KIDNEY CITIZEN Issue 12

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“A Mindful Heart”:Stress ManagementTools for PatientsLiving withHeart Diseaseand ChronicKidney Disease8By Stacy Ogbeide,PsyD, ABPP, CSOWMDPC Education Center Advisory Council MemberStress Management—a topic thoseliving with heart disease and chronickidney disease have heard before butnow in 2020, takes a whole new meaning.We are in the COVID-19 pandemic—unprecedented times—that are impactingpeople physically, financially, socially,spiritually, and emotionally. Maybeyour healthcare has been disrupted;treatment disrupted; work, social, andfamily life disrupted. Your current stressmanagement options are no longerworking, or you don’t have accessto your typical stress managementoptions, which is beginning to takea toll on you. Don’t lose heart—I’dlike to share a few thoughts andideas about how to manage yourstress levels during these unchartedtimes.1. The stress response is real andcan impact patients with heartdisease and chronic kidneydisease.First and foremost—acknowledgewhat you are going through.Searching for a “stress-free” life is
unfortunately, probably not goingto happen. Life is difficult. And withdifficulty comes stress! Some of uslike to push through stressfultimes, ignoring what is goingon around us and not givingourselves time to manage thestress we are experiencing.That approach can work fora short time but eventually, itcan take a toll on your health,well-being, as well as your familyand social relationships. Once youacknowledge that increased stress ispresent in your life, then you can figureout what you’d like to do about it. Thesocial worker at your dialysis center is agreat resource for managing stress.2. Try something different—relaxationskills work!You may have heard about differentrelaxation skills such as diaphragmaticbreathing, progressive muscle relaxation,guided imagery or even mindfulmeditation. If you are currently usingany one of these skills—great! If not,why not try something new? Any one ofthese relaxation approaches is great tocounteract the stress response and theimpact of the stress response on yourbody. It would only take a few minutes outof your day each day, and practice makespermanent. So, go on and try somethingnew. Who knows—you might like it!3. Thoughts, Emotions, and Behaviors:A Domino EffectIt’s true—how we think does impact howwe feel and what we do—especially intimes of increased stress. Have you everthought to yourself, “I worked really hardtoday, and I’m going to have a cheat dayand eat whatever I want!” And then, youmay start to feel guilty about what youate due to having heart disease or chronickidney disease? And then you might think,“Oh well, I’ll just have another bite…”And the cycle continues. Learning torecognize your thought patterns and howthey impact your emotions and behaviorpatterns will not only impact the courseof your health condition, but also giveyou another tool for managing stressfultimes. Finding what your “hot” thoughts(thoughts that trigger unhelpful emotionsand behaviors; example: “My health willnever get better”) can be a helpful toolbecause then, you can learn what a useful“cool” thought (thoughts that trigger ahelpful emotion and behavior: “I had ahard day today, and that doesn’t mean myhealth won’t get better”) can be to reducethe impact of the stress on your overallhealth.4. Last but not least: Self-compassion!Dr. Kristen Neff has a fantastic definition ofself-compassion: “Self-compassion involvesacting the same way towards yourself whenyou are having a difficult time, fail, or noticesomething you don’t like about yourself.Instead of just ignoring your pain with a “stiffupper lip” mentality, you stop to tell yourself“this is really difficult right now,” how can Icomfort and care for myself in this moment?”Another concrete way to engage inself-compassion is to ask yourself thisquestion: “What would I tell a loved onewho is going through the same situationthat I am?” or “How would I treat a lovedone who is going through the samesituation that I am?” Recognizing thatyou are having a difficult time or in adifficult season is important. Engaging inself-compassion and using any one of thestress management approaches mentionedabove (or something else that improvesyour health and is of value or important toyou!) is a great way to show yourself somecompassion during stressful times.Are you a health care/behavioral healthprofessional interested in learning moreabout stress management for patients withheart disease or chronic kidney disease?If so, check out: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-34038-001Stacy Ogbeide, PsyD, ABPP, CSOWM is aBoard Certified Clinical Health Psychologistand Board Certified Specialist in Obesity andWeight Management. Her website iswww.stacyogbeide.com.9
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KIDNEY CITIZEN Issue 12

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