When we hear Arthritis, many think it’s nothing more than joint pain we get as we age. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be more wrong. Yes, Arthritis is inflammation or swelling of one or more joints. However, this explains more than 100 conditions that affect the joints, tissues around the joint, and other connective tissues (NCCDP, 2022). Some common conditions are Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Gout, and Childhood Arthritis.
Arthritis is a painful condition that may affect anyone at any stage. Not only is it painful physically, but the mental toll can be just as significant, if not more significant. It can cause stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental well-being afflictions. You must consult medical professionals to get a diagnosis before you attempt treatment so that you do not exacerbate a condition that is not what you believe it to be. Your medical professional will have resources for both physical and mental well-being that you can take advantage of.
Self-care is crucial for people with Arthritis, more specifically, stress relief. Often pain of any origin may cause stress levels to rise, and pain in joints causes stress levels to peak, especially when that becomes an everyday occurrence. As human beings, we are mobile creatures and use our joints without conscious thought unless we have pain. (Englbrecht et al., 2019). Daily stresses are not only caused by pain but can elevate the effect of the pain we experience, which may lead to depression, mental fatigue and other mental health diseases.
The impact of stress not only affects our mental well-being, but it is also a known cause of physical issues. Our bodies are programmed at birth to respond appropriately to threats of physical harm, thus causing us to become immobile and avoid incidents of pain. Through this avoidance, we may become isolated, depressed and suicidal if we cannot find a way forward (RI, 2017). It is not as simple as just experiencing pain. It is the effects of pain that are important to recognise, lack of sleep, irritability, lack of concentration etc. which in turn may lead to loss of mobility, loss of relationships and possible loss of employment and identity.
I am not a medical professional and recommend that you consult your GP to move forward in making informed decisions about your mental and physical well-being. There is a way forward that may help you to overcome stress, depression, and anxiety caused by Arthritis, and it only takes a few minutes a day to achieve. Yoga, or some basic warm-up moves, can significantly affect mobility and healthy mental well-being (Moonaz & Byron, 2018. Enlisting a Yoga coach at the outset will give you the best possible advantage in overcoming the adverse effects of Arthritis. In many cases, your GP can connect you to a free or low-cost service in your community.
