What is meant by ‘health anxiety’? A sudden or unexpected health event can change your life in many ways. Feelings of shock, anger, grief, loss and sadness can be commonplace. And while these feelings usually pass with time, if they cause ongoing stress, you may be at greater risk of developing depression and anxiety. Health anxiety is an anxiety condition that is often housed within the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) spectrum…
adventures with a chronic illness
-
-
IBD, an Ostomy & Living with a Partner
Lately I’ve been reflecting on just how far I’ve come with my ostomy. I’ve been going without my medication – under the guidance of my IBD team – for a five months now and I’m feeling wistful. This hasn’t happened before. It’s unchartered territory for not only me, but my partner too. So just how do you juggle having IBD, an ostomy and living with a partner? Good question huh?…
-
Self Love & Self Care
“Self-love, self-respect, self-worth: There’s a reason they all start with ‘self.’ You can’t find them in anyone else.” ~Unknown SELF-CARE means mindfully and consistently nurturing all aspects of your own wellbeing. Spiritual, physical – this is the aspect where we tend to mainly focus our self-care – , intellectual and emotional. You can know about self-care and have a hard time practising it, or you can be great at self-care…
-
Chronic Illness & Guilt
Diagnosis of a chronic illness is just the begining of a life long struggle with acceptance and a certain loss of idenity. I remember sitting in that doctor’s office being diagnosed with PCOS at seventeen not knowing what any of this meant. Why would I need to consider my reproduction when I was this young? I naively assumed I could just forget about it all as I chose not to…
-
TEN THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT… WINTER & NEW YEAR
Today happens to be #BlueMonday but here I am celebrating the good things that come from this cold and sometimes miserable time of year. Autumn and Winter are my favourite times of year. Yes, it might be darker and colder for more of the daytime but I relish that fact and welcome it with open arms. When there is a chill in the air, I am happy. In 2020 I…
-
New Beginnings & IBD Remission
New Decade, New Year, New Beginning. It seems to flow nicely, that sentence, doesn’t it? Of course, most beginnings don’t present themselves or occur so succinctly as a new calendar month, let alone year. Which makes a new beginning at new year, feels too neat for my sceptical mind. And even more so when this new beginning is around the topic of remission. The festive period always struck fear in…
-
2020 Goals
YIKES was 2019 a huge year of change! Two big things changed – I lost my bum and I left my job. Both were painful but experiences I chose to go through. Not once did I think I had made a mistake. So as 2019 has concluded, as well as another decade, I am thinking deeply about what I would like to achieve for 2020. Here they are: …
-
2019 – Year in Review
The blurriest year ever, it feels. It’s been a oddly quick year since Day One, to be honest. What can be taken from 2019 is that time definitely feels faster as I get older and wiser. I have spent this year battling myself. Both physically and mentally. I became more in tune with my own being as well as the responses my IBD throws at me. I’ve felt more in…
-
Health Tracking – My IBD Care
Disclaimer: Occasionally, I am asked to review particular products and services. I work with those who I believe have IBD and ostomy patients’ best interests at heart. In light of this, all views and experiences shared on this blog are mine and of my own honest opinion, and do not reflect the official position of anyone I review for. To find out more about the My IBD Care app visit…