TMJ and stress

A big factor in developing TMJ is stress which can cause you to clench or grind your teeth.  You may not even be aware of it.   Stress and jaw pain often go together as you may not even be aware that you are even tensing your jaw.

I am writing to you about this as I have been grinding my teeth during the day unconsciously until I made myself pay attention to it.   I probably am grinding my teeth during the night as well as I wake up often with a sore jaw.  This is harder to treat as you can imagine as grinding and clenching puts pressure on the jaw joint and the subsequent swelling can press on the nerves in that area.

Here are my symptoms but you may have these or others as it does vary between people:

• Pain in all of my teeth
• Teeth grinding
• Teeth clenching
• Headaches
• Sinus pain
• Pain behind my eyes
• Cracking sounds when I open my mouth or eat

I even went to the dentist believing I must have a hole in one of my teeth but was told they were OK and it seems this is quite common.  The best thing you can do is to reduce that stress, get your teeth checked to see they align properly, look at your posture, improve on it if you need to.  Also do some exercises for TMJ which are made especially to help this condition and in particular those overworked muscles and to reduce the tension in your jaw.

TMJ and stress do go together but you don’t have to suffer now you know why you are having jaw pain.  Stop it in its tracks, but just be warned it wont happen overnight but with diligence you can overcome it.  Relax your jaw whenever you are aware you are clenching it.  Believe me once you start to do this you will be amazed how many times you actually have to do it during a given day. Jaw pain can make you life miserable so do what I did and get it sorted starting today.

If you need help overcoming stress and jaw pain then you can get it at TMJ No More.  Sandra Carter is the expert for this condition and she gets results as well as offering private counseling to help you along.  It wont cost you a fortune either so if you think you cant do it alone get her help.

We all need to eat, but the problem starts when you eat for comfort when you are anxious or stressed.  Stress and anxiety can be a bad aspect of your life if you react to it by overeating.  This can lead to weight gain and health problems as well. I was one who was a comfort eater and when things went wrong for me I would take pleasure in my food.

Finding out what your stressors are is very important so you are aware of why you are overeating.  Sometimes we can’t change the stressors eg a bereavement but we can control how we react to it.  We often hope that the comfort we get will make the underlying problem go away but unfortunately it just makes it worse or creates other problems.

What are comfort foods?  Well high fat foods like french fries, sugary foods like cakes and carbohydrates like bread are comfort foods.  Maybe that is why hamburgers are such a popular choice as they are a combination of comforts foods.

Firstly we need to recognize we have a problem.  Trying to work through these will help overcome overeating and also by finding alternatives to eating such as exercise (choice an exercise you really like to do) or distraction techniques may help us in the long run.

Don’t let stress and anxiety make you fat and unhealthy, both emotionally and physically.  If you find you can’t help yourself then seek help from professional counselors.  Also try relaxation and visualization techniques and remember that overcoming emotional eating is really taking control of your emotional well being and not just your weight.

Practice good eating habits and get regular exercise, find new ways of problem solving along with a positive attitude will all help you to free yourself of your overeating for good.

When I went through this many years ago I must admit I didn’t do well.  I was very angry and this anger actually was not good for me or my family and I came to realize I was really only hurting myself by venting those feelings.   This stress and anger must have sent my anxiety levels through the roof.

Moving on while keeping sane and positive can be a challenge but I have  four tips that I found worked for me.  I’m sure I could also add a few more but these saw me through.  They are:

1.  Look after your health

Eat well, exercise when you can and get enough sleep.

2.  Pamper yourself even in small ways

Don’t be the last person you give to.

3.  Have a plan for tomorrow

Plan what your next 6 -12 months will bring and have strategies to deal with them.

4.  Be grateful for the good things in your life.

Appreciate what is right in your life now.  This will help balance out the negatives that are currently going on.

Making a break and moving forward is important.   Dont let stress and anger eat you up.   Focus on the new positives that now can come through in your life and push those negative thoughts and anxieties down and out.  I encourage comments on your own experiences so please feel free to do so.

Many of us worry about our ability meet a loan or some other debt repayment and this causes debt stress.   It has become so easy for us to pay for what we want with credit cards whereas in the past we may have saved for it.

Negative stress from money worries is blamed for all sorts of physical ailments such as hypertension, insomnia, obesity and hives to mention just a few.

Did you know that you are more likely to have health problems than those people who are debt free?  Why is that do you think?  Well, worrying about money causes anxiety, sleeping problems, anger and other behavioral problems and affects our overall physical health.

There are some ways you can help yourself with debt stress and these are:

Talk about it
That sounds simple doesn’t it but many of us don’t seek help.  Unresolved frustration leads to negative stress.  Fix the frustration and you fix the stress.  See a financial adviser or bank and for our health you should consult a doctor.

Understand why
Look into why this has come about and accept what you can’t change now and change what you can.

Exercise
Meditation and exercise can reduce stress and tension.

Look at how you react to stress
What can you do to change this?

These are just 4 ways you can help your current situation but long term planning will help you avoid the problems in the future.  Don’t forget to stay positive and practical and don’t less debt stress get to you.

The way we react to bad stress is different for each person.  I know when I’m stressed, I race around, drink lots of coffee and talk at a hundred miles an hour.  My best friend though just retreats and finds comfort in food and a good red wine. You can see that we both handle stress very differently.

I probably fall into what is called a hyper personality when I’m stressed and I have found aromatherapy and Bach Flower Remedies work well for me.  When I realize my bad stress levels going up I then also watch what I am eating and cut down on the caffeine. I also slow my mind down with meditation.
My friend though is more a mellow personality and when she realizes she is getting anxious she, like me, watches what she is eating and especially with overeating on sugar and salt.  She increases more fresh foods into her diet, like fruit and vegetables and she has felt she has received a lot of relief from St Johns Wort.  I have to learn from her with my own diet.

Realizing what works for you is very important and everyone reacts differently, so if you aren’t sure about what to try, then do something new and see what benefits you get.  Vitamin B complex has helped us both with our stress levels and we will continue taking that.

We are both always looking for new stress relief techniques and we are currently looking at taking up Tai Chi classes in our area as we feel that this type of excise and relaxation will assist us both.  Finding time for exercise can be a challenge in our busy lives but we realize the benefits are worth it so we keep searching for different types of exercise that we like and more importantly we will do. My friend has succeeded more than me in increasing her exercise regime, I’m still working on that.

Bad stress affects us different ways so there should be different techniques to combat it.  Try some out and find out what works for you.