stress

[spicyorange]

Recently Iv started grinding my teeth and clenching my jaw in my sleep.it's giving me headaches and face pain. Supposedly it's down to stress but I don't really have anything to be stressed about although all the baby stuff does make me a bit stressed and work has its moments. I'm going to go to the dentist and get a mouth guard but does anyone have any techniques to reduce stress when you don't know the cause? It's sounds mad that I can be stressed and don't know why.anyone else had this?

 

[wombat1]

The only way I can tell I'm stressed sometimes is when I start having really vivid dreams. I don't always know the reason I'm stressed either but my brain obviously sometimes decides to worry about something without letting me in on it. I do yoga which helps to relax and stretch me out and tends to put me in a good piece of mind. I also stopped drinking coffee which helped (I used to be super addicted). Exercise in general makes me feel better about everything in life. Love the endorphins!

Doing something relaxing and creative also helps me a bit like knitting as I'm making something and so using my time usefully but I'm not thinking really hard about it (like I usually have to to get anything done with my physics).

All of this is specific to me though I don't know what other people do. Hope it gets better though, it sounds really annoying.

 

[AniMo2202]

The grinding might not be caused by stress at all.I am a big time grinder,and it's been this way for years.Yes,stress is sometimes a cause,but it can also be caused by a misaligned bite (your upper and lower jaw doesn't 'fit' quite right).That's my problem.Even when I'm super relaxed,I still grind when I sleep.

Something you can try,is to massage your jaw.Also,using a cold compress on your jaw helps to relieve the pain a bit.Try to not chew gum and eat very chewy things like muesli,this just makes the jaw hurt even more.

 

[sausages]

OMG! I do this too! I wake up some mornings and my jaw is all tense and feels weird. I have no idea how to stop it though, so sorry. I'll be looking out on here for advice!

 

[loeylo]

I struggled really badly with this for a while. Google "tmjd" as that is the name of the condition!
I had to have a plastic mouth guard fitted, and I was prescribed naproxen to reduce the swelling. I was told that moist heat was the best thing for it, so I dampened a face cloth and put it in the micro for a minute or so, then held it against my jaw. I agree about not eating chewy/crunchy foods - I lived on mashed potato, soup and porridge for about 6 months!
To relax I go for a nice bath, some nice soft music, cuddle my puppy and set aside half an hours "stress time" a night - I must relax the rest of the time though!
Good luck (sorry for rushed reply!)