IBS Education

Recently, I have spent a lot of time going over the website that is IrritableBowelSyndrome.net. I have been a contributor here for more than two years and I am pretty familiar with the site. That said, I started to look at it from an IBS education standpoint, and how important helpful it is with becoming familiar with the world of IBS. Because it is a different world for us, isn’t it?

Why is IBS education important?

People who don’t struggle with the illness don’t understand and many do not have any desire to. This is why educating yourself both on this site and in any other means possible is imperative to your understanding, managing and coping with your IBS issues. While the basic symptoms of IBS may look the same on paper for a lot of us, our experiences, medication, diet, exercise routine and emotional well-being can vary so drastically from individual-to-individual that you really can feel quite alone if you subscribe to the fact that NO ONE understands.

If you've read comments from participants on IrritableBowelSyndrome.net, you know this. However, if you are new here or perhaps have only perused a section or two, let me just say that this place gets deep and has an awful lot of support built-in. What you have found is a place of information and support. Finding decent support with any kind of illness is sometimes hard, perhaps finding support for IBS presents a unique difficulty as most people outside ‘our circle’ don’t really want to talk about it much. Let’s just take a quick look at a way to utilize the information and support.

Education + community = priceless

What stands out to me the most is the stories. God, if there is anything that can show you how atypical IBS is, then just visit our community for a moment. You will not only find stories and comments that will resonate with you deeply (that I AM NOT ALONE moment) but you will also read and hear things that will surprise, sometimes shock, and ultimately educate you about the illness. As we eventually learn, IBS takes on many faces. It tends to have a mind of its own and is very, very unpredictable.

By reviewing our site or any other information about IBS, you will begin to see this phenomenon rather quickly. Perhaps by taking this all in, you will begin to realize that you are not doing a bad job managing your IBS because A, B, and C treatment don’t work. It is the nature of the illness. The more anecdotes, stories, comments and analysis you read, the more validated your feelings of frustration, hopelessness, and anger become. This is just how IBS is. It sucks. Let it suck and keep learning, keep trying and keep positive. Most times it is easier to stay positive with support.

Learn more about IBS

So…start by looking at the menu for IrritableBowelSyndrome.net, starting with Community and work your way down. You will get a good idea of what each section offers. On any given day you might need one part of the site more than others. There are discussions, articles, stories, information for almost every aspect of dealing with IBS. If you have a question reach out to the folks that work here. You will not meet a more supportive and empathetic group anywhere. So, go learn, become involved and stay positive. This is a journey. Collect all the support and knowledge you can. It will make this whole thing suck a lot less. ;-)