Lecture 35- Practical Tips for Managing Stress Related to Chronic Illness — Transcript

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1. 0:16Namaskar friends,
2. 0:19I am Shubha Sa your course instructor
3. 0:22and this is lecture five of module 7 of
4. 0:26the stress management course.
5. 0:29In this lecture, I have summarized some
6. 0:33practical tips to reduce stress
7. 0:37associated with chronic illness.
8. 0:41In this part, we will talk about the
9. 0:44practical steps that can be taken to
10. 0:47reduce stress in the life of the patient
11. 0:51as well as the caregiver.
12. 0:55These strategies are related with the
13. 0:58physical, emotional, social and
14. 1:02self-care domains of life.
15. 1:08In order to alleviate stress generated
16. 1:12from chronic illness, one must take a
17. 1:17holistic approach.
18. 1:20Because the illness is chronic, it is
19. 1:23going to stay for a long period of time
20. 1:26and sometimes maybe for a lifetime.
21. 1:30The stress associated with it is of
22. 1:33course chronic. Off and on with the
23. 1:37change in the diseased condition, the
24. 1:40level of a stress will also increase and
25. 1:43decrease. But of course, it is not going
26. 1:46to leave you completely.
27. 1:50When the stress is pervasive and it is
28. 1:54longlasting,
29. 1:55it is always better to take a
30. 1:58multi-pronged approach to deal with it
31. 2:02so that one can save one's own physical,
32. 2:07mental, social, workrelated
33. 2:11life and maintain an optimum level of
34. 2:15performance in all domains.
35. 2:19So if I begin with physical strategy, I
36. 2:23must say that all the physical
37. 2:26strategies listed here help us in two
38. 2:31ways.
39. 2:32First,
40. 2:34they act as a preventive measure against
41. 2:38developing chronic diseases.
42. 2:42So if I exercise regularly,
43. 2:46I do some sort of yog or I simply walk
44. 2:50in the morning or I swim or I engage
45. 2:54myself in any kind of physical activity.
46. 2:58I'm going to delay the expression of
47. 3:01chronic diseases
48. 3:03if I'm not able to completely do away
49. 3:08with them. For example, if somebody has
50. 3:12a history of diabetes in his or her
51. 3:15family,
52. 3:17he or she may be vulnerable for the
53. 3:20disease, of course, but an appropriate
54. 3:25life management can help him delay the
55. 3:30expression of the genes responsible for
56. 3:33diabetes.
57. 3:35So instead of developing diabetes at the
58. 3:39age of 42, a person can delay it for 10
59. 3:44years further
60. 3:46thereby reducing the level of anxiety
61. 3:49and maintaining an optimum health status
62. 3:52for a longer period of time. So these
63. 3:56activities which I'm going to talk about
64. 3:59can act as a preventive measure.
65. 4:02Secondly, if I have already developed
66. 4:07some sort of chronic illness,
67. 4:10unfortunately,
68. 4:12these strategies can become a part of
69. 4:16the lifestyle management program
70. 4:20and help me get best results from the
71. 4:24treatment, from the medication which is
72. 4:27going on because they act as a
73. 4:30synergizer with the main course of
74. 4:33treatment. So their capacity as a
75. 4:37prevention
76. 4:39as a pretor of disease and their
77. 4:42capacity as a supporter of main
78. 4:45treatment course is
79. 4:49highly appreciable.
80. 4:51So everybody must engage in these kind
81. 4:54of activities. So let us see what I have
82. 4:57in this package. Of course we have
83. 5:00talked about exercise. Any kind of
84. 5:02exercise, aerobic, yog, walking,
85. 5:05swimming, playing badminton or even
86. 5:08dancing. Whatever is fit for you can be
87. 5:12chosen. Whatever is interesting for you
88. 5:15can be chosen so that you can continue
89. 5:18with this exercise for a long time. If I
90. 5:22opt for an exercise form which I found
91. 5:26difficult or which I find very
92. 5:29uninteresting,
93. 5:31I will not continue with it for a long
94. 5:33time and continuity and regularity is
95. 5:36important. For many aspects it is
96. 5:39important. So select your own exercise
97. 5:42but be regular with it. Spend at least
98. 5:4530 minutes of your life daily doing some
99. 5:49sort of physical exercise so that you
100. 5:53can maintain your health. Take good
101. 5:56sleep. 7 to 8 hours of sleep and a
102. 6:00regular sleep routine is highly
103. 6:03recommended for a healthy life. Not only
104. 6:08the duration of sleep should be proper
105. 6:11but the the routine should also be
106. 6:15regular. Routine should be regular means
107. 6:18one should try to fix up a time of
108. 6:21falling asleep and uh getting awake in
109. 6:26the morning as far as possible. Of
110. 6:29course, some deviations will be there
111. 6:31according to the environmental demands,
112. 6:34but as far as possible, one should try
113. 6:36to regularize the sleep pattern and also
114. 6:40keep the duration between 7 to 8 hours.
