Lifestyle

Stress is a huge trigger of symptoms for many people who have IBD, myself included. It took me many years and much trial and error to find what works for me, but I have found that learning how to manage stress has been extremely beneficial in helping reduce symptoms. For me, managing stress includes; mediation, gratitude journaling, stretching, mindful movement, and balance of work and home life. All this together really helped change for the better how I respond to and think about stressors.   

Meditation:

Managing stress is a major key in dealing with chronic illness. A great place to start is with daily mindfulness meditation. There are lots of apps nowadays for meditation/ mindfulness or you can even find free ones on YouTube. 

To me, mindfulness meditation represents the practice of quieting the mind and being fully aware of the breath in the present moment. This practice, even if for just 10 minutes a day (which is what I do), will reduce blood pressure, help with symptoms of depression and anxiety, enhance one’s self-awareness, lengthen your attention span, fight age related memory loss, and most importantly reduce overall stress. 

You will find that mindfulness soon will permeate and improve other areas of your life as well. I cannot emphasize enough how much mindfulness meditation has not only helped me let go of anger towards my chronic illness, but has opened my heart and mind to new experiences and freedoms to live each day one at a time.

Gratitude Journaling:

Gratitude can be defined as thankfulness or appreciation of something in life outside yourself either tangible or intangible. We can humble ourselves and share common humanity by realizing that we cannot do it all ourselves. There are two psychologists that have done most of the scientific research available on gratitude. Dr. Robert A. Emmons and Dr. Michael E. McCullough. They found that after 10 weeks of asking participants to write a few sentences each week of what they are grateful for they slept better, were more optimistic, exercised more, and had fewer doctor appointments than the other group who had written about irritations in their life instead. Other studies of Dr. Emmons have shown that regularly practicing gratitude increases overall happiness and lessens depression. 

You can start your own gratitude journal, and see for yourself if it helps you. In this journal write 1-3 things you are grateful for each day, and then at the end of the week go back and reflect on all that you were grateful for. It doesn’t have to be serious or major to make it in the journal. Learning to appreciate the little things is a big part of gratitude and can help reframe your mind’s way of thinking of things for the better. 

Stretching:

Did you know that 1 in 5 people with IBD will develop Enteropathic arthritis (EnA)? I didn’t until I was diagnosed with it. This is what is considered an extraintestinal manifestation as it occurs outside of the digestive tract, but as a result of IBD. For some people these arthritis symptoms only occur when your IBD is flared up. However for others, the joint pain is continuous. It usually affects the lower back, knees, and hips. I have found that a quick daily stretching routine helps a lot. As well as staying hydrated. I also take sulfasalazine to help manage my joint pain as mine does not reflect IBD disease activity. 

Meditative Mobility Practices: Qigong, Tai Chi, Yoga

Too much physical movement can be taxing, and may make symptoms worse for people with IBD. However, there are exercises that can help the communication from the brain gut axis which is particularly helpful for anyone with intestinal issues. These ways of movement are low-impact and also calming. Things like Qigong, Tai Chi (a form of qigong), and yoga can be extremely helpful. 

There have been many studies done to show the effects of meditative mobility practices on gut health. Long story short, this type of low-impact exercise strengthens your brain’s ability to communicate with your gut, and may even change some of the bacteria in your gut’s lining. These forms of movement have long been known to improve immune function and it is even a common Eastern practice to ‘prescribe’ things like Tai Chi when someone is feeling ill (like a cold or acute illness). 

While there may still be some research to be done here, these types of meditative movement practices help lower your stress, focus your attention, and give a sense of mental clarity. This is not only beneficial to your physical and mental health, it’s beneficial to an overall life balance. Even if it’s just 15 minutes a day, make it a priority to practice meditative movement. And don’t worry if your form is not perfect at first, or you find yourself missing the timing of the movements. I promise it will get easier!

Balancing Work & Home: 

Not everyone’s journey or needs are the same with IBD. For me, changing careers from the high-stress and physically taxing 60 hour work weeks of being a sous chef to a 40 hour work week assistant managing a local wine shop was a huge step in the right direction. However, as time went on and I learned to listen to my body and respect its limitations, part-time work has really given my body the support it needs and allows me to run my blog and volunteer with Nutritional Therapy for IBD. I now work as a cake decorator for Publix. Cake decorating is what got me interested in the kitchen and cooking in the first place, and my first job was working at a bakery decorating cakes. It also allows me to be creative with food which I love. Balancing my work and home responsibilities has let me focus more on my health and has been a big piece of figuring out how to live with a chronic illness.       

I also have benefited from conventional therapy. There I learned how to better identify emotions in my body and also work through them with the help of a professional. Learning this process helped me to be able to do this on my own. Changing my perspective and thinking about things differently in addition to new ways to approach old situations adds to my ability to regulate my emotions which can help when handling stress. 

Everyone is different, but my hope is that by sharing my journey and some things that have worked for me, you can take away something useful for your own journey.