Why It’s Important to Your Mental Health to Deal Constructively with Self-Doubt
Self-doubt isn’t an automatic determinant or precursor to declining mental health. Nor is it the killer of goals or success. Giving up is, however, on both accounts. The key point to remember here isn’t that you doubt yourself, because you will, but what you’ll do about it will make all the difference between being proactive with your mental health and allowing it to deteriorate through inattention.Why Telling Someone With Anxiety To 'Just Breathe' Isn't Always Helpful
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In some ways, being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis can feel like you’ve suddenly taken on an unexpected full-time job.
You’re constantly finding yourself managing symptoms, whether through medication, alternative treatments, or lifestyle changes, often through personal trial and error. You must take time to figure out how to make your home more accessible and discover ways to enhance all manner of activities, like travel.
Then there are everyday health habits you’ll no doubt examine, including the types of diet and exercise that are best.
Putting in the time to learn how best to do all this is well worth the effort. Thanks to improved treatments, healthier habits, and the array of assistance products available, most people with RA today can find themselves leading spectacular lives.
Managing Morning Stiffness With Rheumatoid Arthritis
Sleeping all night is great for most of your body — but not for your joints. Lack of movement during the night can have you waking up as stiff as steel.
Morning stiffness (which alas can last beyond the early a.m. hours) is one of the more pervasive problems facing people with RA, affecting even a majority of those experiencing low disease activity, according to a research review published in January 2014 in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders.
Fortunately, there are ways to combat this problem. Rheumatologists recommend warming yourself with a heating pad, raising your home thermostat, or doing gentle hand exercises as soon as you wake up, as well as keeping pills by your bed so you can take morning medications immediately.
People with arthritis point to things that have worked for them, including taking a hot shower, staying in bed until your feet joints feel steady, and repeatedly performing morning hand stretches as much as necessary before starting your day.
Managing Fatigue With Rheumatoid Arthritis
For people living with RA, fatigue can be so extreme that just getting through the day may feel like an accomplishment. As the patient advocate Laura Genoves puts it, “Some days you feel great, but others you have a tough time,” when daily tasks like walking the dog or even making your morning coffee are exhausting. Another woman living with RA, Cheryl Crow, told Everyday Health she has to take a rest break each afternoon to keep functioning.
Fatigue — the bone-tired exhaustion that isn’t always helped by sleeping — is considered a common symptom of RA, brought on by inflammation, related anemia, or even the medications you may be taking.
Strategies to battle this exhaustion include controlling the disease with medication, and not napping, if you can avoid it, so that you consolidate your rest. Taking a multipronged approach, such as meditation, which unites both body and mind, may also be effective.
Managing Sleep With Rheumatoid Arthritis
Sleep is a common but overlooked problem that creates a vicious cycle of misery: You can’t sleep, so the next day you experience excess pain and feel even more disabled, which makes it hard to fall asleep the following night.
Sleep woes may also be related to depression in a complex interplay between the body and the mind. (If you do experience depression, it’s important to speak with your physician.)
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to improve your nightly shut-eye, including investing in a heated blanket or mattress pad, getting into the routine of an evening meditation, and shunning snacking a couple of hours before bedtime.
Related: Smart Health: I Tried Oura to Sleep Better With Rheumatoid Arthritis -- and Here's What Happened
Managing Your Prescriptions for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Here’s the good news: RA treatment options have greatly increased in recent years. With more biologics, biosimilars, combination therapy, and other treatments, it’s even more likely you can quell bothersome symptoms or even put the disease in remission. But how to manage all these prescriptions can be a complex undertaking.
It’s important to speak honestly with your physician at every visit about whether your medications are providing the results you are wanting. Before each appointment, keep a symptom journal and bring it with you, write down specific questions you don’t want to forget to ask, and accurately track all herbal and vitamin supplements you are taking.
Once a medication (or combination) has been prescribed, carefully follow all directions so you don’t make mistakes. Common mistakes include unintentionally doubling (or tripling) up on NSAID drugs and taking methotrexate daily rather than weekly.
If you have concerns about your drugs, share with your doctor your reasons for wanting to stop taking them, whether it is fears of side effects or their escalating cost. (Financial assistance may be available to you.) Never stop taking your meds on your own, even if you’re feeling better.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Once your prescriptions are under control, many people begin to experiment with nondrug complementary techniques, everything from supplements to spices.
