Stress Reduction: The Secret You Need to Know

Introduction

Have you ever felt completely swept up in a wave of stress? As if it were the strongest, most powerful wave in the ocean, preventing you from ever catching a breath? Are you worried about the effects of stress on your body and your Lichen Sclerosus? Do you feel caught in a vicious circle of knowing stress can flare your symptoms, flaring, stressing about the flare, etc.? If yes, you are not alone. This has been the story of my life far before Lichen Sclerosus entered the scene. However, I’ve gotten much better at working with my stress and breaking old patterns that no longer serve me. Consequently, I believe this has helped me get into and remain in remission for over a year and a half.

In today’s post, I want to share with you my secret to stress reduction. Further, I will highlight the relevance between stress, stress reduction, and Lichen Sclerosus. It may seem a little odd, perhaps even counterintuitive, but I hope you will stay with me until the end and find something in this helpful to your journey.

Be sure to read until the end to learn more about an upcoming workshop.

How Stress Affects The Body

First, before jumping into stress, I need to begin with a bit of science; it’ll be brief, I promise. 

I simply cannot discuss stress without discussing the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is an integral part of our bodies as it monitors and regulates the visceral organs (e.g., sex organs, lungs, gallbladder, heart, kidneys, etc.). Problems with any of these organs can be the result of a dysfunctional autonomic nervous system. It’s also the part of our bodies that deals with stress. The stress we experience is translated into hormones that directly affect the functioning of our organs.

Two Important Systems of the Autonomic Nervous System

• The sympathetic system: this is commonly known as our ‘fight or flight’ system or the ‘quick response mobilizing system’. The sympathetic nervous system gets turned online when you are in a state of stress or danger. It is a natural by-product of evolution and is beneficial for survival. However, if the sympathetic nervous system is chronically engaged, this can lead to dysfunction in the immune system and organs.
• The parasympathetic system: this is commonly known as the ‘rest and digest’ or the ‘rest and relax’ system. It comes online when you are in a state of calm and relaxation. In this state, the body can recover and digest.
  • A fundamental part of the parasympathetic nervous system is the vagus nerve. It provides parasympathetic innervation to organs throughout the neck, thorax, and abdomen, contributing to a wide variety of functions such as the lowering of heart rate.
  • The vagus nerve has a special role in reducing inflammation, lowering blood pressure, and balancing hormones. *make note of this one; we will be coming back to it.

While the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems work together, a chronically stressed individual may have a dominant sympathetic system, leaving less time for the parasympathetic system to work its calming, stress-reducing magic.

Thus, when we are chronically stressed – i.e. when our sympathetic nervous system is chronically engaged – we are susceptible to the immune system and/or organ dysfunction. This can make us feel more run down and cause us to become sick. Mentally, this constant state of hyperarousal is exhausting, and in time, it can cause us to become more stressed, irritated, and depressed. 

How Stress Can Affect Your Lichen Sclerosus and Cause a Flare

Thus far, I’ve explained how a chronically engaged sympathetic nervous system can cause unpleasant physical and mental feelings. Now, I want to draw out the implications of chronic stress in relation to Lichen Sclerosus.

Lichen Sclerosus and Triggers

Lichen Sclerosus tends to have three main trigger categories (whereby trigger is an action, events, etc. that induces a worsening of Lichen Sclerosus symptoms): stress, diet, and hormones. You may find one of these, a combination thereof, or all of these to be triggers for your LS. But, for the context of this post, let’s discuss the stress trigger.

Stress can be caused by a number of things. For example, it can be caused by relationship issues, a divorce, the loss of a loved one/friend, work issues, financial strain, medical issues, a move, etc. Regardless of the cause of your stress, it can impact your Lichen Sclerosus. To be clear, I’m not referring to brief periods of stress. Instead, I’m talking about chronic stress that lasts for weeks, months, years. 

Stress, Immune Dysfunction, and Lichen Sclerosus

Recall that when we are stressed and the sympathetic nervous system is chronically engaged, it can result in immune system dysfunction.  As it currently stands, Lichen Sclerosus is considered an autoimmune disease (which is where the immune system malfunctions). Thus, it can lead to a worsening/a flare of your symptoms. To learn more about what it means to be in a flare, watch my YouTube video here.  When your immune system is taxed, you are more susceptible to illness and flare-ups. Thus, it is important to actively work towards stress management and getting your parasympathetic system online. Don’t worry, that part is coming up.

What it Feels Like Being Caught in the Wave

If you’ve read my series on fear (click here, here, and here to read), you know I’ve suffered from anxiety, panic disorder, and PTSD since I was a little girl. 

Because of my anxiety, when I get stressed I get really stressed. The stress is a surreal mix of paralyzation and absolute panicked energy. It’s like my body is completely still to an observer, but on the inside, it’s a Jackson Pollock-esque painting. When stress takes over like this, it’s as if I’m imprisoned. The heightened and constant stress and anxiety become this massive, powerful wave that I cannot fight. In these moments, it feels almost impossible for me to conquer the wave and get my head above water.

