Ways to Reduce Stress-Related Side Effects for Special Needs Parents

Ways to reduce stress-related side effects exist and can help special needs parents recover from stressors. In turn, reducing stress-related side effects allows you to focus on better addressing the root cause of stress.

Stress can take a physical toll. From teeth grinding in your sleep to hair loss and skin breakouts.

Read on for tips and products to help you care for yourself and reduce some of the side effects of stress.

What is Stress?

We hear a lot about “stress,” but what is it?

Stress is when we feel overwhelmed and unable to cope with emotional and physical pressures. Stress can be an emotional, physical, or psychological strain.

Another way stress can be often described is what leads to our “fight or flight” reaction.

Stress can be acute, episodic acute, or chronic in nature.

However, ongoing, chronic stress is not good for our overall well-being.

Long-term stress can result in irritability, muscle tension, emotional distress, back/neck/jaw pain, increased blood pressure and more.

Read more about stress and related side effects here.

Special Needs Parents and Stress

You may have come across articles mentioning special needs parents are suffering from the same levels of stress as war veterans.

However, more frequently there is a distinction between the post-traumatic stress soldiers experience and the chronic stress that special needs parents experience.

So What’s the Difference?

Post-traumatic stress is a persistent emotional and physical reaction resulting from a shock.

In a word the stress is due to something that is over, but that continues to be upsetting and affects daily living, such as sleep disturbances.

Chronic stress is long-term and is not over.

Some stressors special needs parents face can be one time in nature. For example, the initial diagnosis, first IEP meeting, or first hospitalization.

Other stressors are sporadic in nature. For example, school suspensions and public tantrums.

Other stressors are ongoing. These can include daily care for your child, frequent fights with siblings or parents, and ongoing tantrums in the home.

Hypervigilance

Hypervigilance is a constant state of assessing for potential threats. Special needs parents can become hypervigilant in an attempt to protect from potential tantrums or aggressive behavior.

This is another layer of ongoing stress. The stressors may not be currently happening, but have happened for so long and so frequently that you are always in the state of preparation and readiness to respond.

Hypervigilance does not allow you to fully rest.

This article further discusses and sites several studies concerning stress and special needs parenting.

Stress and Physical Side-Effects

Stress can result in a variety of physical ailments. These include:

• Headaches
• Tense muscles
• Back, neck, jaw pain
• Teeth grinding and jaw clenching – especially during sleep
• Skin breakouts and rashes
• Hair loss
• Sleep disturbances

Ways to Reduce Stress-Related Side Effects

While addressing the side effects of stress may not remove the root cause of your unique stress, addressing the side effects can greatly improve your overall well-being. As you begin to feel better, you will be better equipped to address some of the root causes of stress in your life.

Side-Effect: Jaw Clenching and Grinding During Sleep

While you may not know you are doing this, you may find yourself waking up with a tight jaw, jaw pain, or a headache. Your dentist may also notice signs of teeth grinding. A night teeth guard designed to reduce teeth grinding can be very helpful. It takes a few nights to get used to these, but the relief you will feel in the morning is worth it. Check out this link to a helpful mouth guard.

Side-Effect: Muscle Tension

Stress can cause us to tense our muscles, raise our shoulder, and ignore our posture. When life becomes extra stressful, it can be very difficult to address muscle tension with yoga classes or professional massages. For some more specific ways to address this side-effect read our post Self Care at Home: Quick Ways to Ease Muscle Tension.

Side-Effect: Difficulty Sleeping

When my child was first hospitalized, I found it nearly impossible to fall asleep and also struggled with staying asleep. Even though I was exhausted, I could not sleep long enough to restore my energy. While I have used melatonin with success, when I have increased stress at home or work, I find using ZZZquil to be extremely helpful in both falling asleep and staying asleep. It is the sleep aid found in the cold and flu medicines without all the additional medication. Like melatonin, it is also non-habit forming. Click this link to ZZZquil available on Amazon.

Learn some additional strategies to improve sleep and deal with exhaustion in our article Self-Care When You Are Exhausted: Slow and gentle Self-Care.

Side-Effect: Skin Problems

Chronic and acute stress has caused me to break out way into adulthood. I would then start stressing about my skin and it quickly became a vicious cycle. I have tried many many products to address my stress-induced breakouts. Initially, I used Aveda’s Outer Peace Skincare line to get my skin clear and under control. Once, I was able to achieve clarity, I have been able to maintain it with Aveda’s Botanical Kinetics cleanser.

Side-Effect: Hair Loss

I have found myself shedding much more hair around three to six months after major stressors, especially hospitalizations. I found Aveda’s Invanti and Botanical Repair lines helped reduce my hair loss. It took some time using the products regularly, but now with maintenance I do not notice as much hair loss on a daily basis or after major stressors. Like breakout, hair loss can be an additional stressor.

Additional ideas can be found in How to Help Your Hair Following High Stress.

Additional Ways to Reduce Stress-Related Side Effects

Supplements

* Again, I am not a doctor. I am sharing supplements and items that I have found useful while dealing with stress. Check with your doctor for guidance. *

There are several supplements available to address stress. These are all supplements that I personally use.

As a daily calming, stress preventative I take 5-HTP. You can find them on Amazon by clicking on this link.

On a more as-needed basis both of these are helpful.

For both skin and hair, this supplement also helps me reduce the side-effects of both breakouts and hair loss.

Topical Stress Relief

Aromatherapy is very useful in promoting calm. These tools can be used before, during, and after a stressor. They are also something you can use in the morning and before bed on a regular basis.

Bath and Body Works has several stress relief lines. My favorite is the Eucalyptus and Spearmint line. You can find the lotion on Amazon using this link.

Aveda also has a a Stress-Fix line. The rollerball concentrate is helpful to keep in your purse, car, or bedside table. It is also available on Amazon and can be found using this link.

Hobbies to Reduce Stress

Taking time for activities that you enjoy is another form of stress relief. There are countless hobbies that you could try. Calming, repetitive tasks such as knitting and crocheting are popular choices. I use yarn and a loom, but hope to advance my skills in this hobby. Coloring and completing mandalas other calming activities.

For more great hobby ideas, check out our article Self-Care Hobbies for Special Needs Parents.

Refocusing on Your Self-Care

Stressful situations can lead to neglecting self-care. Has your self-care has taken a backseat for a while? Try some ideas from Quick and Easy Ways to Restart Your Self-Care Routine.

You will find more helpful ideas in Work-Life Balance for Special Needs Parents.

Ways to Reduce Stress-Related Side Effects for Special Needs Parents: Summary

Stress can cause several physical, psychological, and emotional side-effects. I hope some of the items shared in this post will also help you as you take steps to reduce stress-related side effects.

Please share with us in the comments which of these items you found helpful and any other items you would add to the list.

Looking to reduce stress and increase calm in your home? Try some of the tips in Creating a Calmer Home for Special Needs Families.

If you find medication management stressful, try some strategies from this post.

Or check out specific recommendations for the Bathroom or the Kitchen!

You may also be interested in Ways Gratitude Can Improve Emotional Health.

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