How Emotional Stress Impacts Urinary Incontinence
Stress takes a major toll on our bodies, disrupting heart rates, hormone levels, blood pressure, and even how our bladders function. For the tens of millions of Americans living with urinary incontinence, emotional stress can intensify their condition and potentially worsen their symptoms.
Here’s why, with a closer look at:
- 4 Ways Emotional Stress Can Worsen Urinary Incontinence
- 5 Signs Emotional Stress May Be Affecting Urinary Incontinence
- How to Manage Urinary Incontinence Worsened by Emotional Stress
This guide to the impacts of emotional stress on urinary incontinence is set up to share eye-opening facts and helpful resources in less ~3 minutes. For more info or expert help getting incontinence supplies through Medicaid in WA, OR, or ID, contact MyMedSupplies.
MyMedSupplies is a preferred incontinence supply provider for Medicaid, with expert coordinators, customer-focused service, and streamlined processes to facilitate approvals and provide greater peace of mind.
4 Ways Emotional Stress Can Worsen Urinary Incontinence
Emotional stress can exacerbate urinary incontinence due to several interconnected factors that are both psychological (mental) and physiological (of the body) in nature. For many people, some or all of the following occur when they experience emotional stress, especially if that’s chronic (long-term) or particularly intense (acute) in nature.
1. Increased Muscle Tension
Stress often causes tension in the body, and that can include bladder and pelvic floor muscles. As these muscles tighten:
- They can become overactive.
- Bladder control can be far more challenging.
- There’s a far greater risk of leaks, especially during “aggravating” activities, like coughing, sneezing, or engaging in certain physical activities.
2. Hormonal Effects
Stress results in the release of a hormone known as cortisol, along with other stress hormones like adrenaline, all of which can:
- Overstimulate the bladder muscles
- Increase the frequency and urgency of the need to urinate.
3. Gut-Brain Connection
The nervous system links the gut to the bladder. So, any stress that causes digestive issues, like constipation or diarrhea, can end up putting pressure on the bladder, worsening urinary incontinence. In fact, constipation specifically can press against the bladder and reduce its capacity to hold urine.
4. Behavioral Changes
Stress can turn normal routines inside out, potentially getting in the way of scheduled bathroom visits and/or pelvic floor exercises. For some, stress may also contribute to:
- Changes in sleeping patterns
- Poor dietary choices, like consuming bladder-aggravating substances (like caffeine)
- Alcohol consumption, which can also upset the bladder.
With that, any physiological issues can be further magnified, increasing the risk that symptoms may degrade quality of life.
5 Signs Emotional Stress May Be Affecting Urinary Incontinence
If you or a loved one is living with urinary incontinence and you’ve noticed that your symptoms sometimes change, here are some red flags that those changes could be tied to emotional stress.
1. Increased Urgency in High-Stress Situations
Do you suddenly experience an overwhelming need to urinate when you’re feeling stressed, nervous, or anxious?
Does that happen even if your bladder isn’t full or you’ve recently visited the restroom?
If so, you could be dealing with intensifying urinary incontinence due to emotional stress.
Why? Stress activates the body’s fight-or-flight response, overstimulating the bladder muscles and contributing to the increased sense of urgency.
2. Frequent Urination without Physical Causes
Are you running to the bathroom more often even though your physiological condition has remained the same?
Do you find yourself needing to urinate more despite your health not changing or worsening?
If your urinary incontinence symptoms seem to be getting worse while your physical condition remains the same, psychological stress and nerves could be at play.
Why? Stress-induced overactivity in the nervous system can cause your bladder to create more signals that you need to empty more often than usual. In other words, mental stress can put your nerves and bladder in “overdrive,” so you feel like you have to urinate more even though nothing has changed physically to cause your condition to deteriorate or worse.
3. Leak Control Issues in Stressful Moments
Does leakage become more of an issue when you’re under stress?
Have you noticed more unexpected leaks when you’re worried, under more pressure, or involved in an argument?
If “yes” is the answer to these questions, it’s more likely that you could be experiencing worsening urinary incontinence due to emotional stress.
