My dear friends and I enjoy a winter walk in northern Michigan last December. A walk with friends (even in super chilly weather) equals my biggest weapon against stress.
Each January is a chance to start new and make the year ahead better than last. Whether it is losing weight, eating right, or starting an exercise routine, putting health first is often at the top of the list. I, too, am putting my health at the top, but I’m going about it in a different way: I am to de-stress at least 20 minutes each and every day in 2016.
For me, stress is the biggest trigger to my psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Not one thing has a bigger outcome on my health. I’ve tried the gluten-free and dairy-free diets. After four months, these diets did not significantly lessen the symptoms of my psoriatic disease. That’s not to say they were a waste of time. I still aim to be gluten-free and dairy-free because eliminating these did help me lose some pounds and increased my energy level.
I don’t smoke. I don’t drink (thanks to methotrexate). When I’m not in too much pain, I get enough sleep. I can pretty much rule out these factors as contributing to flares. Other than keeping stress low, I’m doing about as well I can to control my diseases.
In 2015, I attended funerals and mailed more sympathy cards than my prior 37 years put together. At work, I transferred to be the art director of two monthly magazines and averaged 60 hours each week for the first two months. I’ve battled insurance denials, a high-school counselor, and debt collection due to recordkeeping errors that were no fault of my own.
I can’t change outside influences, but I can change how I deal with the stress they cause. Here’s my simple plan for 2016:
Take a 20-minute walk each day.
Yep, just walk. Here’s why:
According to an article in Prevention.com, “Aerobic exercise of any kind has the power to calm jangled nerves and improve bad moods. And when it's done every day, it can enhance self-esteem and combat depression.”
An article in the Huffington Post suggests making “your daily walk a group activity for the added stress-relieving benefits of spending time with friends and developing strong social bonds. Social support from friends, family, and community members has been shown to improve stress resilience and lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol.”
Anyone care to join me for a walk?
I really think that just by adding an extra 20-minute walk around the block, jamming out to my favorite guilty pleasure songs, and reflecting on how great it is to be alive, I might just reduce the number of psoriatic disease flares.
I’m not giving up my kickboxing classes, I’ll continue to avoid gluten and dairy, and I’ll keep connecting with other patients in my Pso-community (#psobloggers) for that extra comfort of knowing I’m not alone. These are important stress weapons, too.
Yes, 2015 was stressful for me, but I know my crazy life could have been much, much worse. After all, I went to sleep each night in a warm bed. I always had food to eat, clothes to wear, friends and family to help me smile, and enough money to pay the bills and still have some left over for fun.
2015 was a good year for me, but 2016 will be better. May you find what works for you this next year, and if you’re ever in the Detroit area, take a walk with me, and we can de-stress together.
Here's to 2016!
