Semicolon Stories

Too Much Stress

April 22, 2010 at 10:23 am Danielle B 5 comments

A Reuters article reported this week that, “People with inflammatory bowel disease commonly believe that stress can trigger their symptoms, and a new study suggests they may be right.”

YA THINK?

I am not sure whether I am humored or disturbed by this recent study by Canadian researchers. Maybe if more of them would get out of the lab and spend a week or two with some of us, they’d get even more perspective for what we go through. All I need is a bad day where my nerves are shot and my hands are shaking because I’ve got so much adrenaline and nervous energy pumping through my veins … and see where I am that night and the next morning. It’s not really rocket science here. Or here’s a tip for those who are on the cutting edge of colon cancer genetic research – come and test my blood after one of those days and see if stress impacts my MLH1 gene, or if I happen to grow a new round of little polyps after one of these seasons. I’ve got a hunch that there’s a corolation.

HOWEVER;

Although these researchers are just now finding some ‘validity’ to some of our ‘claims’  – it still doesn’t take away the real problem most of us face: too much stress. And while I’m sure we’d love it sometimes, it’s nearly impossible to isolate ourselves from it or just throw in the towel (although I do feel sometimes a total break from a bad situation is what it will take.)  But generally as a culture,we’ve got to find a way to manage our stress better. My colon takes a toll, while for others it’s their skin, teeth, weight, blood pressure (or all of the above.) I’ve come to realize that if we all don’t start taking steps in this direction, we’ll be sorry.  Some of us will get sick and deal with a poor immunity the rest of our lives, others will be on chronic care, and then some of us just might not even make it. Sorry to sound grim, but it’s reality. It will eventually kill us.

SO…

In the spirit of helpfulness, let’s talk about how to make this even a little bit better. Here are 5 things I am trying to put into practice when I hit those high-level stress days. Granted, I need to listen to myself more than I do, but here’s a start.

– Take a walk
– Landscape (a recent find)
– Boxing class
– Leave the situation
– Drink wine

OK … your turn. Chime in and toss out your ideas about how you try to manage your stress to add to the list.

Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: boxing, Canadian study, IBD, MLH1, polyps, stress, wine.