It's not hard to notice a trend in gastroparesis sufferers, It's quite obvious depression, anxiety
and low confidence is affecting a lot of people with this illness. These things could be brought on
through losing your job, finding it hard to socialize, not liking your body image and many other things. It's just as important to manage the depression , anxiety and confidence problems as it is to manage your gastroparesis symptoms, It will lead to a better quality of life.
From what I know doctors do not link these mental effects with gastroparesis, They do not
take them into consideration for management. They may not be technically considered symptoms of gastroparesis but they are definitely being caused by gastroparesis in a lot of people. I think doctors need to start taking these problems into consideration and offering help for mental health along with physical.
Recently I found an article, They wrote about a study that they done, about gastroparesis. Here is the conclusion of the study:
"Higher depression and anxiety scores are associated with gastroparesis severity on investigator-and patient-reported assessments. Psychological dysfunction does not vary by etiology or degree of gastric retention. Psychological features should be considered in managing gastroparesis."
This supports that psychological problems should be put into consideration in the management of gastroparesos.
You may be thinking why is it important to manage depression and anxiety, Well apart from the obvious. It is well known that these psychological problems can affect your digestion, but it's not just this we should worry about, because these thing can have affects on all aspects of your life. This makes it very clear that managing Depression and Anxiety can give you a better quality of life. Let's not forget about confidence though, it can have major impact on your social life. More confidence and a better social life can have a major effect on your life, it can help you stay positive when things get hard and help your mentality in general. having someone to talk to or fall back on is very important when you are going through hardship.
If you have gastroparesis and are suffering from Anxiety, Depression and confidence issues, Do not be scared to ask for help from your doctor if they do not suggest it themselves. You should let them know that managing you psychological problems along with you physical problems
will help you gain a better quality of life. Dealing with gastroparesis alone is a massive task, when you add such things as depression and anxiety, which are also very hard to deal with alone, it becomes x100 harder. The most important thing is to know you're not alone, people are always willing to help ( including myself).
OK so let's see how you can try and manage your depression and anxiety, We will go step by step.
1. Contact your GP and request help.
2.Try anti-depressants ( they normally help depression as-well as anxiety)
3.Be patient your medicine may take a little bit of time to have a positive affect on your life.
4. Try talk therapy ( maybe while you wait for the effects of your medicine?) cognitive behavioural therapy is good for treating depression and anxiety.
5.Changes in your day to day life, try to find more time to relax, and work on finding ways to relax yourself.
6.Take small steps you do not need to rush, you don't need the pressure.
These things should help you manage your depression and anxiety, if you do not want to be on anti-depressant then still try the talk therapy.
Now self confidence, self confidence counselling is more than likely your best choice here, it may like time like the depression and anxiety but it's worth it. Remember you are doing this for a more manageable life with a better quality. I can offer some self confidence tips:
1.Face your fears, though it may seem terrifying at the time it is a good way to boost your confidence.
2.Create something, you may think such a simple thing may not have such an affect, but it dose.
3.Think positive and remind yourself of times where you showed great confidence.
4.Be good to yourself, there is no need to treat yourself badly, you can choose to stop it, you're allowed to be good to yourself there is no shame.
5.Try to stay around positive people, positive energy is infectious just like negative.
6.Stop comparing yourself to others, focus on yourself and improving your mentality, it dose not matter how you compare to the other person, just yourself.
7.learn to handle rejection and failure, You only truly fail when you fall down and refuse to get back up.
That's all the tips and advice I can offer you, I’m more than positive they can help you gain a better standard of life. There is one thing I want to say, do not be ashamed of your problems and do not be scared to ask for help with them. Accept that you have the problems and realise there is no shame, and you have already made improvements. Also do not blame yourself for what you are going through it's not your fault. It may be a long and hard road to stability but its a road worth taking for yourself.
Good luck on your road to better quality of life, Take care.
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