Trauma and RA flares.

By Ratnapriya Tuesday, June 01, 2010

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Being a RA patient for 10 years I have got used to the ups and downs of the disease process. For several years I have tried to figure out what factors induces my RA flare ups. One sure trigger in my case is acute stress of any kind. I usually handle emergency situations well but what I realized is that delayed trauma following a tragic event in my life has a greater poteitial to initiate massive flares.

Emotional sress is killing for me but strangely I can handle physical stress to some extent. Problems in my workplace that keeps me detached mentally is less harmful than problems at home which has more emotional involvement.

I wonder whether emotional trauma affects others in the same way.

Please share your experiences.

Ratnapriya

How to deal with flares!!

Comments (4) | Add comment

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

6/ 2/10 12:58pm

Oh, absolutely! I deal very well with emergencies as they happens, but once it's over, I crash completely. Anything that packs a wallop in terms of emotional stress has a tendency to make me feel worse and I've learned over time that stress management is an essential part of my pain management program.

That's a terrific question - thanks so much for posting it!

Ratnapriya

6/ 3/10 4:13am

Thanks!! Yes it is important for me to know if mental stress and RA flares are connected. I will then try to handle that in a better way e.g. with meditation and other stress handling programs.

Ratnapriya

V, Health Guide

6/ 5/10 7:47am

I totally agree with your assessment of stress. I am newly diagnosed, but I have been dealing with it for some years now. Emotional stress is the worst! I, too, can take the physical stress much more in stride. I rest a couple days, and I am good to go. But, emothional stress is a much bigger deal. My elderly parents live w/myself and my husband. When they are ill or I am worried about them for some reason, I have a much more difficult time w/the pain and fatigue of RA. I used to feel "responsible" for their physical well being, but I had to back off from that a bit and realize I can only do so much. Since I have done that, I am doing much better w/my own health. I guess it is a good thing to know one's limitations, eh?

Ratnapriya

6/ 7/10 3:01am

I am glad that you also feel that mental stress is killing. Everytime my father got sick I did everything to help him recover and than after he was well I would fall sick. But after he died last December, the flare I had reminded me the initial phase of my RA. It did frighten me. No amount of pred couldhelp. Only after I started accepting his loss I started recovering slowly.

Ratnapriya

Trauma and RA flares.

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