This is an area fraught with misinformation and lies, so it’s prudent to use a Buyer Beware approach. Even popular methods like acupuncture, magnet therapy, cryotherapy, or sauna therapy actually have little to no research supporting them for use with rheumatoid arthritis. It’s important to check with your doctor before exploring any alternative technique, especially if it’s something you plan to ingest.
Home remedies worth pursuing include warm baths and other heat treatments. You might also benefit from mindful breathing or other mind-body techniques, because the relaxation response they bring reduces inflammatory stress. Essential oils dripped into a bath or placed on a diffuser can also help keep you calmer.
Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of polyunsaturated fat known to be anti-inflammatory. Although stores sell supplements, you can find omega-3s in cold-water seafood, so it may be worth increasing your consumption of these foods. Try adding a little fish oil to your morning smoothie, or snack on canned herring on crackers in the afternoon.
Several herbs and spices are also considered anti-inflammatory. The most well-known is turmeric (curcumin), but other good ones include ginger, thyme, and cinnamon.
Diet for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Food is so important for all our cells, so it makes sense that people with RA often look to experiment with whether changing their diet might help their disease.
Unfortunately, good-quality studies showing that any specific eating plan can benefit RA are hard to come by. Still, since RA is a disease of inflammation, trying an anti-inflammatory diet makes sense — and indeed, preliminary studies show it can help improve RA symptoms in just a few weeks. This diet is similar to the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet experts have long recommended. Some eating plans, such as the keto diet, which is chock-full of high-fat foods, may actually be detrimental for people with joint inflammation.
The best eating plans are those that draw from a variety of healthy options, so don’t get stuck munching on one food item repeatedly. That said, your RA symptoms might benefit from incorporating certain foods into your diet that are known to be beneficial, including certain culinary herbs, healthful teas, antioxidant fruits like blueberries, and even yummy inflammation-fighting desserts like cherry cobbler and dark chocolate.
Exercising With Rheumatoid Arthritis
Contrary to popular belief, exercise does not make rheumatoid arthritis worse. In fact, experts now know that “motion is lotion,” with regular physical activity a key part of retaining function and quality of life.
Of course, you’ll want to check with your physician before you start any new workout plan. Once you’ve done that, work to strengthen your muscles (which protect delicate joints) by lifting light weights, and gain endurance through aerobic activities. Both are essential for helping to manage your RA.
People with the disease tend to do best with low-impact activities like walking or swimming. Other great exercises include water aerobics, the Chinese meditative movement of tai chi, and gentle forms of yoga.
Home Accessibility and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Everyone wants to be comfortable in their own home, but when you have RA, having that cozy space may mean making some changes to aid your independence, safety, and mobility.
Some of these swaps require buying a few things, like a raised toilet seat and grab bars for the bathroom, or getting flat knobs or handles for your kitchen cabinets rather than round ones.
Some changes that have a big effect can be had for less than $20. Bottle openers and vegetable peelers with larger grips make cooking easier for painful joints, while aids that help you put on socks and shoes and reachers for other items assist with everyday chores.
Related: Smart Tech for People With Rheumatoid Arthritis
Mobility Aids for Rheumatoid Arthritis
You don’t want to be stuck sitting at home just because you have RA. If your joint damage makes it hard to walk, embrace a mobility aid and get back into the world.
The smallest assist is a simple cane, which can stabilize you and minimize the risk of a fall. Get a cane that is the proper height for you: Let your arms hang comfortably; the top of the cane should reach your wrist. You’ll want to hold the cane on the side of your stronger leg, and move your weaker leg and the cane together.
Traveling When You Have Rheumatoid Arthritis
Traveling by plane requires some advanced preparation. Ideally, you’ll want to book a nonstop flight to minimize the time and energy involved. Consider using curbside baggage check-in and asking for a wheelchair to get to the gate or on and off the plane.
Traveling by other transit methods, be it a car, train, bus, or cruise line, each have their own considerations. In every instance, though, you’ll want to think about what you need and plan for it.
Incorporate some travel-friendly gadgets to ensure your vacation will be a success. Add a zipper pull to your suitcase, bring hand warmers and compression gloves onboard, and think about splurging on a four-wheel 360-degree bag that can be pushed and pulled in any direction.
Related: 10 Driving Tips for People With Rheumatoid Arthritis
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