Eight Tips For Dealing with Fibro Stress and Depression

Stress can be a major trigger when you have fibromyalgia or other chronic invisible illnesses. Since you cannot always control when you’ll be in a stressful situation you cannot always control flare ups. So it is a good idea to learn to control stressful situations as much as possible to have some degree of control over your chronic invisible illness.

This article is a suggestion of eight types of stressful triggers and a comment on each item to give you some idea of what to think about in regards to managing the stress that comes into your life.

1. Avoid stressful situations when at all possible.

2. Wisely say no when needed, and don’t feel guilty.

3. Do the hardest things in the morning and take proper rest or naps in the afternoon.

4. Schedule something each day that is enjoyable.

5. Take time to exercise.

6. Read ten or twenty minutes each day from the Holy Scriptures

7. Start your day with prayer, end your day with prayer and say all the prayers you need from your heart throughout the day.

8. Set reasonable goals and prioritize them, but don’t obsess about them.

By virtue of living, each of us has some idea of thinking or activities that cause stress in our lives. Make a list of those known stressors and do all that you can to avoid them. However, don’t go overboard and create a stressful situation by obsessing on avoiding stress.

Learn how to say “no” and not feel guilty about it. Saying “no” for many people is as stressful as the activity they are saying “no” too. So it doesn’t do much good just to say “no” if you’re going to stress over it.

Sick or not, life goes on and there are things that have to get done. Make a list of those things and then rank them according to how important they really are. Start with the op of the list. This way, if you can only do two things one day, at least they’ll be the most important.

Being sick with chronic pain and other fibromyalgia symptoms is, in itself, stressful. To combat that problem, you need to plan in your day, happy, relaxing or soothing activities.

Exercise is a subject that stands on its own, but exercise, when done correctly, can help manage some of the daily stress.

Read from the Holy Scriptures or if you’re not a religious person read from some text that is inspirational and positive to you. Do this every day.

Take time to pray every day, especially morning and evenings and whenever the need arises, say a prayer in your heart. No religious? Try some meditation or positive affirmations.

Keep goals as a big part of your life without obsessing over them. They can serve as a reminder, but don’t let them serve as inspiration for a guilt trip.

There is a lot more to say about these items, but everyone’s situation is different and these ideas are designed as a starting point for you to help you avoid depression and stress.

What have you tried and how has it worked for you?

Troy Wagstaff ©

This article or list is not medical advice. It is private opinion to help you get started thinking and figuring out what is best for your situations.

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