Acceptance... a long, slow process
07/05/05 03:58 PM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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I have to second everything Linz said. Sure, things could be worse, but IBS is still a chronic illness, and your brain has to do a LOT of adjusting to come to terms with it. I've had IBS since I was 12 - 18 years! - and I've gone through many, many years of denial, followed by a year of alternating anger and despair, to get to where I am now, which is *almost* acceptance. I highly doubt it'll take you that long - I'm especially pigheaded - but learning to live with a chronic illness takes time. I'm not sure I'll ever get to a point where I can just live life and not think about it anymore, but that's my goal.
How I got this far has been kind of mixed bag of things. I probably would never be so calm about attacks now if it wasn't for me also finally deciding to address my anxiety issues - I tried therapy, but ultimately ended up on anti-anxiety medication (Lexapro), which hasn't done anything long-term for my IBS, but it's changed my life in only good ways otherwise.
Other than that, I don't know what to say except that some small changes in attitude I accomplished simply with force of will - seeing attacks as an opportunity for some well-deserved downtime, for example - once the D slowed down a little, I'd take a hot bath, and then settle into bed (or the couch) with the heating pad, peppermint tea, and some fluffy reading (or mindless TV), and just *chill*. Relaxation and forcing my brain to stop, I found, actually made the pain pass quicker.
Tracking patterns is actually helpful too. If you know your attacks last for ___ number of days and happen roughly once a month, you can not only eventually learn to relax and enjoy the good days more, but also remind yourself that the bad days are going to pass relatively quickly.
I know I'm rambling... it's hard for me to really explain how I've shifted my brain, so I apologize if this got annoying!
Linz had another good point - the heat (and humidity, if that's a problem in your area) can really mess with your system. I have a feeling that's what's destabilized me - I've been back in almost full-fledged attack mode since the start of summer. 
Anyway, hang in there... stabilized or not, things can get much better if you let them.
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