IBS and Phobias

I was working with a young lady the other day that had suffered a stroke at the age of 27. I was in the process of trying to find her employment, but we kept running into the same obstacle. She was afraid to leave the house, or travel at all more specifically. No car, no bus, no train…no plane (not that I was trying to send her off to work in a plane :-) I began to think of all the things I have been scared to do since having to deal with IBS on a somewhat regular basis. I wouldn’t want to take a bus or train on a bad IBS day. I haven’t wanted to go to work or dates or parties on bad days. I’ve been afraid to eat, to dance; to live. How do we get through this so we can live happy, productive lives? It’s not easy, but it can be done in most circumstances. Let’s take a look at this issue a little closer.

Fear and confidence

Perhaps, 'PHOBIA’ might be the wrong term. Perhaps, not. Have you ever had that kind of fear that keeps you from doing something rather normal because you are so afraid you may be embarrassed or left with that ‘out of control’ feeling? I’m sure most of us have. I have. It was worst right after my IBS diagnosis. I read so much and so long about how to manage the illness and the do’s and don’ts, rights and wrongs, that I really believed I couldn’t do much of anything. I was totally afraid to exercise. I truly existed on a diet almost completely of oatmeal because I was too depressed and worried to figure out a really good, satisfying diet for myself. Because of the diarrhea and stomach pain, I didn’t feel confident enough to do much of anything. I’m pretty sure that many of you have felt the same way.

One thing at a time

Once I came to a kind of acceptance that this IBS wasn’t going to just go away, I decided, at very least, I could try to create a diet that at least tasted good and helped manage my symptoms. This was good because I didn’t really have to leave my house to do it (other than going to the grocery store, which I was scared of, too ;-)). The diet helped and made me feel a little more ‘normal’. I started reading posts and stories on this site and saw other folks were having the same kinds of trouble I was. That helped, too. I started developing contingency plans to help if I ran into any trouble out there in the world, if you know what I mean. As I added one thing after the other, my confidence improved and so did my self-esteem. I think I knew I had gained some success when I made it to the gym and was able to go on a date.

I guess my point is that it is completely natural to have fear when you are struggling with illness. It just goes with the territory. If we look at all the obstacles at once, we become overwhelmed and the fear intensifies. The one thing at a time approach worked for me. Perhaps making a list of the easiest changes to make, all the way up to your ultimate goal might help. Just my two cents on a very important issue.