| Emotional Adjustment and Scleroderma |
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Coping Strategies |
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Overview |
| Coping with scleroderma and any chronic illness can be a challenge. There are many things you can do to make you feel better mentally and physically. One of the worse things you can do is to isolate yourself from the people and things that you love. You should always try to stay active, happy and positive. This page will help provide some ideas to help you cope with scleroderma. ISN |
 But You Don't Look Sick: The Spoon Theory. I asked her to count her spoons. She asked why, and I explained that when you are healthy you expect to have a never-ending supply of "spoons". But when you have to now plan your day, you need to know exactly how many “spoons” you are starting with. Butyoudontlooksick.com. |
| Factors related to self-efficacy in persons with scleroderma (SSc). Self-efficacy is one precursor that has been shown to initiate changes in behaviour when managing chronic disease. The objective of this study was to explore the levels of self-efficacy in persons with SSc, compare self-efficacy in persons with limited or diffuse SSc and determine correlations between self-efficacy, physical function and psychological variables. Buck U. (PubMed) Musculoskeletal Care. 2010 Dec. |
| Doctor/Patient Communication Tips. Quackwatch |
| Coping With Autoimmunity. A few basic suggestions are crucial for you to consider in order for you to manage your illness better. American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association. |
| Arthritis Do's and Don'ts. When you're diagnosed with arthritis, you have to learn how to live and cope with chronic illness. You need to learn what to do and what not to do. Here's our list of Arthritis Do's and Don'ts - Practical Advice to Help You Cope. Carol & Richard Eustice. About.com. 09/02/10. |
| Writer reveals struggle with chronic illness. ``Never before have medicine and society had to contend with issues like the effects of caregiving on young marriages and relationships or seriously ill young adults having children on such a large scale, but here we are,'' Edwards writes. PatriotLedger.com. 09/09/08. |
| Coping with chronic disease. What makes one person despair and another adapt? And what can we learn from it? A team of psychologists from the Netherlands set out to find out. They trawled though a decade of scientific research on how patients react to chronic disease, and what coping mechanisms helped them adapt. The Pulse. ABC Health & Well Being. 07/31/08. |
| Disease Management Programs. Disease management programs that help guide the care of patients with chronic health problems appear to improve the quality of health care, but there is little evidence that such efforts actually save money, according to a study issued by the RAND Corporation. Medical News Today. 12/11/07. |
| The Common-Sense Model (CSM) of self-regulation of health and illness: how can we use it to understand and respond to our patients' needs? The key construct within the CSM is the idea of illness representations or ‘lay' beliefs about illness. These representations integrate with existing schemata (the normative guidelines that people hold), enabling them to make sense of their symptoms and guide any coping actions. Editorial. Rheumatology 2007 46(6):904-906. |
Exercise |
| Study: When those with a chronic illness exercise more, they worry less. Compared with similar individuals who did not exercise, the people who exercised had a 20% reduction in anxiety symptoms. Exercise helped people no matter what kind of health problem they had: cancer, depression, heart disease, fibromyalgia. Shari Roan. Los Angeles Times. 02/22/10. |
| Making patients move requires the right exercise advice. It is common knowledge that regular exercise supports physical and mental well-being. Despite this and recommendations from health care providers, the majority of patients with chronic illnesses remain inactive. Physorg.com. 07/23/08. |
| Dan Harper: Sickness is a canker on the soul. "The cure for this ill is not to sit still, or lounge about with a book by the fire; but to take a large hoe and a shovel also, and dig till you gently perspire." Santa Cruz Sentinel. 06/22/08. |
| Low impact aerobic exercise reduces fatigue in autoimmune conditions says multi-study review. A review of research shows that low impact aerobic exercise, such as walking and cycling, can effectively reduce fatigue in adults with chronic autoimmune conditions. PressZoom.com. 11/30/06. |
Food and Drink |
| Diet and Systemic Scleroderma. ISN |
| Food Guide for Autoimmune Disease and Other Chronic Illnesses. ISN |
| Does A Cup Of Tea Reduce Stress? Several daily newspapers in the UK and elsewhere carry reports this week of a study commissioned by the Direct Line insurance company that suggests a cup of tea reduces stress, not just by drinking it but also because of the calming effect of the ritual of putting the kettle on. Medical News Today. 8/14/09. (Also see: Stress and Food Guide) |
Social and Personal Relationships |
| Chronic Illness Survivor Reveals Ways To Beat Holiday Stress. Let friends and family plan and host the holiday happenings. You only have so much energy and it must be conserved, because the result of exceeding our already compromised energy allotment can be as we know from past experience both physically and emotionally ugly. Jackie ONeal. Ground Report. 12/12/09. |
| 10 Things to Say to a Sick Friend. Often times people are told what not to say. This is a great help in giving them an idea of what to say! Here's a sample of suggestions from the Twitter community for what to say to a sick person. Elvira G. Alettam, PH.D. World of Psychology. 08/21/09. |
| Is chronic pain ruining your relationship? Researchers have found that people in pain who felt entitled to more support from their partners were more likely to have excessive or exaggerated perceptions and thoughts about the extent of their pain and the disability it caused. (This is known as catastrophizing.) Catastrophizing isn't a healthy or successful coping strategy; in fact, it's associated with higher levels of pain, distress, and depression. Denise Mann. CNN Health. Dec. 29, 2009. (Also see: Pain) |
| Social support: Tap this tool to reduce stress. Having close friends and family on whom you can count has far-reaching benefits for your health. Here's how to build and maintain these essential relationships. Mayo Clinic. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma: Stress) |
Staying Happy and Positive |
| The happiness-health connection. Want to improve your health? Start by focusing on the things that bring you happiness. There is some scientific evidence that positive emotions can help make your life longer and healthier. Tips and Tricks. Harvard HEALTHbeat. 03/24/09. |
| Can I be ill and happy? Philosophy lecturer, Havi Carel debated that in theory. Then she had to put it into practice. Telegraph.CO.UK. 0/15/08. |
| Life's little pleasures can relieve illness, stress. Everyday positive experiences may greatly improve the lives and outlooks of people struggling with chronic illness or other long-term stresses. Kim Painter, USA TODAY. 05/12/08. |
| Fibromyalgia: Ten Strategies for Maintaining a Positive Attitude Deborah A. Barrett, Ph.D. |
Working with Scleroderma |
| Working ability in relation to disease severity, everyday occupations and well-being in women with limited systemic sclerosis. Fifty per cent of the women were restricted in their working ability; the lower the working ability, the lower their perceived well-being. G. Sandqvist. Rheumatology 2008 47(11):1708-1711. |
| Daily occupations--performance, satisfaction and time use, and relations with well-being in women with limited systemic sclerosis. Work seems to be an important factor for satisfaction with occupations and well-being. This emphasizes the importance of investigating risk factors for work disability in people with systemic sclerosis, and of developing strategies for people with a work disability to enable them to maintain routines and a structured day. Sandqvist G. (PubMed) Disabil Rehabil. 2008;30(1):27-35. |
