Living Well with PI-IBS/IBS
Victor Hugo once said, "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." I have always loved music. I love to sing; I love to dance. I have a song for every mood and every moment. There's just something magical to me about music. So it's probably no …
As a child, I didn't have patience. I certainly had the aptitude for it (for example, when I would dangle myself from a doorknob for 30 minutes or so at a time because I wanted to go somewhere that my parents weren't planning on taking me), but I didn't practice it. I was a tantrum-throwing …
I had my first panic attack on Saturday, March 17th. It was around 2:30 a.m., and I had just gotten home from the hospital. At the time, I was attempting to take a shower. I had blood running down my arms from the multiple IV lines that had just been removed, and I needed to wash off the …
Continue reading "Shut Up, Stigma. We’re Talking About Mental Illness."
A few days ago, I spent about an hour on the phone with a woman who's been in and out of my life for years. Our relationship has definitely evolved over time: she started out as my teacher eleven years ago, and then she became one of my mentors as I began teaching myself, and then we …
Today, I literally wore my happy pants to work. Don't believe me? Check 'em out in the picture below: Those are some pretty happy pants, right? I *heart* them so much. Just like I *heart* a joyful attitude. When I was a high school English teacher, I frequently used to tell my students to put …
I read a quote the other day that said, "No matter how bad things get, there will always be good in the world. You just have to look for it." The day that I first read this quote, I had three separate conversations. The first one was with a lady who had some allergy issues …
For the first five or so days after my colonoscopy, I was legitimately scared of my kitchen. I'm not kidding. I could barely look at it. And my family is a family of cooks. Our get-togethers always have the best food, and the liveliest conversations happen around the dinner table. I was taught how to …
Did you know that being diagnosed with a chronic illness can send you into the stages of grief? I didn't fully understand that until a few months ago. If you think about it, though, grief for an old life that's lost isn't surprising. The traditional five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance - …
If you've known us for five years or more, you may have been surprised when I started this blog and said that Erin has IBS instead of ulcerative colitis. That's because, five years ago in March, Erin was diagnosed with UC...and two years ago, we found out he has IBS instead. What? Feeling confused yet? We were, …
Before jumping into my husband's diagnosis story, I want to finish mine. My whole world has pretty much always been neat and tidy and organized and systematic. Every thing has its place; every day has its plan. At least that's how it was until a few months ago. Now I have a chronic disorder. Think about that for …
Continue reading "Chronic (adj.) Disorder (n.): My Life Post-Diagnosis"
IBS Takes Guts 