Why? The muscle tension and hormone differences that our body endures under stress can make it far more challenging to control bladder function, increasing the risks of leaks.
4. Nighttime Incontinence After Tougher Days
Have you noticed more bedwetting or nighttime leaks after particularly stressful days?
Intensifying nocturia — meaning nighttime urinary incontinence — can be a signal of worsening symptoms due to emotional stress, even if you don’t typically experience this issue under more standard, less stressful conditions.
Why? Stress can disrupt sleep cycles while overstimulating the nerves and muscles essential to bladder control. That combination of factors, along with elevated stress hormones, can contribute to more nighttime leaks with intensifying emotional stress.
5. Stress-Related Muscle Tension
Do you experience bladder spasms or tightness in the pelvic area when you’re under more stress?
That could be your body’s fight-or-flight response taking over in response to overwhelming stress, creating more strain and tense sensations in the lower abdomen.
Why? More muscle tension from psychological stress can exacerbate bladder spasms, making it far more challenging to control the bladder and, in many cases, causing leaks.
How to Manage Urinary Incontinence Worsened by Emotional Stress
If any of these above signs describe your or your loved one’s circumstances, you can take the following steps to better manage your stress and the worsening incontinence that can come with it.
1. Practice Relaxation Techniques.
Aimed at psychological stress, relaxation techniques like mindfulness, meditation, and breathing exercises can lower your heart rate and blood pressure, increasing oxygen flow through the body while helping you be in the present moment. These techniques can calm down your body’s reactions to stress and, in turn, reduce bladder stimulation.
2. Do Pelvic Floor Exercises.
Practicing Kegel exercises can strengthen the pelvic floor muscles to improve bladder control, even in stressful situations. Routinely engaging in pelvic floor exercises may be an effective way to address leaks, as well as frequent and sudden urges to urinate.
3. Try Bladder Training.
Start scheduling bathroom visits to delay urination a bit and retrain your bladder. This type of training can be carried out during the day and night time for those who experience nocturia.
4. Have the Right Incontinence Supplies.
Adult diapers, pads, pant liners, underpads, and other incontinence products can offer exceptional protection for all types of urinary incontinence while providing unmatched peace of mind.
After all, stress can surprise any of us, and often, the most stressful situations seem to come out of nowhere. Having the appropriate incontinence supplies on hand can help you discreetly manage your condition, no matter what stress you may be under.
5. Visiting Your Healthcare Provider.
Urinary incontinence can evolve as your health does. If you’re routinely seeing your healthcare provider, you’ll be aware of how your condition is changing over time and what you can do to treat or manage it as it enters a new phase.
With that, you can minimize the risks that you’ll be surprised by worsening incontinence or end up with embarrassing leaks at all the wrong times. Your healthcare provider can also make sure you have up-to-date, accurate prescriptions for incontinence supplies for Medicaid.
Ultimately, dealing with emotional stress can be just as important as managing the urinary incontinence symptoms you experience day in and day out. With a more comprehensive view of your well-being and a thoughtful plan for managing both physical and psychological matters, you can be well on your way to improving your quality of life — and living your best life!
A Better Way to Get Incontinence Products with Medicaid in WA, OR & ID
You may qualify for FREE incontinence supplies with Medicaid in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho. If you do, a trusted Medicaid-approved supplier can make all the difference in getting precisely what you need without hassles, delays, or worries about discreet shipments.
That’s where MyMedSupplies comes in.
We have 40+ years’ experience in the medical supply and Medicaid space, and we’re accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc. (ACHC) to provide Durable Medical Equipment, Respiratory Services, and Medical Supplies. We also put our customers’ needs first, going the extra mile to deliver outstanding service and reliable access to top-quality incontinence products.
That’s why MyMedSupplies continues to be one of the best-rated, most well-reviewed medical supply stores in the Pacific Northwest.
To find out more — or get help getting free incontinence products with Medicaid — simply talk to a professional coordinator at MyMedSupplies. We are here for you, ready to help.