The Stress Factor: Managing and Preventing Ulcerative Colitis

I am reminded of an article I read in Parade magazine yesterday. Several Hollywood stars were asked to go back in time and give their younger "selves" some advice they had learned over the years. It was interesting to me how many said, "don't worry so much." This sentiment rings true in a lot of situations; I think ulcerative colitis is a medical condition that fits that mold.

Any person who has read my early articles on ulcerative colitis knows that my battle began with ulcerative proctitis, or ulcerative colitis involving the rectum. By all accounts, there is no tried and true methodology for preventing ulcerative colitis (or proctitis) and, while I don't think I could have totally prevented any progression of the disease, I have to say "don't worry so much" would have been good advice and a good start for disease management.

Within the medical community, no matter what field you may be dealing with, you hear the words "stress" and "worry" soon followed by the phrase "aggravation of the condition."

When one is diagnosed with an illness such as ulcerative colitis that is a little "out of the ordinary," there is a tendency to fret. There is a tendency to feel that, because a person is not well-educated about the disease, he or she cannot become educated and, while many people say that they believe in mind over matter, few really do; many people are prisoners to their own insecurities, to their own symptoms. They don't take the time to find out which symptoms are reasonable to fight through and which ones aren't.

In addition to feeling ill-equipped to mentally do battle with ulcerative colitis, in addition to feeling that I was hopelessly under-informed, I wasn't truly committed to the battle. It is sad, but true. It is difficult to come to terms with the required energy for a medical battle when most things have come to you in life pretty easily, as they do to most Americans.

I remain lucky today. I still don't have what would be considered a severe case of ulcerative colitis. On the other hand, it is worse than it used to be; I have lost ground. I have probably lost ground that I didn't have to lose. I certainly have missed out on some aspects of life because I have not done all that I could to manage the ulcerative colitis.

If I could go back and talk to myself, I would tell myself to relax. I would tell myself to read all I could and to prepare for a battle, one that I had every bit a chance of winning as losing. I would seek out many, many more people with the condition than I did. Most of us, when diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, minimize our interaction with the world and our influx of information, when we should be doing just the opposite: expanding our universe of experience and knowledge.

There are people with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease or coronary artery disease who have extremely severe cases and no real chance to fight in any way. However, in my case, I could have been more diligent with my diet; I could have lived a lifestyle more conducive to cooperation with respect to rest and exercise. Yes, I could have managed my illness much better.

What we can talk about isn't preventing, but rather, managing ulcerative colitis. Perhaps it can't be prevented but, there are many people, and I am one, who could limit the impact the illness has on their lives. Frankly, what is preventing ulcerative colitis? Is it preventing the initial symptoms or preventing ongoing symptoms?

People can be more comfortable physically, mentally and emotionally if they adhere to all the tools that are available to them.

Frankly, the people who I have had the most respect for in life are those who know the difference between things they can and can't control. Sadly, I think the biggest mistake I committed was assuming that I had to compromise in living with ulcerative colitis rather than fighting for every inch of my life by employing diet, exercise, will, prayer and self-confidence. I don't remember building on my failures.

At this time in our history ulcerative colitis is an illness that can be prevented. It can be managed and its advancement can be halted in many, many cases.

References:

netdoctor.net.uk
ehealthmd.com
Parade Magazine June 8, 2008