Stress and asthma
Stress and asthma
I just read an interesting little paragraph in Reader's Digest magazine. It was talking about a new book that had come out, called Stress Less: The New Science That Shows Women How to Rejuvenate The Body and Mind, by Thea Singer.
The article talks about repeated stress, and how most people know that it puts them at higher risk of multiple diseases. But here's the quote that caught my eye, "What we didn't know till now was that it actually physically ages us - all the way down to the DNA in our cells...Chronic stress literally gnaws at our DNA- it's tips or "telomeres" to be precise- speeding up the rate at which our cells age by an alarming ten years or more." YIKES!
I had heard that research years ago on one of the national news stations, but it's good to hear as a reminder.
So, what do we do as asthma moms? Find what works for you to relieve stress:
* lunch out with friends
* movie night with hubby or friends
* watching a funny movie
* getting a massage
* getting a pedicure or manicure
* chatting online with friends or on the phone
* deep breathing, relaxation exercises, guided visualization
* etc, etc
Everyone's different, you need to do whatever helps you relax. We have to take care of ourselves because who else will? And we need to be healthy and happy if we're going to take care of our kids and asthma problems.
I have 2 sick kids at home with asthma, I think I'll do my relaxation CD tonight. Ahhhh......
I just read an interesting little paragraph in Reader's Digest magazine. It was talking about a new book that had come out, called Stress Less: The New Science That Shows Women How to Rejuvenate The Body and Mind, by Thea Singer.
The article talks about repeated stress, and how most people know that it puts them at higher risk of multiple diseases. But here's the quote that caught my eye, "What we didn't know till now was that it actually physically ages us - all the way down to the DNA in our cells...Chronic stress literally gnaws at our DNA- it's tips or "telomeres" to be precise- speeding up the rate at which our cells age by an alarming ten years or more." YIKES!
I had heard that research years ago on one of the national news stations, but it's good to hear as a reminder.
So, what do we do as asthma moms? Find what works for you to relieve stress:
* lunch out with friends
* movie night with hubby or friends
* watching a funny movie
* getting a massage
* getting a pedicure or manicure
* chatting online with friends or on the phone
* deep breathing, relaxation exercises, guided visualization
* etc, etc
Everyone's different, you need to do whatever helps you relax. We have to take care of ourselves because who else will? And we need to be healthy and happy if we're going to take care of our kids and asthma problems.
I have 2 sick kids at home with asthma, I think I'll do my relaxation CD tonight. Ahhhh......
Dear Asthma Mom, (I looked through your posts to find your name, but I didn't manage. I hope 'asthma mom' is OK :) )
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog today and would like to thank you. I am a graduate student of industrial design and I have been working on designing more empathetic asthma devices for children as part of my thesis. More specifically, I'm in the final process of designing a peak flow meter for kids.
There is a ton of information on asthma online, but not too many real voices. I just spent my last few hours on your blog to read through all your posts and I can't tell you how useful and insightful your asthma diary is for me.
Apparently I don't have asthma (I got checked more than once), but I occasionally get attacks once a year triggered by infection. Even having to go through that short period every year is hard for me, so reading your stories of coping with asthma as a family amazed me. You are doing a great job by sharing your experiences with people.
I was also wondering about what I would like to hear more about. I guess I'm curious to hear about how your kids' react to having to live with asthma. Would you share your observations and experiences on this? Where they accepting their condition from the very beginning? Do they ever ask "Why me?"? Have they always been compliant in using their devices and taking their medicine - even when you don't tell them to?
Also, I would be very interested in hearing about asthmatic children's social relationships. How do their friends react to their asthma? Are they supportive? Do they know and understand?
Of course, these are only suggestions for when you run out of things to write about - which is not very likely to happen with all the experience you have with asthma! :) But I would be thrilled to find out more about these topics.
Thank you once again and I wish you and your family an attack free life.
Best,
Esin
Hi Esin, thank you for your comments! I'm sorry I haven't been blogging much this week- sick kids again. I would love to write about your suggestions and will even ask the kids for their input. Thank you for your suggestions, sometimes I'm not sure what to blog about. Keep reading and tell me what you think. Andrea
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