All around the northern hemisphere, people are making their way to beaches, forests, campgrounds, resort towns, and amusement parks. Schools are out, summer is here, and the desire to properly unwind is high. But often, unwinding can be harder than it sounds.
What Happens When We Try for Perfection
How many of us haven’t experienced the self-inflicted burdens of trying to make sure everything at work is sorted for our vacations, while also feeling the pressure to make it the “perfect” getaway? And then there’s the additional anxiety that either something will go wrong while we’re away, or the boss will realize we’re not that important to the organization. When we finally make it to our place of recovery and recharge, we’re likely to spend the first several days of our holiday in bed, in pain, extremely fatigued, or even sick with one illness or another. It’s happened to most of us in our work life, and it turns out to have a name: the “letdown effect.”
The High Price of Pushing Through MS Fatigue
While the letdown effect has been studied and associated with upper respiratory infections, migraine, flu-like symptoms, and fatigue with respect to pre-vacation-related stress, the physiology behind the concept is known to those of us with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other chronic illnesses all too well. Many of us — be it in advance of vacations or the holiday season or just in our daily lives while trying to power through our required tasks — put ourselves under a great deal of stress. Our version of the letdown effect happens frequently, and the effects can linger well beyond a couple of days. During periods of acute stress — and how often don’t we do this to ourselves as we try to push through the fatigue? — hormones such as cortisol, norepinephrine, and adrenaline fuel us. These are the fight-or-flight hormones, rooted deep in our ancestors’ instincts, which helped us to survive and evolve. They have been and still are, of course, important to us in many ways. But during the exhaustion and recovery period after running to escape a saber-toothed cat, a body must pay a price for the chemical self-dosing of a stress high. Enter the immune system down-regulation.
An MS Exacerbation Is a Type of Letdown Response
Multiple sclerosis is one of a host of diseases that are considered autoimmune or chronically inflammatory. People with these conditions often experience flares, attacks, and exacerbations following stressful times, in the same way people fall ill during vacation. This may be due to chemicals called prostaglandins, left over from the stress response, which can cause inflammation … and we know what that means to MS lesions. RELATED: Here’s How Stress and Inflammation Are Linked
How We Can Stay on a More Even Keel
The obvious, though often unrealistic, answer to the repeating cycle of stress and letdown would be to reduce stress, stop pushing through, and live life on a more even keel. But there are actions we can take to regulate if not mitigate the letdown effect. As we live with these stressors often, I usually focus on prevention, including these measures:
Breathing exercises, meditation, and a quiet walk with the dog can all help regulate hormones on a regular basis.Supporting the body with foods rich in vitamin B5 (legumes, mushrooms, dark leafy greens, avocado, eggs, tomatoes, etc.) may support the healthy stress response.Foods such as sardines, walnuts, seeds, olives, and their oils have shown a benefit in regulating post-stress chemicals in the body.Perhaps most importantly (and the holy grail for many of us with MS) is good sleep patterns, regular exercise, and something that makes us laugh every day.
We hope you have a chance to get away this summer and that you won’t fall victim to the letdown effect. Wishing you and your family the best of health. Cheers, Trevis