115. 6:44The third aspect is taking proper diet.
116. 6:48If we are not consuming a balanced diet,
117. 6:52of course, it is going to affect our
118. 6:54health status in one way or the other.
119. 6:59uh we we we must prefer whole grains
120. 7:02over processed food and try to take
121. 7:06fruits instead of juices.
122. 7:10Freshly prepared food is the best option
123. 7:13especially for a environment where we
124. 7:17live in which is warm, hot and humid. So
125. 7:21one must take care of what the person is
126. 7:24eating and at what time. Relaxation
127. 7:28should be a part of your life.
128. 7:31Relaxation exercises can include deep
129. 7:35breathing exercises, progressive muscle
130. 7:38relaxation, meditation, and mindfulness.
131. 7:43Embracing mindfulness technique is
132. 7:46beneficial for maintaining the presence
133. 7:49and clarity
134. 7:51in diminishing anxieties related to past
135. 7:54experiences of illnesses or upcoming
136. 7:59possibilities of having some sort of
137. 8:02undesirable
138. 8:03outcome related with the health. So
139. 8:07mindfulness help person focus on the
140. 8:10present state instead of getting
141. 8:13absorbed in the past experiences or
142. 8:17thinking a lot about the future outcome
143. 8:20that can be undesirable but of course
144. 8:23not in one's own control.
145. 8:26The next popular strategy in this series
146. 8:29is journaling.
147. 8:32If we are overwhelmed with emotion,
148. 8:36I can release it either by talking to
149. 8:39somebody I can confide in or by writing
150. 8:44my own feelings and the causes of those
151. 8:48feelings.
152. 8:50Repeated writing of the emotional state
153. 8:54also helps me develop a proper
154. 8:57perspective of my emotions.
155. 9:01Establishing support system is again
156. 9:04very necessary as I was talking in my
157. 9:07earlier lectures also. If I am in
158. 9:10contact in touch with my family with my
159. 9:13friends or support group they can
160. 9:16provide me with the most valuable
161. 9:19emotional support and physical help as
162. 9:24and when I need it. I can also take the
163. 9:27help of counselors and therapists if I
164. 9:31require to do so without any hesitation.
165. 9:35This is applicable for the patient as
166. 9:38well as for the caregiver. The caregiver
167. 9:41can also develop mental health issues
168. 9:43and the patient of course a patient who
169. 9:46is suffering a lot for such a long time
170. 9:49is very much prone to develop mental
171. 9:52health complications. So both can take
172. 9:55the help of professionals if it is
173. 9:58required.
174. 10:01Then comes the social strategies that is
175. 10:05communicating openly about the health
176. 10:08state with the health professionals,
177. 10:11family and friends. Can clarify the
178. 10:16needs and concerns of the patients and
179. 10:19has a potential to lower the stress
180. 10:22levels.
181. 10:24Joining a support group which is
182. 10:27composed of people who are suffering
183. 10:29from similar problems or who have
184. 10:33already successfully managed those
185. 10:36problems can be a boon in this condition
186. 10:39because the patient derive a lot of
187. 10:42moral support from such instances and
188. 10:46also learn a number of practical tips to
189. 10:50manage their own health conditions. s
190. 10:53more effectively.
191. 10:56Engaging in social activities like hobby
192. 11:00clubs or spending time with loved ones
193. 11:03can have a positive impact on one's
194. 11:06mental health thereby reducing the
195. 11:09stress and enhancing the overall
196. 11:12well-being. Similarly, respite care that
197. 11:16is temporary arrangements for patient
198. 11:18care that can last for a few hours, a
199. 11:21few days or maybe a few week depending
200. 11:24upon the demand of the caregiver can
201. 11:28offer a temporary break to the caregiver
202. 11:31to return to his or her normal life.
203. 11:36Similarly, self-care strategies are
204. 11:40must. I would like to mention a very
205. 11:43important point here. When I write
206. 11:47prioritizing activities, it means one
207. 11:51has to be very particular about what
208. 11:55should be done in the limited time
209. 11:58available.
210. 12:00Friends, in our life we have two types
211. 12:02of activities or two types of tasks.
212. 12:07One are the achievementoriented
213. 12:11tasks,
214. 12:12responsibilities,
215. 12:14roles that we need to play. The other
216. 12:18type of activities are usually pleasure
217. 12:21oriented associated with our quality of
218. 12:26life associated with deriving more and
219. 12:29more pleasure and satisfaction from
220. 12:32life. In other words, doing what is
221. 12:36required and doing what we want to do
222. 12:40because it simply gives us a lot of
223. 12:43pleasure, a lot of you know positive
224. 12:46vibes.
