Eliminating Chronic Inflammation!

When we have an autoimmune disease, chronic inflammation can be a symptom or a trigger and often doesn't go away even with the best of medical attention.

Active symptoms that linger and don't go away include fatigue, aches and pains, dry and sore eyes and mouth, skin rashes, digestive and gut problems, allergies and intolerances, and so on.

It may be that we're engaging in activities that are precipitating or exaserbating these symptoms.  In particular, do we smoke or drink alcohol, are we overweight, undernourished, or eating a poor diet, not exercising regularly, not sleeping well, experiencing elevated and prolonged levels of stress and anxiety, using products that are causing us harm, and have very little positive social support to help us to manage our disease well? 

These are all modifiable risk factors that we can influence by changing aspects of our lifestyle i.e., doing less of the harmful things and increasing activity in areas which will help to avoid triggering more inflammation and disease symptoms.

Autoimmune conditions are a common and serious cause of inflammation due to our immune system mistakenly attacking our own body. There are around 80-100 different autoimmune conditions ranging in severity from mild to disabling and even life threatening, depending on which system of the body is under attack and to what degree it is being well managed.

Some autoimmune diseases only target one organ, for example in the case of type 1 diabetes, which attacks the pancreas. Others, such as lupus, affect the whole body, and some, such as rheumatoid arthritis, target a specific part of the body but cause damage in a wide range of places such as the joints and their surrounding tissue, and can lead to heart, lung or nervous system problems. 

When we're experiencing inflammatary symptoms everyday as a result of having active disease and/or being immunocompromised, inflammation continues to accumulate until we reach a tipping point where it promotes damage and disease in our cells, tissues and organs. Tackling it head on to address the symptoms, or causes, can make all th difference in preventing irreversible damage and prolonged suffering! 

There's no doubt that when we're living with high levels of chronic inflammation, and we experience an acute or chronic bout of disease activity caused by this inflammation which has the potential to cause severe damage, our first line of defence must be to see our specialist doctors to find out what might be causing it and access appropriate medical treatment.

Alongside, and more long-term however, having lifestyle approaches empowers us with behavioural and psychological resources to manage it well and quickly recover before any further damage can occur.

Are you experiencing high levels of inflammation and/or at risk of having more disease flares with your autoimmune condition? Would you like to be supported in learning some evidenced based ways to be proactive as well as reactive in managing your symptoms?

Perhaps your condition affects your gut, skin, mouth, or other mucousal membranes, joints or muscles, and you have intolerances, sensitivites or allergies in those areas? And maybe you know that consuming or using certain substances, such as foods or drinks you find appealing could cause you harm, or at best make you feel unwell?

Maybe you're a vegan who wants to feel more mentally and physically resourced to understand and manage the underlying issues which are driving your unhealthy behaviour patterns?

If so, you've come to the right place!