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It was so tough in those early
years. Not knowing what was wrong. I didn't know what to
think. Was I going crazy? The doctor said I have a nervous
stomach. I'm not a nervous person.
Then I was diagnosed with
Crohn's Disease. Even though it's a chronic disease
without a cure, it was a relief to know what was wrong.
But then the reality set in. How was my life going to
change?
And change it did. In 1985
I was admitted into a hospital suffering from a stomach
obstruction. A surgeon had to remove a foot and a half
from my small intestines. The pain was terrible. I never,
repeat never , want to go through that pain again. Ever.
After going through the
pain of an operation, knowing that people with Crohn's
Disease can have more than one operation, I couldn't help
but wonder what I could do to help my situation? It
occurred to me that, in the least, I could learn to handle
the stress from the disease and the stress from life
itself. I knew that stress, in and of itself, could cause
my symptoms to worsen.
No, the stress didn't cause
Crohn's Disease, but it sure could affect the amount of
pain I would experience. I knew it was possible for me to
deal with my stress better than I had dealt with it in the
past. Before the operation, I was fairly motivated to work
at controlling my stress. After the operation, I was
highly motivated. I was determined to do everything in my
power to improve my situation.
So how could I handle
life's stress better? I had to learn what I could about
dealing with stress and to then develop the necessary
skills to make it happen. I learned about the close
relationship between relaxation and stress relief. I
learned to meditate, I learned to set reasonable
expectations about my life and desires, and I learned to
be more objective about what was happening to me
physically and mentally.
I've come to the conclusion
that people with Crohn's Diseases can do a lot to help
themselves with the stress in their life. Not only can we
do a lot to help ourselves, but we can also get support
from loved ones as well as others going through the same
circumstances.
I have three steps to offer
others to help them control the stress in their lives. The
first is to learn to meditate, the second is to learn
visualization and the third is to get support.
By watching my emotions
closely, I could know quickly when the stress in my life
was building up too fast. I could then take a little time
to meditate. I learned the different strategies of
meditation and found one that worked good for me.
In addition to meditation,
I learned visualization. Whenever I felt myself getting
stressed out, I could visualize myself at St. Simon
Island, a place I love and go to once a year. Just
thinking of the different locations on the Island, I could
feel myself relax. And with practice I've got quite good
at visualization.
Finally, there's the
Crohn's Disease message boards on the internet. What a
wonderful resource they are. To be able to talk with
people who are going through the same situation. You can't
put a price on that. It's invaluable. I highly recommend
everyone with Crohn‘s Disease to use this resource.
I believe that anyone with
Crohn's Disease (or any chronic disease) can improve their
life by taking the time to learn and implement the three
part strategy I've outlined above. It's has worked
wonderfully for me and I believe it can work for others as
well.
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About
The Author
Ed
Kalski has had Crohn's Disease for over 25
years. He has created a website for people
with Crohn's Disease that provides a lot
of valuable information and links to many
resources.
Visit the
website at: http://www.crohns-disease-and-stress.com. |
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