Catching Thoughts About Lupus
The way we talk about lupus – to ourselves and with others – matters. Living with lupus can feel like a daily battle filled with uncertainty. Negative self-talk about this disease and its limitations can only weigh you down and make you feel worse. In our final blog post in this four-part series for Mental Wellness Month, we’ll talk about how you talk to yourself about lupus.
Research shows that the more negative your perception of lupus is, the more likely you are to suffer the mental health impacts of living with lupus, including anxiety, depression, fatigue, and poor sleep quality.[1]
Finding a balance between acknowledging the hard things about living with lupus and embracing positivity can be difficult. Aim to be authentic about the realities of the disease without diminishing the power of your inner strength and resources.
If you find yourself struggling with negative thinking patterns, feelings of anxiety or depression, or other mental health challenges, reach out to a therapist for support. There are many ways of coping with the mental health impacts of lupus.
You can practice positive self-talk about lupus by:
- Becoming more aware of your lupus-related thoughts. Commit to catching your lupus-related thoughts and examining them. You can even keep a thought log for a week or two by writing down any thoughts that you have about living with lupus, the meaning of your diagnosis, and worries about how you’ll cope with the disease. The more aware you become of your thought patterns, the more equipped you will be to change them to protect your mental health.
- Choosing a new way of thinking. Restructure those thoughts! Look at the thought log you’ve kept over the past few weeks, or catch a lupus-related thought in the moment, and take back control. You decide how you want to think about lupus.
Practicing daily affirmations. Research shows that daily affirmations can be empowering, and can even reduce stress.[2,3] Take time to craft statements that capture how you want to think and feel throughout your days, focusing on “I choose” or “I will” statements that serve as a reminder that you are in control. Try these affirmations for lupus warriors:
- I am an expert at managing my energy, and I will pace myself wisely today.
- I choose to find moments of joy in the midst of today’s discomfort.
- I will treat myself with gentleness and care.- Noticing the way you talk about lupus with others. Sometimes listening to the statements you make about living with lupus can offer insight into your relationship with the disease. Are you giving lupus too much power over your life? Or are you sugar-coating the way it’s affecting you? Either extreme can be unhealthy.
If you find yourself feeling uneasy or surprised by something you said to others about lupus, take time to process it. Maybe you’re going through a season of anger or resentment toward the disease, or perhaps it feels difficult to share your pain with the other person in the room. Exploring these dynamics and feelings can help you gain valuable insight into your journey with lupus.
Living with lupus can be challenging and difficult, but it can also be joyful and empowering. Examining your thoughts and the way you talk to yourself about the disease and your journey can help you build more positive habits that will increase your resilience and ability to cope.
Living with lupus is difficult, and your mental health can be affected at any point during your journey. The Lupus Foundation of America has compiled a list of resources to aid you in managing lupus' impact on your mental health.
- Warchoł-Biedermann K, Mojs E, Sikorska D, Kotyla P, Teusz G, Samborski W. Psychological Implications to the Therapy of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 30;19(23):16021. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192316021. PMID: 36498095; PMCID: PMC9737561.
- Creswell JD, Dutcher JM, Klein WMP, Harris PR, Levine JM (2013) Self-Affirmation Improves Problem-Solving under Stress. PLOS ONE 8(5): e62593. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062593
- Albalooshi S, Moeini-Jazani M, Fennis BM, Warlop L. Reinstating the Resourceful Self: When and How Self-Affirmations Improve Executive Performance of the Powerless. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2020 Feb;46(2):189-203. doi: 10.1177/0146167219853840. Epub 2019 Jun 11. PMID: 31185806; PMCID: PMC6931103.
Authored by:
Heather Rose Artushin, LISW-CP
This blog post and the lupus resources found on the National Resource Center on Lupus are, in part, supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under Cooperative Agreement Number NU58 DP006139. The contents are solely the responsibility of the developers. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.
This blog post is for educational and information purposes only. Consult with your doctor/health care team for medical advice.