Mental health + Crohn's -- 1 to 1 correlation for me
Thu, August 29, 2019 5:05 PM
Hey friends. Love that there's an emotional wellness forum becasue it's the thing I'm most passionate in talking about when it comes to my disease. I'm going to just share my story here in case anyone wants to chat, but I'm having a ton of success physically since working on my emotional health.
In 2005, I entered my freshman year of college. I was super sick and was finally diagnosed with Crohn’s disease by Thanksgiving. 10” of my TI was so far gone that they cut it out (laparoscopically) and sent me on my way. I was so excited to get out of the hospital and 3 weeks later was skiing and climbing, thinking I was free of Crohn’s. I didn’t understand the disease at the time, but felt great and was enjoying life so I rolled with it and refused to put drugs in my body. I ate well (lots of local, organic, homecooked, not a ton of sugars, etc), but didn’t really stick to any rules. Sure I had a more sensitive gut than most but shrugged it off. I didn’t get along with my doctor who was mad at me for not taking drugs so I didn’t go in for checkups very often. I was having a blast living my life in my young 20s and Crohn’s was the last thing on my mind.
Five years after that I got a colonoscopy. Some minor inflammation and ulcers in the same area I had surgery. The doctors highly recommended I go on drugs but again, I didn’t worry about it.
Last year (2018), I got rocked. I had a colonoscopy fall of 2017 with the same diagnosis as 5 years before. Rationally, I wasn’t really concerned because I’d lived with the same tissue damage for years and never noticed it. My bloodwork was great and I’m extremely physically active… I always felt a little more sluggish than my friends, but a 10+ mile run in the mountains was routine. However, relationship and work stress was building and 30 years of my brain working the way it’s been trained to work, started to really focus on that. That recent colonoscopy was also still on my mind. I ruminated for months about these things and eventually I got a nasty infection that took weeks to get rid of. By that point, my brain was working overtime and I refocused my anxiety on my Crohns.
Any mental health professional will tell you how dangerous this type of anxiety is. That ongoing fear where you’re searching for ways through your problems rather than sitting with them. I’m the type of person who&rsq
Joined Aug 29, 2019
Wed, September 11, 2019 11:30 AM
Reply posted for nrustigi.
Nrustigi
Thanks for sharing your story with the community.
We also have some support resources that might be helpful. Check out the links below
- Videos: Mental and Emotional Well-being https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/mental-health
- Brochure: Emotional Factors https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/pdfs/emotional.pdf
- Camp Oasis https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/get-involved/camp-oasis
Interested in peer-to-peer support? Not finding a support group in your area? Power of Two is a peer-to-peer support program for individuals seeking to talk by phone to other patients or caregivers with IBD. With this program, you can be connected with other parents. If you are interested in signing up for the Power of Two program, please e-mail powerof2@crohnscolitisfoundation.org or call 888-694-8872 x 8 to learn more.
Power of Two Video: https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/power-two
Joined Oct 12, 2017
Alrightalright