What Lupus Means to Me
To sum up in one sentence what lupus means to me would be taking control of my life and managing my emotions. David the Psalmist knew thousands of years ago that stress was harmful when he wrote: “ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret – it only causes harm.” (Psalm 37:8)
A conversation with my rheumatologist confirmed that long-term stress plays a large part in the health of our immune system, and with my Type-A personality everything stressed me out – all day, every day.
De-stressing our lives can seem as insurmountable as turning the Titanic around, but it’s attainable.
It’s two-fold: learning how stress affects our health, and how we can control it.
Recently I took a health class at a local community college. It was fascinating and I enjoyed all the research assigned to us. Ironically, one of our first research assignments was to write on how stress affects our health! I learned if we allow ourselves to live in a constant state of stress, fear or anxiety every day for months or years on end, the changes in our body chemistry can lead to auto-immune problems, heart problems, high blood pressure and other life-threatening illnesses.
We all remember the anti-drug campaign commercial with the egg sizzling on hot cement – “This is your brain on drugs“. If they made a commercial about the harmful effects of sudden, acute or prolonged low-level stress it could be entitled, “This is your body on stress“ . Stress affects every part of our body:
Chemicals released when we’re stressed or scared: adrenalin, epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol are released into the brain which jump-starts the fight or flight syndrome. These hormones increase our pain threshold and give us a surge of power.
Brain: acute stress bypasses the rational part of the brain and goes directly to the emotional center: ACT NOW! THINK LATER! DEFEND! ATTACK!
Eyes: pupils dilate and eyes narrow to see more clearly.
Lungs: breathing opens up with faster, harder, shallower breaths to get more oxygen to the muscles.
Heart: speeds up; blood pressure rises getting blood to the vital areas fast! Sudden or acute stress can cause “broken heart syndrome” which mimics a heart attack, called stress cardio-myopathy.
Liver: converts sugar into energy so the body can react quickly.
Spleen: releases blood, and the long bones produce more blood in case of injury or bleeding.
Nerve endings: are stimulated so the hair stands on end and the nerves are ready for action!
Blood: Flow increases by 400% to brain and major muscles to get ready to act or run! Arteries constrict and blood becomes stickier in order to clot if injured.
Digestion: stops because energy is needed elsewhere.
Smooth muscles of arms and legs: become dilated and tense so you are ready to move!
Understanding how stress changes my body chemistry and how dangerous it is to my health helped me come up with the second half of our assignment – we each had to develop a personal strategy for overcoming stress in our own lives.
This is what works for me:
1. Daily prayer, Bible reading and meditation.
2. Use deep breathing techniques.
3. Exercise and eat well – avoid fast food or junk food.
4. Use laughter – it’s good for the soul.
5. Get a good night’s sleep.
6. Maintain a positive outlook; get rid of all negativity.
7. Solve problems within my control & don’t worry about what I can’t.
8. Recognize stress triggers & use above strategies to head them off.
Instead of seeing only the negative aspects of lupus in my life, I see the positive – that I’m in more control over my emotions and Type-A personality. I’m no longer stressing out over things I can’t change, which means I have a more peaceful outlook on life.
This is what lupus means to me.
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Denice Beal, of Granada Hills, CA, is married, has raised three kids, taught art for the last 20+ years and just published her first in a series of how-to art books, Easy Art . She will be appearing as a featured MLWT guest blogger and you can reach her via email at alwaysmutti@yahoo.com. Be sure to put “lupus” in the subject line.
