Uterine fibroids can affect your mental and emotional well-being.

According to research gathered from a small assessment that was published in 2015, women with fibroids reported that they’d not only affected them physically but also psychologically. They noted feeling fear, anxiety, and anger about having fibroids.

Some women also reported feeling helpless and less attractive, while others felt they weren’t receiving enough support to deal with fibroids.

If you have fibroids and heavy menstrual bleeding, you may be looking for ways to relieve your stress. Here are four ways that can help you cope.

If fibroids cause you physical pain, you may not want to do certain exercises that trigger this pain. It’s OK if you find yourself not feeling up to exercising.

That said, exercise may actually help you, and here’s why:

Your body produces the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which can aid fibroid growth. The higher the levels, the greater the likelihood that fibroids will not only grow but also potentially at a faster rate.

Exercising regularly may limit the production of these hormones and prevent growth.

Here are some “fibroid-friendly” exercises to consider:

  • yoga, which has also been shown to reduce stress or anxiety levels
  • tai chi
  • light stretching
  • walking
  • swimming

Having obesity or overweight may increase the risk of developing fibroids or worsening them because of the role fat plays in making estrogen. A higher body fat percentage increases the risk of higher estrogen levels, which can make fibroids worse.

Regular exercise can be helpful in reducing your body fat percentage, which may help lower your estrogen levels.

Mindfulness

One form of meditation is mindfulness. This includes sitting quietly and deeply focusing on what you’re feeling or thinking about in the present moment.

A small 2015 study involving 47 people showed that meditation may have helped ease depression and reduced anxiety levels in those participating in the research.

The stillness required when meditating can be overwhelming. If you feel this way, you can pair it with some yoga poses, which can help you better focus on what’s physically happening with your body.

Breathwork

Another technique you can incorporate into your meditation practice is breathwork. For this technique, you focus on your deep breathing for a specific amount of time.

Some of the benefits of this technique include boosted immunity and reduced stress.

Incorporating mindfulness or breathwork into your daily routine may take time and practice. It may help to think of these techniques as skills — you probably won’t learn them overnight, but they can still be helpful.

Research has shown that acupuncture can help relieve pain in certain conditions. It can also help manage heavy or irregular bleeding and chronic pelvic pain.

According to a small 2019 study, acupuncture may be able to help reduce the severity of fibroid symptoms. But more research may be needed to support this finding.

Acupuncture does not cure fibroids. But it may help you manage the pain fibroids cause.

Talk with your doctor about acupuncture before working with a licensed acupuncturist. They can help you figure out if acupuncture might work as an alternative pain treatment.

Your diet can also help you cope with fibroids or heavy bleeding.

Foods you may want to consider adding to your diet include:

  • fiber-rich foods like green vegetables
  • herbs and spices
  • potassium-rich foods like citrus fruits and avocados

Green vegetables can help balance hormones and blood sugar levels, which can prevent fibroid growth. Herbs and spices, along with citrus fruits and avocados, can help lower your blood pressure.

Foods to avoid

Besides lowering your salt intake, you may also consider limiting or avoiding foods such as:

  • sweets and chocolates
  • red meat
  • rice
  • potatoes

These foods can raise your blood sugar level. When this happens, your body is likely to make more insulin. This can cause you to gain weight and increase the risk of worsening fibroids.

Some foods can increase your body’s estrogen levels which can trigger the growth of fibroids.

Get enough vitamin D

Vitamin D, which your body naturally produces, may improve fibroid symptoms. It may also reduce the size of fibroids.

Our main source of vitamin D comes from the skin’s exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet light.

People with darker skin tones are more likely than people with lighter skin tones to have low levels of vitamin D year-round. This is because the melanin in darker skin tones can interfere with the body’s ability to make vitamin D.

According to research published in 2021, people with darker skin tones are at an increased risk of developing a vitamin D deficiency. But people with lighter skin tones may still need to take vitamin D supplements. For example, those who live at certain latitudes may not get enough sun exposure.

The following foods may boost vitamin D levels in your body:

  • egg yolks
  • cod liver oil
  • salmon
  • tuna
  • orange juice

It’s important to note that it’s possible to take too much vitamin D, which can cause health problems, including kidney damage.

These stress-relief practices do not cure fibroids. But they can help you cope with them and heavy bleeding by reducing the severity of your symptoms. These practices can also help reduce the size of fibroids or prevent or slow down their growth.

If you have any concerns about these practices, talk with your doctor. They can also help you figure out what practices may be right for you and guide you on ways to incorporate them into your lifestyle to better cope with fibroids.