5 Tips for Coping with Stress and Chronic Illness

Living with a rare disease can be stressful in its own right. For example, many patients face a history of medical trauma. This often happens from being put through the complex and difficult U.S. healthcare system.

Additionally, getting access to medication for rare diseases is often hard. This is especially true in smaller or impoverished countries and regions.¹

Finally, the ongoing symptoms of a rare disease are often misunderstood. In my case, I live with narcolepsy. These daily symptoms can make it very difficult to navigate life.

How I approach stress reduction with 5 tips

In my article, Managing Stress and Chronic Illness, we discussed the negative impacts of stress on overall health. As a person living with a rare disease, it is important to reduce my stress levels as much as possible.

Because of this, managing stress helps me reduce the chances of experiencing symptom flares or other illnesses. Narcolepsy is a neurological disease in which stress can worsen symptoms pretty significantly. Therefore, it is important that I try to remain as level-headed as possible. Five ways I do this include:

1. Embracing "vacations" at home when travel isn't possible

As a chronically ill person, fancy getaways for days on end are not always affordable or physically possible. Therefore, I take what I can get!

Finding getaways in everyday moments

Picture this: a walk through the park to a bakery shop. I take the time to sit and eat my newly acquired pastry while waiting for the bus to arrive and take me home. Other ways I take a vacation at home include birdwatching, hiking a nearby trail, walking to a restaurant to take myself on a date, shopping at the farmer's market, and more.

2. Practice unconditional acceptance of the things you cannot change

Easier said than done, right?

I try to practice unconditional acceptance when I am experiencing the symptoms of my chronic illness, like excessive sleepiness, and there isn't anything I can do about it. Instead of fighting the sleepiness and trying to push through symptoms that I cannot control, I can practice unconditional acceptance and choose to take a nap. In the end, doing so is beneficial to my health and overall well-being.

Instead of focusing on what I cannot control, I focus on what I can. By doing so, I can reduce my stress levels in undesirable situations.

3. Engage in spiritual practices to build internal resilience

For me, spiritual practice includes meditation, yoga, and exploring the outdoors and all of its incredible inhabitants. When doing so, I feel connected to something bigger than myself. I end up feeling calmer, more secure, and more resilient in the face of life's various difficulties.

4. Use your senses to ground yourself and reduce anxiety

Somatic refers to the part of the nervous system involved in the four senses: smell, sound, taste, and touch.²

Somatic practices utilize the four senses to help "ground" me into my body. It is important for me to feel grounded to reduce stress and anxiety. Some examples that I use for getting grounded include deep breathing, swimming, hiking, aromatherapy, and more.

5. Harness the power of self-encouragement and positive thoughts

Getting encouragement can be as simple as giving it to yourself!

For example, I use positive affirmations to help me get through difficult times. These can help improve my outlook over time.

What kind of techniques do you use to reduce stress? Does excessive stress affect your rare disease symptoms? Feel free to share in the comments!