Chronic Stress? More Like Chronic Pain in the Ass!

I think it’s safe to say that most of us are unaware of how much stress we actually experience every day. Sure, work is stressful, school pick up lines are stressful, balancing a budget is stressful, grocery shopping is stressful. We all know that.

How often do you recognize that chronic health issues are playing a part in stress, too? How often do those chronic physical or mental challenges even make it to the list of what’s stressful in your life? Do you ever stop to acknowledge them, besides when you’re trying to stem the tide of pain?

According to the Center for Disease Control, in 2021, 20.9% of American adults had chronic pain. I would guess that percentage is actually higher.

But to what point is stress aggravating that pain?

But to what point is the chronic pain actually from chronic stress?

Chronic pain interferes with daily life. It can create financial insecurities due to not being able to work or the cost of treatment, depression, relationship problems, sleep disturbances, fatigue, anxiety, and mood swings. One of the risk factors for chronic pain is chronic stress. Did you know that people with chronic pain have increased pain sensitivity when exposed to stress? In other words…

stress is painful.

According to the American Psychological Association, virtually every system in our body is adversely affected by chronic or long-term stress.

• Muscle-tension due to stress can lead to migraines, tension headaches, and chronic neck, shoulder, and back pain.

• The respiratory system can experience shortness of breath, hyperventilating, and intensify other respiratory disorders such as COPD and asthma.

• Stroke and heart attacks can result from long-term stress, as well as inflammation and cardiac distress.

• The endocrine system’s regulatory hormones can be altered when stress is chronic, such as producing too much of a hormone (such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system, HPA, that creates cortisol) and result in chronic pain, fatigue, and depression.

• Our nervous system contributes to this issue by constantly “firing” our “emergency” response systems (sympathetic nervous system) resulting in a type of wear and tear on those systems’ behaviors. Cortisol increase can even contribute to diabetes and obesity.

• Other gastrointestinal issues can arise such as gastric reflux, vomiting, anxious feelings in the stomach, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea, among so many other things.

• Chronic stress can also adversely affect the male and female reproductive systems, making it difficult to regulate hormones and conceive.

That is why stress management needs to be an integral part of pain management.

That makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?

The approach to managing pain and stress must be holistic. Both the physical and mental health have to be taken into consideration.

A good place to start is to create a healthy routine, including enough quality sleep, healthy, balanced eating, and regular exercise. While a person experiencing chronic stress may feel they are not capable of maintaining such a routine, especially if they are experiencing depression and pain, it is vital that consistent attempts are made to create and maintain such habits. Don’t give up. Don’t stop.

A mental support system is vital, whether that be family or friends or therapists. Reducing the source of stress is helpful, however many times it is not possible. Some people experience chronic stress due to posttraumatic stress disorder. It is difficult and sometime impossible to shut down those responses to stress. However, through therapy (and possibly medication) progress can be made.

The bad news is you may never be free of chronic pain or chronic stress. I know that isn’t what you want to hear. But remember, knowledge is power. When we are honest with ourselves, we can then help ourselves. Only when we’ve identified the problem can we start working on the solution. Setting goals for your health and well-being need to follow the same system as any goal we set: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Let’s work it out!

Your friend is tired of being tired… aren’t we all. They come to you, expressing that they just don’t know if they can keep going day after day. Something has to give. How could you help them set a goal for their holistic health?

One of the first things that ALL OF US need to do is prioritize sleep. Yes, I know you know, but it’s still valid. You tell your friend that without proper sleep, you can’t be expected to do anything!

S: Get 7 hours of undisturbed sleep every night.

M: 7 hours undisturbed, better set alarms for when to go to bed and get up.

A: Do they work only one job? Is getting 7 hours of undisturbed sleep a night attainable?

R: Without sleep, how to we expect our brains and bodies to function at their best?

T: Start slow. Make getting 7 hours of undisturbed sleep a goal for just Sunday nights, before you start the Monday rush. Next week, make it two nights and go on from there.

Try this method for yourself. Below I’ve listed some common holistic health goals. Try setting a goal for yourself and see how it works.

Common Holistic Health Goals:

• Enrich your diet with more vegetables or fiber

• Create a routine (morning, evening, skin care, meditation)

• Enrich your movement (walking, skipping, swimming, think fun movement)

• Self-Care Time

• Rewarding yourself – even if it’s a positive thought rather than a critical one

• Begin therapy or healing work

• Family Time

• Set more goals!

When we make detailed plans and set goals, when we dig into the nitty gritty of our hopes, we start to see steps being formed. Suddenly, that first step isn’t so far away. It’s at our feet, waiting for us to make the first move.

Resources:

American Psychological Association. (2023, March 8). Stress effects on the body. Retrieved on August 25, 2023, from https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body

Anisman, H. (2014). Chapter 6: Stress, immunity, and disease. An Introduction to Stress and Health. SAGE PublicationsLtd. https://eds-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=d64f42c3-8db6-4ef3-b58f-c66bc8cc44d5%40redis&ppid=Page-__-141&vid=0&format=EK

Crettaz, B., Marziniak, M., Willeke, P., Young, P., Hellhammer, D., Stumpf, A., & Burgmer, M. (2013). Stress-induced allodynia--evidence of increased pain sensitivity in healthy humans and patients with chronic pain after experimentally induced psychosocial stress. PloS One, 8(8), e69460–e69460. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069460