Living with COPD
In most cases, COPD completely changes your life and it is hard to adjust to a new way of being in the world. You may have been active for all of your life and now you can't do the things you once enjoyed. You most likely feel slowed down, have lost much of the spontaneity you used to have. Dragging oxygen around, sleep problems, and fatigue make it difficult to just pick up and go. You may be self-conscious about your oxygen or a chronic cough and become reluctant to go out in public. Many people miss doing the things that made their life fun like traveling, dancing, gardening, walking, spending time with family and grandchildren. Consequently, thy can feel like a burden on their family.
These are important losses that must be grieved just like losing a loved one. It is normal to feel angry, afraid, sad, depressed, guilty, stressed and frustrated with all of the changes. it is critical to allow yourself to feel all of these things even when it is uncomfortable. Using the support of others will also help you feel less alone in dealing with these changes. Adjusting to an illness is a process and will not happen overnight. Be Patient with yourself.
Coping With COPD: A Life Skills Tutorial
COPD and Mental Health: Maintaining a High Quality of Life
Healthy Lifestyles
Your Environment
Tough Questions and Issues for Me to Bring Up With My Doctor
Additional Resources
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Your Life With COPD
We will start by comparing your life before and after you were diagnosed with COPD and thing about what those changes mean.
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Experiencing Loss
Feeling sad is natural. Learn how to effectively deal with this emotion and avoid the common problem of turning normal sadness into more self-destructive feelings.
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The "Mark of Oxygen"
What does it feel like to wear oxygen? How can oxygen help me? What new problems does supplemental oxygen create?
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Accepting Help
You are not the only one affected by your disease, you and your family are in it together. Learning to accept their help will improve your whole family's quality of life.
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COPD and Your Family
Learn the difference between short-term and long-term problems and how you and your family can best respond to each type.
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The Effects of COPD and the Medications Used to Treat It
Symptoms of COPD can affect your outlook on life. Unfortunately, some medications prescribed for COPD can as well. Learn about some possible medication side-effects and what do do about them.
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COPD and Anxiety: The "Suffocation Alarm"
It is natural to worry about COPD. Learn how the brain’s ‘suffocation’ alarm can make this worry worse, and learn what you can do to manage anxiety.
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COPD and Depression
Depression is a very common problem with COPD. Learn about why you don’t have to suffer with depression and about how to beat being depressed.
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COPD and Sleep
There are many reasons why COPD can interfere with getting a good night’s sleep. Learn about suggestions on how to sleep better with COPD.
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Being Close: COPD and Intimacy
There are many reasons why COPD can interfere with getting a good night’s sleep. Learn about suggestions on how to sleep better with COPD.
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Giving Up Smoking
Quitting smoking is the single most important thing you can do to help control your disease and prevent further damage to your lungs.
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Breathing Retraining
Learning new breathing techniques will help you move more air in and out of your lungs. This helps decrease shortness of breath.
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Avoiding Infections
Lung infections will make your COPD symptoms much worse: you will be more short of breath, cough more, and have even less energy.
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Techniques to Bring Up Mucus
People with COPD and chronic bronchitis often produce a large amount of mucus. If the mucus is allowed to collect in the airways, breathing may become difficult and infection may occur.
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Simple Moves to Keep You Healthy
COPD makes it difficult to breathe. It can also cause you to limit your physical activities. Regular exercise can improve your heart, lungs and muscles, and it can help you breathe easier and feel better.
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Air Pollution
Common adverse health effects of air pollution are increased irritation of the respiratory tract, chronic cough, chest tightness, decreased pulmonary function, and increased vulnerability to allergens and other immune system challenges.
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Indoor Air Pollution
Why are we concerned about indoor air pollution?
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Second Hand Smoke
Secondhand smoke is a strong respiratory irritant and can cause or worsen respiratory conditions.
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What are the tough questions?
At one time or another, people with COPD think about various tough questions that can be hard to discuss with anyone, including your doctor and your family.
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Issues I Want to Bring Up With My Doctor
In addition to discussing the tough questions with your doctor, there are many other issues regarding your life with COPD that you should bring up with your doctor.
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COPD Resources
Links to other organizations dedicated to improving the lives of people with COPD.
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