Inflammatory bowel disease is much more than the physical symptoms. There's a whole host of emotional and mental symptoms that come along as well.
This last saturday I woke up and walked up the street in the nice snowfall - it was a winter wonderland! I felt like I was walking through a winter postcard - snow covering all the evergreen trees and fresh white snow up to my shins. It was beautiful :)
I met with a person doing research on the social aspects of IBD (and other chronic illnesses). I was helping by offering my experience for the study. It was the first time that I truly got to speak openly about the social aspects, the emotional aspects and the mental parts of IBD. Since I first began experiencing symptoms at age 9, I've had my teens and now my early 20's to have my fair share of experiences... and I believe they play a role too in the overall management, but sometimes, even I overlook them.
I've noticed many similarities over the years - especially regarding relationships and friendships. I found stress to be a mega trigger that completely set me off balance. I noticed I may have some perfectionist tendencies that add to this stress, and thats probably why during all of university, I was lucky if I made through one exam period without getting seriously sick... I'm eager to see how this research will unfold and what will be found because there is so much that cannot be seen on the outside that is a part of IBD.
Share your experience?
Any cool research you can share in this area?
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Hugs,
Ash :)
I agree that stress is a huge factor to how I am feeling! University exam time is especially difficult as it seems there is never enough time to get all the studying done. I have leant to relax, not sweat the small things, and take things one step at a time! Making to-do lists has also been extremely helpful to put things in perspective and get organized. In the long run stress is not worth it and often times I realize I’m worried about things that don’t overly matter. I hope everyone who reads this is working in a stress free environment and if not can take a moment to breath and relax!
ReplyDeleteBrandi
YAC Member