225. 12:47So when we are suffering from chronic
226. 12:50illness or we are taking care of
227. 12:52somebody who is suffering a lot and in
228. 12:56both conditions the person would be
229. 12:59overwhelmed with negative emotions like
230. 13:01worry, anxiety, overburdened, financial
231. 13:04strain and lot many things.
232. 13:07Also very limited time is available
233. 13:11to do the things which are important.
234. 13:15One should be very careful in
235. 13:18prioritizing one one's tasks
236. 13:21and some time must be spared for doing
237. 13:26activities
238. 13:28which leads to pleasure which leads to
239. 13:32happiness which are targeted towards
240. 13:36improving the quality of life. Instead
241. 13:40of spending all the time in activities
242. 13:44which are
243. 13:46merely obligatory to the person or which
244. 13:49are achievementoriented
245. 13:51achievements can wait for a while.
246. 13:54Perhaps we need more happiness and
247. 13:57satisfaction when we are ill or when we
248. 14:00are taking care of somebody who is
249. 14:03suffering from such kind of things. Of
250. 14:06course, there is no such rule. It
251. 14:08depends upon the time. It depends upon
252. 14:11the context. It depends upon the person
253. 14:14who is actually involved in it. But the
254. 14:17thing is one must not underestimate
255. 14:21the need of happiness in one's life.
256. 14:26So prioritizing activities
257. 14:29is something where we must comprehend
258. 14:33the situation in totality. We should
259. 14:36look at all required task which are to
260. 14:40be performed and then select our
261. 14:44priorities carefully.
262. 14:47Establishing limits is of course
263. 14:51important because we are already
264. 14:53burdened overburdened.
265. 14:56Refusing
266. 14:58activities which are not so important
267. 15:00for the moment is a good strategy to
268. 15:05keep our burdens within limits.
269. 15:09If we keep on adopting responsibilities,
270. 15:13accepting tasks one after the other, we
271. 15:17will not get enough time to think about
272. 15:20those activities which we have committed
273. 15:23to recently
274. 15:25and of course not enough time to look at
275. 15:28our own health condition or our own
276. 15:31mental health condition. So one must
277. 15:34learn to say no to all those activities
278. 15:39which seem unimportant for the time
279. 15:42being or that can be given to other
280. 15:46people.
281. 15:50Self-compassion
282. 15:51is a rule here. One must look at himself
283. 15:55or herself the way he or she would have
284. 15:58looked at other people, some friends or
285. 16:02loved ones when they would be doing the
286. 16:04same thing. Mostly we are very strict to
287. 16:09ourselves. We try to delay our own
288. 16:13demands. We try to simply postpone the
289. 16:17self-care activities for oneself. So
290. 16:21that must not be done. Self-compassion
291. 16:24means being kind to oneself also. And
292. 16:27while being kind, we must be able to
293. 16:30take care of ourself. While taking care
294. 16:34of other people,
295. 16:36we must recognize our personal limits
296. 16:39and try to take essential steps towards
297. 16:42decreasing the workload, stress and
298. 16:45improving the overall well-being.
299. 16:49One must not hesitate in seeking
300. 16:52professional help when it is actually
301. 16:55needed.
302. 16:58That's all for the lecture. Let us have
303. 17:01a quick recap of what we have learned.
304. 17:05So the important points that we covered
305. 17:08in this lecture was about the practical
306. 17:12tips for managing stress related to
307. 17:15chronic illness for the patient as well
308. 17:19as for the caregiver.
309. 17:21These include strategies related to
310. 17:24physical health. For example, exercising
311. 17:28regularly, taking proper sleep and
312. 17:32eating healthy food, doing some sort of
313. 17:35relaxation exercises.
314. 17:38The package also included emotional
315. 17:41strategies like observing mindfulness,
316. 17:44doing journaling,
317. 17:47utilizing therapeutic methods if they
318. 17:49are required.
319. 17:51Social strategies were also there in
320. 17:54this bag and they were maintaining
321. 17:57communication,
322. 17:59being in touch with the support group,
323. 18:02participating in social activities and
324. 18:06uh implementing respite care strategy
325. 18:10whenever required. And finally, we
326. 18:13learned that self-care strategies make
327. 18:16the important part of this package. And
328. 18:21one must be self-compassionate
329. 18:24by prioritizing activities, establishing
330. 18:28limits, trying to reduce the stress and
331. 18:31the workload and seeking professional
332. 18:34help whenever required.
333. 18:39This is the reference
334. 18:41and recommended readings for you. If you
335. 18:46want to enhance your knowledge further
336. 18:49in this field, you can also refer to the
337. 18:52books of health psychology to know more
338. 18:56about these topics. Thank you very much
339. 19:00for your patient listening.