Hemorrhoids is a common problem all over the world. But left unchecked it can lead to many problems and that can include bleeding, pain and a lot of discomfort. With a painful hemorrhoids flare up, you just cannot concentrate on anything. Your personal and professional life both can get affected by this simple health disorder.
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So What Is Hemorrhoids?
I am sure you may be aware about hemorrhoids by now, this whole site is dedicated to them. If not, I will brief you about it, you can also check this page about hemorrhoids to know more about them in detail. Hemorrhoids are nothing but swelled up veins. They can get swelled up in the interior or exterior of anus. When these veins get all flared up and swollen, they can get really itchy and painful. A lot of times they can bleed as well. So you have to be very careful about keeping the area clean to avoid any kind of an infection.
There can be many different causes of hemorrhoids but we will be talking about stress as a cause in here.
Can Stress Cause Hemorrhoids?
The simple answer to this question is yes but indirectly. As you may know, there can be many different reasons for this and stress definitely can be one of them. There are ways to get them treated naturally but then precaution is always better than cure.
How Does Stress And Anxiety Cause Hemorrhoids?
1. High Blood Pressure
Stress is a major cause of high blood pressure and high blood pressure in itself can lead to many health issues including heart problems, weight gain and weight loss. Studies have shown that most of the hemorrhoids flare ups happen when you are in some kind of a mental or emotional stress. The correlation is quite strong here.
Stress cannot put a pressure on your hemorrhoids directly but it is the cause of other problems like high blood pressure. Now this stress can be mental, physical or emotional stress. Most of us are living pretty stressful lives already and this can have a lot of negative affect on our body systems.
2. Stress Eating
A lot of people tend to get eating disorders when they are experiencing stress and anxiety. Overeating under stress is very common. We tend to overeat on comfort foods which are often high in fat and starch. Most of the processed foods come into this category. This is also a diet that leads to constipation. So bad diet equals constipation which is the number one cause of hemorrhoids.
3. Reduced Appetite
When a person is under stress, anxiety and tension, the bowel movements are disturbed. In most cases bowel movements can be constricted which makes things worse for hemorrhoids and cause flare ups. A stressed out body will suppress bowel movements. The appetite also gets reduced. Acute stress can also cause digestive and stomach illnesses leading to intestinal dysfunctions.
4. Stress Affects Working Hours And Body Clock
Stressful situations almost always suppress the bowel movements. Most of us have experienced this. When we are under stress, going to the toilet is usually last thing anyone would want to do. This also has an affect on constipation and therefore piles.
Moreover, spending sleepless nights, extended sitting or standing time make the matters worse. Perennial blood has to move back to the heart, long stressful working hours disrupt that free movement of blood. All this leads to piles and all related health conditions.
5. Medications For Stress And Anxiety
Sometimes people take medications for stress relief and these medicines can also be the cause of constipation. Most of the popular medications and drugs contain alcohol and chemicals that interfere with intestinal processes. When these processes are disturbed, you cannot avoid constipation, no matter how good your diet is.
Importance Of Reducing Stress
Stress is also known as silent killer. It has the potential to cause many health related disorders. In order to have a happy and healthy life, you just have to reduce stress from your life. Hemorrhoids is no different. Here are some easy but effective ways to reduce stress.
Ways To Reduce Stress
Here are some very easy ways which you can use to reduce stress in your life. Modern lifestyles, bad diet, work pressures and pollution are some of the things that are affecting our lives in more ways than one. Start something and you will definitely feel a change in your stress levels.
- Meditation – Meditation or keeping your mind off any thoughts is one of the very old and effective ways for stress relief. Meditation also helps in making mindful choices. You can also use essential oils to enhance your benefits of meditation.
You can start with meditating few minutes a day. The key is to be consistent and do it regularly. There are plenty of mobile apps which can help you in keeping a track of your progress. - Have pets – Pets like dogs or cats have a soothing effect on humans. Take your dog for a walk and have a good time without thinking about any problems you may have.
- Go for walks – Walking is one of the best stress relieving exercises you can have. You can go always go for short walks whether you are at home or at your office. This is a super easy way to relieve stress and gets you some exercise as well. You can also go for jogging or running if you can.
- Be social – Meet old friends and family. Make new ones. Sometimes just meeting and talking to people can be a great stress buster. Share your thoughts and ideas with them, laugh with them.
These were some of the important things which you should know about hemorrhoids and stress
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