It’s not unusual to feel stressed by primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). Navigating the symptom burden, the impact on quality of life and the associated social and professional limitations are all likely to increase your stress levels — and that’s before adding in anxiety about medications, insurance and disease progression.
Better stress management won’t be a magic bullet for these problems, but it can still have a positive effect on your liver health, PBC symptoms and daily life that’s well worth pursuing.
The impact of stress on PBC
Stress has been shown to have a direct link to inflammation in the body. In chronic liver disease, it contributes to cell death and worsens the disease. In PBC specifically, stress can exacerbate symptoms and contribute to disease progression.
Symptoms of stress can be varied, and include trouble sleeping, headaches, teeth grinding, difficulty breathing, heart palpitations, digestive problems, muscle tension, low energy and low mood.
Tips for reducing stress from PBC
Stress affects both the mind and the body; stress reduction involves both the mind and body, too. Try practicing these wellness boosts to help feel more grounded:
Adjust your perspective: Your mindset is an important factor in being stressed. Try to build optimism and positive thinking into your approach to life and work. Learn to put things into perspective and to let things go without becoming stressed or emotionally overwhelmed. Recognized your triggers and how to manage them to avoid stress developing.
Exercise regularly: Regular physical activity reduces the body’s stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) and it is an effective mood booster. It also increases blood circulation.
Laugh more often: Laughter is an excellent stress reliever — and it good for your health. Among its many benefits, laughter can lower cortisol and boost the immune system.
Learn to relax: Yoga, meditation, stretching and deep breathing are all ways to relax mentally and physically.
Eat healthily: A nutritious, balanced diet can help you feel your best both in body and mind.
Sleep to a schedule: Create a sleep routine and adopt good sleep hygiene to help calm your mind and body. Sleeping uninterrupted for seven to eight hours helps reduce stress by creating capacity for tolerance and a calmer approach to problem-solving.
Avoid alcohol: Alcohol won’t help your stress levels. It might mask them or help you temporarily forget the underlying issues, but is bad for your health in the long run.
Avoid self-medicating: A short-term solution that includes alcohol, drugs, smoking or overeating will likely do more harm than good in the long-term.
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