Then, of course, I start feeling an increase in my symptoms. For instance, my vulva starts to itch, I start to develop burning and stinging. The sudden appearance of these symptoms causes me great distress. I start spiraling about my disease progressing, the fact that I’m not getting better, etc. Consequently, this, in turn, causes more stress. It becomes a vicious cycle of stress.

How to Ride the Wave: The Secret to Stress Reduction

Now, I want to share a secret with you. It’s something that took me 30 + years on this planet to learn, but alas, I learned (and am continuing to learn). The secret is in order to reduce stress is:

You have to learn to ride the wave, not fight it.

So how can you work with and not against the wave of stress? The truth is, in the depths of stress and anxiety, there isn’t much you can do to make it stop or feel a lot better. You can do all the right things – yoga, meditating, drinking water – and you will still feel completely overwhelmed by the massive wave of stress. 

Strategies to Help Regulate Stress in the Body

In the moment of deep stress or anxiety, stay with the feelings. Ride them out. The harder you fight, the more exhausted you will become. 

Instead of working on things to do in the moment of stress to make you consciously feel better, shift your focus towards doing things that will help your body and strengthen your parasympathetic nervous system/vagus nerve. While these are unlikely to result in immediate calm and relaxation, if done consistently they can help balance out an overactive sympathetic system so that in time, your mind and body will become more stable and at ease. Thus, instead of the goal being to eliminate the sympathetic nervous system and all stress, the goal is a regulated system where the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems work together for your wellbeing. 

Here are some things you can practice to regulate stress in the body:

Important Tips for Using These Strategies

Remember the goal and purpose of these strategies aren’t to completely snuff out stress in the moment. Instead, the goal is to utilize these strategies in your day-to-day life to help the body unconsciously move into a more relaxed state. With that said, here are some tips to get the most bang from your buck when it comes to implementing the above strategies.

The Benefits of Riding the Wave: Why you Need To Implement Some of These Strategies

I want to close by briefly highlighting the benefits of riding instead of fighting the wave of stress. Think about how much energy you exert when you try to swim against a wave. It’s absolutely exhausting. And, you almost always get swept up in it anyway, no matter how hard you exert yourself. But, if you let the wave carry you, you’ll see it’s actually must easier on the body and the landing is much softer.

The Relationship Between Stress and Lichen Sclerosus

When you work to regulate stress in the body in the ways I described, you activate the vague nerve, which has a special role in reducing inflammation and balancing hormones. 

Reduce Inflammation

Thus, regulating stress can have an impact on your Lichen Sclerosus symptoms. Lichen Sclerosus is the single most inflammatory skin disease. Reducing inflammation is thus one of the primary medical goals of treating Lichen Sclerosus. Medically, this is commonly done through the use of topical corticosteroids which lower inflammation. However, you can also make lifestyle changes to help reduce inflammation. Therefore, if you employ the strategies above as a means to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, you will also be reducing inflammation which means fewer symptoms (and fewer LS flare-ups). 

Balance Hormones

Second, activating the vagus nerve/parasympathetic nervous system helps balance hormones, another major component to health and wellbeing. Further, many speculate hormones contribute to Lichen Sclerosus and flares, thus, there is great benefit in balancing hormones through the strategies above to help manage your LS.

The Vagus Nerve Workshop

This post is an introduction of sorts to the autonomic nervous system, the vagus nerve, and regulating stress in the mind and body. I will be running a workshop on this topic, which will be a mix of education, interactive practices, and sharing. If you’re interested in learning more about stress regulation and working on healing your mind and body, keep on reading for details.

Conclusion

To conclude, living with Lichen Sclerosus is hard. It’s heavy, and it’s stressful. There is a lot for you to process and work through. Stress will happen, but there are things you can practice that will help regulate stress in the body in time. This has a ton of benefits for managing your Lichen Sclerosus.

Interested in Potentially Attending My Workshop on the Vagus Nerve and Stress Reduction for Lichen Sclerosus?

Sign up below to get on the list. The workshop will likely be held in the spring and/or in the summer, depending on requests and my work schedule. Don’t worry – I won’t spam you. You will only receive emails once I have an outline for the workshop, a schedule, and all relevant details to sign up.

Reach out to Me

Whether you want to contribute to The Grief Project or you want to chat with me personally, you can contact me in the following ways:

Instagram: @thelostlabiachronicles

Facebook: @TheLostLabiaChronicles

Email: lostlabia@lichensclerosuspodcast.com

Virtual Meetups

Do you want more support in your journey with Lichen Sclerosus? Consider joining the Lichen Sclerosus Support Virtual Meetups. We meet bi-weekly, every other Saturday from 2-4 and 7-9 pm EST. These meetups are a safe space for you to share your story, cry, celebrate, vent, ask questions, and be a part of a community of support. Click the button below to sign up!

Disclaimer:

*The Lost Labia Chronicles does not provide medical advice or engage in the practice of medicine. The information provided by The Lost Labia Chronicles is for education and entertainment purposes only and does not under any circumstances constitute medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your healthcare plan.