to be found. We all experience it; we all know what stress is and how of a negative effect it can have on our overall well being. So how can we stay on top of something that’s almost inevitable?

          Even those who don’t have chronic illness are faced with stresses in their lives. Loss of job, death in the family, lack of understanding from those in our lives, the list can go on and on.  If only you could catch a breath between each crisis. If only things could just slow down a bit, then I can refocus. We can’t live in the world of what ifs,a lot of what we worry about doesn’t happen of doesn’t happen the way we worry it will.

    Stress in of itself can be a disease to our bodies, and  it can have lasting and sometimes  reversible effects  overall on our health, but what happen s when you already have a disease that  can and  will feed off of any stress that comes along? What happens then? The pain we feel is magnified ten time’s worse, and then other issues creep in. Stress can wear on our bodies in such a complex way, mind, body and spirit.

   We need to step back at times and take an emotional evaluation of our lives. We need to not sweat the small stuff. We need healthy boundaries set up in advance, so negativity cannot creep in through the cracks and crevices of our minds. Refocus on what’s important. Part of doing our part of being proactive and being a advocate for our own health is doing a emotional makeover of our lives .Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Quote by Charles  Swindoll. That is the truth, learning how to react to the stress in our lives and how to remain calm when a crisis hits.

    Feeling like were being pulled in so many directions, is because we carry so many roles in our lives. We are only human, why are we always trying to push harder, do more, live  up to everyone’s expectations that others have of us or expectations we put on our selves, like I have to be more, give more, work  harder. Its important to set goals and its perfectly ok to have dreams and chase after those dreams, but there will be times we will fall,, we can’t be on top of everything all the time and guess what  that’s ok.

   If we do not distress at times, then our bodies will be the ones too pay the ultimate cost .With all we already deal with, having IC, part of staying physically healthy is doing our part in staying emotionally healthy. So take a deep breath, find ways that will work for you to decompress, so you don’t come apart. Its not a easy balance at times, but it can be done. Believe me im learning right alongside of you all., it is why we have one another to encourage and lift each other up, when we feel the stress coming on, your health matters, so do your part in being aware, that life will have stress, but it doesn’t have to take you down.