Improving Your Mental Well-Being If You Have Incontinence

If you have urinary incontinence, you likely have a story that sticks out from when your symptoms began. A party you went to when you had your first accident or time with family cut short due to a loss of control. These episodes weigh on your mind, causing shame, isolation, and the deterioration of your mental health.

While incontinence is a bodily symptom, the psychological trauma you live with may be the worst part. To learn about improving your mental well-being if you have incontinence, read on.

Incontinence’s Mental Toll

First, it’s worth touching on the mental toll incontinence takes. Among many statistics about its ability to crater your sense of well-being, women who experience serious incontinence are 80 percent more likely to suffer from depression than continent women. The same study finds women with more controllable, moderate incontinence are 40 percent more likely. That’s not even accounting for the elevated rates of anxiety among people with this issue.

How You Can Regain Well-Being

Thankfully, bladder problems are not a life-in-prison sentence. You can climb your way back toward normalcy, even if you don’t completely rid yourself of your symptoms. To do so, here are three ways to improve your mental well-being if you have incontinence.

Reach Out to Others

One factor in the mental health equation is isolation versus intimacy. The more isolated you feel, the more your mental state will suffer. While your experience with bladder issues is certainly important to recognize, it isn’t entirely unique. This means you can, if you reach out, find support, either among understanding loved ones or others who share your experiences.

By being open about what you struggle with, you can achieve a level of intimacy that helps you feel much better as you cope with incontinence.

Embrace Incontinence Products

Also, embracing rather than resisting incontinence products improves your well-being. Framing fitted briefs, waterproof sheeting fabric, or reusable underwear as a tool for your betterment rather than a sign of defeat is productive. After all, wearing something as backup restores freedoms you thought you never would get back.

Take Control With Biofeedback

Because your agency matters as you deal with bladder challenges, talk to your doctor about potential biofeedback treatment. Biofeedback involves attending to your bodily processes and thereby regaining control, and while you can go through helpful treatment, you can take advantage of it in other ways too. To start, identify then tighten and release your pelvic muscles to restore control over the episodes you feel powerless to stop.