Nutritional Stress- if you are living with asthma and have food allergies, you are forced to be cautious before you eat anything. Foods such as soy, wheat, eggs, and peanuts can trigger allergic symptoms. Additionally, you must be wary of food additives that trigger asthma attacks, such as sodium sulfite, sodium bisulfite, and potassium metabisulfite. 

Environmental Stress- people with asthma get attacks because of their surroundings. Some external factors that trigger asthmatic symptoms include pollen, dust mites, animals (e.g., cats and dogs), tobacco smoke, and cold air. That means such a person must be careful when outside.

Emotional Stress- thanks to the above-mentioned types of stress, this type emerges. Imagine how frustrating it is for asthmatic people to consider the many factors that can trigger their condition. If they become too fearful or angry, thanks to their circumstance, they may experience shortness of breath.

How can stress make asthma symptoms worse or trigger asthma?

Generally, your breathing changes when you become angry or afraid However, your body has a mechanism of restoring breathing once you become calm.

However, when an asthmatic person becomes nervous, they breathe faster. Remember, they have breathing issues because the inside walls of the airways in the lungs are swollen. That means when they breathe quickly, less oxygen travels to their brain. When that happens, they begin to experience symptoms such as lightheadedness, blurred vision, and increased heart rate. That means they should always be calm since their lungs already have trouble regulating breathing.

How can stress negatively impact asthma management?

Since stress mainly causes asthma symptoms, asthma management becomes difficult. No matter what you do to manage it, there will always be stressors in your life. That means you will always be overwhelmed with bills (e.g., rent or school fees), annoying managers, or bad news from the media.

Stress is the reason asthmatic people develop strong emotions which causes asthma symptoms. As a result, they will always have to find ways to control their emotions. The only option they have is eliminating as many stressors as possible.

What are signs that stress is an asthma trigger for you?

Signs you may have an asthma attack include coughing, breathlessness, wheezing, and tightness in your chest. To understand your triggers, you may need to keep a diary. Each time you do any activity and experience any symptoms, write them down. You may suddenly develop symptoms after moving to a new region or speaking publicly. Once you identify your triggers, you can find ways of avoiding them.

What are ways to identify sources of stress in your life?

Unlike most diseases, doctors cannot diagnose stress. That means only you understand your stress levels. Your doctor can only provide a questionnaire for you to fill out. That will help them identify whether you are experiencing short-term or long-term stress. The questions will cover any possible stressors, e.g., stress at work, marriage, or job loss.

As earlier mentioned, you can record your stressors. With your list of stressors, you can decide how to avoid them.

Lastly, you ask your family or friends for help. Since they know you well, they can tell when you are stressed. That will be evident when they realize you have changed from a happy to a sad person. You can ask them if they notice anything odd about your behavior. After talking to them, you will slowly understand the cause of your stress.

What are some ways to deal with long-term stress vs. in-the-moment stress? Which one affects asthma the most?

In-the-moment stress usually lasts for a few hours or a day. As a result, the person will likely not get asthma symptoms. That means asthmatic people with long-term stress will have it worse. That is because the stress will keep causing their condition if they do not manage it. When the symptoms keep appearing, they will soon need anti-inflammatory medications or anticholinergics.

There are tips of eliminating long-term stress and in-the-moment stress. For the former, you can walk or do relaxation exercises. As for the latter, take a break or do what you enjoy the most.

What are ways to reduce stress in your life?

One way you to remove stress is by doing breathing exercises. You can do them by standing up, lying on a yoga mat, or sitting. When you are ready, ensure air reaches your stomach. After that, breathe through your nose. Keep breathing in and out at 5-second intervals. You can keep doing this for at least 5 minutes.

You can also remove stress by sleeping enough. As an adult, you should sleep for at least 7 hours. When you sleep, your body reduces cortisol levels. After waking up the next day, you will discover how calm you will be when facing your stressors.

Next, you can reduce stress by laughing, but we do not mean nervous laughs. Laughter reduces symptoms of stress by stimulating circulation and promoting muscle relaxation. There are various ways to induce laughter. First, you can do fake laughs at just about anything. Therefore, your laughter does not have to be real. Next, you can induce laughter by watching funny videos or films online.

Some people isolate themselves from others when stressed. However, you shouldn’t do that. Hanging out with people is a good distraction because there is a chance, they will make you laugh with their stories. Also, as a group, you can engage in hobbies to distract yourself.

Lastly, you can lower stress by listening to music. If you listen to slow music (e.g., jazz), your muscles will relax, hence reducing stress. You can also listen to fast songs (e.g., rock) to reduce stress since they make you hopeful.

How can you make managing asthma less stressful?

Managing asthma alone is hard. Without anyone to monitor you, you may exercise strong emotions. If you constantly express them, you should ask people you trust to help you out. They can remind you when to calm down so that your stress does not trigger your asthma.

Some things in life are inevitable, e.g., death. As unpleasant as that sounds, we have learned how to continue living. It is important to remember that life will always have stressors. As soon as you accept the fact, you will be able to cope with them and avoid getting any symptoms. Developing such a mindset is hard to achieve in a day. You will need to remind yourself daily about them.

If symptoms show up, you can be confused about what to do. You may not be anywhere near your inhaler or a hospital. Such a situation becomes difficult, but you can sort that out by getting a doctor’s number. If the attacks occur, you can call them, and help will be on the way. You can find their contact details by checking listings online. Before the symptoms occur, you can always consult your doctor on how to manage your asthma.