Crohn's disease is not caused by stress; however, emotional stress
can certainly cause a flare up of the disease. The stress that people with
Crohn's disease sometimes feel is often due to painful, embarrassing
symptoms and the worry that accompanies trying to manage them. Stress can also come from everyday things in life that have nothing to do with Crohn's, but certainly affect Crohns...if you let it.
Whether the stress you are feeling is directly from dealing with your Crohn's or from something else, you need to manage it the best you can.
It is normal to feel angry, afraid, guilty, or depressed about your condition. But dealing with those feelings constructively can help you better manage the stress you are feeling about Crohn’s disease. Share you feelings with people in whom you trust and then manage expectations with friends and family. Please keep in mind that you are not alone. Crohn’s disease affects millions of people across all ages and professions. There are ways to manage the often unpredictable symptoms and lead an active, successful life. Anticipating how well you may feel tomorrow — or on a special occasion two months from now — can be stressful. But there are ways to manage this anxiety. By accepting the reality of that unpredictability, you can help regain some control over how your Crohn's disease takes its course. Communicate with family and friends so they understand what you need from them. Accepting that some physical limitations may exist from time to time and seeking understanding from loved ones may help you prepare for the times when you may not be able to go where you wish or do what you had planned. Fear arises from the unknown. Educate yourself. Regardless of how long you have had Crohn’s disease, joining a support group can be valuable in helping you understand and relate to your own feelings about your disease.
Many things in our everyday lives cause stress. How you deal with that stress is key to managing flare ups of your Crohn's. Let me give you an example. We have been having some water issues in our basement that I was pretty sure was caused by a faulty outside water spigot. I called our contractor that we use to come over and take a look at it. The wall in our basement where the water line attached to the spigot had some bubbling in it. I was thinking he would replace the spigot and do some scraping, spackling and painting and the job would be done...no big deal. Well, it certainly turned out to be a very big deal. Long story short, it had nothing to do with the spigot. That part of our yard was graded improperly with all ground water graded towards the house. On top of that, there is a crack in the foundation. When I moved some furniture, we found mold covering the carpet. My step-son is being bar mitzvah'd in a little over 2 weeks and now suddenly, half of our home is unusable. In addition, the insurance company does not cover any of the repairs. STRESS !!!! How I chose to handle that stress was the key to not letting it affect my Crohn's. The first thing I had to do was get a definitive schedule from the contractor, assuring me that it would be done before the bar mitzvah. Having that info BEFORE my wife got home from work was a biggie. The money part was something that I decided a long time ago to never stress over. It may mean doing a few less "fun things" over the next few months...not a big deal. I chose to make it a positive. When Emily got home from work, I told her what happened and how we have been talking about re-doing the basement for a while. This is a great excuse to do that. I looked her in the eye and promised her that everything would be done before the bar mitzvah. We then went out to dinner and toasted our new basement.
No stress, no flare ups. It's as simple as that.
Whether the stress you are feeling is directly from dealing with your Crohn's or from something else, you need to manage it the best you can.
It is normal to feel angry, afraid, guilty, or depressed about your condition. But dealing with those feelings constructively can help you better manage the stress you are feeling about Crohn’s disease. Share you feelings with people in whom you trust and then manage expectations with friends and family. Please keep in mind that you are not alone. Crohn’s disease affects millions of people across all ages and professions. There are ways to manage the often unpredictable symptoms and lead an active, successful life. Anticipating how well you may feel tomorrow — or on a special occasion two months from now — can be stressful. But there are ways to manage this anxiety. By accepting the reality of that unpredictability, you can help regain some control over how your Crohn's disease takes its course. Communicate with family and friends so they understand what you need from them. Accepting that some physical limitations may exist from time to time and seeking understanding from loved ones may help you prepare for the times when you may not be able to go where you wish or do what you had planned. Fear arises from the unknown. Educate yourself. Regardless of how long you have had Crohn’s disease, joining a support group can be valuable in helping you understand and relate to your own feelings about your disease.
Many things in our everyday lives cause stress. How you deal with that stress is key to managing flare ups of your Crohn's. Let me give you an example. We have been having some water issues in our basement that I was pretty sure was caused by a faulty outside water spigot. I called our contractor that we use to come over and take a look at it. The wall in our basement where the water line attached to the spigot had some bubbling in it. I was thinking he would replace the spigot and do some scraping, spackling and painting and the job would be done...no big deal. Well, it certainly turned out to be a very big deal. Long story short, it had nothing to do with the spigot. That part of our yard was graded improperly with all ground water graded towards the house. On top of that, there is a crack in the foundation. When I moved some furniture, we found mold covering the carpet. My step-son is being bar mitzvah'd in a little over 2 weeks and now suddenly, half of our home is unusable. In addition, the insurance company does not cover any of the repairs. STRESS !!!! How I chose to handle that stress was the key to not letting it affect my Crohn's. The first thing I had to do was get a definitive schedule from the contractor, assuring me that it would be done before the bar mitzvah. Having that info BEFORE my wife got home from work was a biggie. The money part was something that I decided a long time ago to never stress over. It may mean doing a few less "fun things" over the next few months...not a big deal. I chose to make it a positive. When Emily got home from work, I told her what happened and how we have been talking about re-doing the basement for a while. This is a great excuse to do that. I looked her in the eye and promised her that everything would be done before the bar mitzvah. We then went out to dinner and toasted our new basement.
No stress, no flare ups. It's as simple as that.
No comments:
Post a Comment