Epilepsy Talk
Breathing your stress away… | August 8, 2022
A little while ago, when I went to my doc, I told him I felt like I was jumping out of my skin. I’m already maxed out on meds, so he suggested breathing exercises as a complimentary addition to my regimen.
I’ve started them and already, I feel better!
And, not surprisingly, I’m not the only one…
“In a survey of 177 patients, 58 per cent cited that seizures occurred more frequently when they were stressed. And most of us already know from experience that stress is the most frequent trigger of seizures, and can also cause sleep deprivation and fatigue.
Then, in a more recent survey of 89 patients, 64 per cent of people with epilepsy reported that they believed stress increased the frequency of their seizures. 32 per cent had tried stress reduction techniques, and of those who hadn’t, 53 per cent were willing to try.” (Michelle Bellon, PhD)
That’s all fine and well…but where do you start?
Take a deep breath…
The basic concept is inhaling slowly and smoothly through your nostrils and then exhaling slowly through pursed lips (as if you were blowing out a candle).
Start by breathing in deeply. At first, use the same amount of time for both inhaling and exhaling — 4 counts as you inhale, 4 counts as you exhale. That should keep you from feeling weak or dizzy. (If you feel the least bit shaky, STOP!)
After practicing that for awhile, try to take a longer time exhaling than inhaling. For example: you could inhale for 4 counts, hold your breath for 4 counts and then slowly exhale to the count of 8.
(Note: Make sure to exhale slowly. Rapid, consecutive inhaling and exhaling can cause hyperventilation, which could trigger a seizure!)
One inhalation and one exhalation make up one round of the breathing exercise. Shoot for at least 3 rounds, 2 times daily.
The beauty of this stress-buster is that it can be done any time, any place…
While you’re relaxing…doing chores…standing in line…waiting in the doctor’s office (that’s a good time for stress relief!)…before you go to sleep. Any time you have the time or need a little calm and comfort.
I know it works for me. Why not give it a try and let me know what you think?
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Resources:
Sally Fletcher
http://www.epilepsyhealth.com/deep-breathing.html
https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-relief-breathing-techniques#1
https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/uz2255
https://www.livescience.com/58480-why-breathing-deeply-helps-you-calm-down.html
Tags: complimentary therapy for epilepsy, deep breathing, relaxation, stress buster
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Reblogged this on Disablities & Mental Health Issues.
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Comment by Kenneth — August 8, 2022 @ 9:44 AM
So many AED’s, especially the GENERIC ONES will cause more stress with 1 drug alone, to make up for the rest a person is taking, not to say the rest will not cause STRE$$, they all do if they are GENERIC AED’s. I learned that the hard way when doctors had me on those cheaper priced drugs, & I was not calm when taking them. When I demanded that i will never take generic drugs for the STRESS & THE SEIZURES I was having more of from taking them, the doctor knew quick that I was $ERIOU$ about my condition, as the CO$T$ of having more seizures, never balances out the extra CO$T$ of taking better drugs & having less seizures from taking BRAND name drugs. DILANTIN, KEPPRA, TEGRETOL, & the many others I was on with generic names, I was also told by those doctors that after the generic names had not helped, then the BRAND NAMES wont do much better, because the brain chemistry is what it is,, SO THEY SAY. So I said FINE,, then put me on something different & I’ll never take those 3 drugs ever again, and the rest is history now since the year 1995, but when I went to the NIH in 2000, then was when things really changed after they found a lesion in my brain in the upper right temperlobe. No generic drugs since & that has helped as well with the less side effects, yet still I read EVERYTHING that they put in these drugs, as ALUMINUM is no friend to any 1 persons brain chemistry, & the ODDS ARE GREAT that more seizures happen when the brain absorbs aluminum in any way from drugs or foods & drinks. The 2 drugs I take 100MG VIMPAT tablet & 50MG XCOPRI tablet are the only 2 I will take of each drug of them, because the rest of them they make all have ALUMINUM & these are to be BRAND NAME type drugs. And GENERIC NAMES are as safe & as good to take as BRAND NAMES ? Maybe they have been making the brand names now as dangerous as generic names in the past 20 years.
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Comment by James D — August 8, 2022 @ 10:28 AM