Stress is one of the top contributing factors of many health problems, from high blood pressure to skin rashes. Stress alone might not have caused you to develop COPD, but if you think of it this way, you may have started smoking to calm your nerves when you were under stress. Too much stress over time will begin to wear on your immune system, making it easier for viruses and bacterial infections to make a home in your body. Staying completely stress free in life is near impossible, but there are some things you can do to relieve it for a time, or lessen it.
When people are stressed, they sometimes end up trying to relieve it in some very unhealthy ways. Doing any recreational drugs, including alcohol, binge eating on junk food, or continuing to smoke cigarettes after your diagnosis with COPD, are among the unhealthy habits. Our stress doesn’t always result in these habits, though, they can be much more subtle, such as nail biting, mindlessly picking at your skin or pulling out your hair. Pay attention to your own subtle habits so you can notice when you are stressed. Our bodies tell us things that we don’t consciously recognize.
