Mental Health - Nephroplus
Mental Wellness
While Living With
CKD
Importance of mental health
While the physical effects of the CKD treatments are addressed widely, experiencing stress and anxiety during your treatment is equally common. While the medication and diet can take a toll on you, constantly trying to figure out ways to keep yourself mentally well, is important. The close links between mental equilibrium and physical well-being are well-established and working on your mental health can work wonders to improve your journey on dialysis.
The problem
Maintaining good mental health is a struggle for most people in today’s world – it gets even more difficult if you have kidney disease. Each stage of kidney disease comes with a new level of stress that impacts your life in many ways.
The change in your lifestyle makes your brain feel overwhelmed and can affect your ability to respond to stressful situations. It can also affect your eating habits, sleep cycle, energy levels and more. Some common stressors are:
- Financial stress of dialysis
- Time spent on dialysis
- Feeling of being dependent on others
- Fearing the pain that dialysis entails
- Lack of restful sleep
- Eating restrictions
- Low energy levels
The solution
While you can speak to your loved ones, and try to get away from your stress, seeking professional help, however, is always considered to be a better solution. Consult a therapist or a psychologist who can help you with tangible steps that you can take towards healing from the trauma. Self-help or self-care has also proven to be a great help in such cases. Read your favourite book, exercise, learn new skills, focus on your hobbies or join support groups that never make you feel alone.
