Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

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#UlcerativeColitis #CrohnsDisease #InflammatoryBowelDiseaseIBD #CheckInWithMe

1. It’s full of other people with connections to IBD.
2. It’s a safe forum to ask any and all IBD questions.
3. It’s a way to connect with others on the Mighty community.
4. I’m one of the group leaders (living with #UlcerativeColitis ), and I’m pretty cool.
5. We want to normalize talking about poop.
6. We do Q&As with partners like Girls with Guts.
7. It’s a small but “Mighty” community that we want to grow.
8. It’s supportive.
9. Why not?
10. Do it today!

You can search the groups to join. #CrohnsDisease #InflammatoryBowelDiseaseIBD #ChronicIllness #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS

What is something you wish people knew about living with Crohn's?

Your response may be used in an article or video on The Mighty.

#CrohnsDisease #ChronicIllness

Chronic pain and anxiety often intertwine, creating a complex web of physical and emotional distress. You may experience muscle tension, body soreness, and headaches or migraines as common symptoms of anxiety. Beyond everyday discomfort, some people also grapple with diagnosed chronic pain conditions like arthritis or fibromyalgia, which can exacerbate anxiety symptoms.

Chronic migraines are frequently associated with anxiety and depression. More and more people these days suffer from headaches, migraines, and other physiological issues such as IBS, arthritis and more. Any of these issues can lead to decreased mobility and difficulty performing daily tasks, potentially intensifying feelings of anxiety and helplessness the more severe their symptoms become.

Connection Between Chronic Pain and Anxiety

Chronic pain and anxiety often form a vicious cycle, each exacerbating the other. This intricate relationship can significantly impact your overall wellbeing. Persistent pain can lead to heightened stress and worry about its duration and effects on daily life. In turn, this anxiety may amplify your perception of pain, creating a negative feedback loop.

Anxiety doesn’t just affect your mind; it can also influence your body’s pain response. It may increase inflammation, potentially causing pain that wouldn’t otherwise exist. This physical manifestation of anxiety can further intensify chronic pain symptoms, making them feel more severe and persistent.

By addressing both chronic pain and anxiety simultaneously, you can work towards breaking this cycle and improving your quality of life.

Does Chronic Pain Cause Anxiety?

Chronic pain and anxiety often go hand in hand, creating a complex interplay between physical discomfort and mental distress. Research has shown that people suffering from chronic pain are more likely to develop symptoms of anxiety compared to those without persistent pain. This heightened risk often stems from the ongoing stress and uncertainty that accompanies living with a long-term health condition.

The daily demands of managing chronic pain can continue to fuel anxiety. You may find yourself constantly worrying about pain flare-ups, treatment effectiveness, or the impact on your work and relationships. This persistent state of alertness can gradually wear down your mental resilience, potentially leading to the development of anxiety, depression, and other issues over time.

Does Anxiety Cause Chronic Pain?

Anxiety and its associated stress can indeed be significant contributors to chronic pain. When you experience anxiety, your body triggers a stress response, releasing hormones like adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream. This hormonal surge leads to inflammation, a common source of persistent pain throughout the body.

Muscle tension is a natural reaction to stress. This tension can result in various physical discomforts, including tension headaches, migraines, digestive issues, and pain in the neck, back, and shoulders. Moreover, prolonged stress can negatively impact your nervous system’s functionality, disrupting the normal communication between your brain and body.

Consistently elevated stress levels can adversely affect multiple body systems. For example, skin, muscles, nerves, joints, and bones can all develop issues from consistently heightened stress and anxiety. This widespread impact underscores the importance of managing anxiety to mitigate its potential role in chronic pain development.

Next Steps

As you navigate the complex relationship between chronic pain and anxiety, remember that these conditions often intertwine and exacerbate one another. By working closely with a therapist, exploring various physical treatment options, and developing coping mechanisms, you can help reduce and bring the cycle of pain and anxiety back within your own control.

#Anxiety #ChronicPain #Headache #Migraine #MentalHealth #Depression #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS #Arthritis

There is More talk about Self-Care than the Most Critical Key to Happiness and Great Relationships of all types——-“SELF-LOVE”.

With this in-depth look at what Self-Love looks like-for your own personal growth, I would like you to take an honest look inwards and determine if you Practice Self-Love.
If you’re not, or if you’re not doing all of the bullet points given below, don’t worry— “Each morning, we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”

As always, let’s have a great conversation about this topic below 👇 in the comments where you can use this space for your own place in your mental wellness journey. Not your mental illness journey— I am here as a friend to guide you through to the other side as much as possible—yes, that is where I stand, and the magic only happens if you let me—so how about more group members join in for your sake.

The Mighty friends that have opened themselves up to this opportunity are telling me and showing me that they are really starting to get it, and they are taking bigger, new, determined steps in their lives.

"Self-Love" refers to a deeper internal state of accepting and valuing yourself unconditionally, while "self-care" focuses on taking practical actions to maintain your physical and mental wellbeing, like getting enough sleep, eating healthy, and engaging in activities you enjoy; essentially, self-love is the mindset that drives you to practice self-care. Self-Love is the mindset too that heals the pain and keeps you in the light, Determined to keep pushing away any darkness and to stop doubting yourself.

Key points to remember:
* Self-love:
* A feeling of intrinsic worth and acceptance, regardless of circumstances
* Becoming your own best friend - treating yourself with the same respect and understanding you would give a close friend.
* Be the love you never received.
* Includes embracing your flaws
* Foundation for setting healthy boundaries and prioritizing your needs
* learn to say no when needed and clearly explain why
* Don’t seek Anyone’s validation
* Positive self-talk: Use encouraging language to speak to yourself, focusing on your strengths and accomplishments.
* Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings, recognizing negative self-talk and actively replacing it with positive affirmations/relabel upsetting thoughts
* Say something nice to yourself in the mirror — looking into your eyes & smile at yourself & say “I love you”and your name. (Yes, I actually stop myself to do this & it’s Wonderful)
* cultivate self-compassion
* Encourage Yourself
* Talk to someone you trust who *Has The Capacity To Listen*-and, Another Big Key Here is that ***Being vulnerable - completely honest and thorough- about what you’re going through with someone else is a major form of self-love because you’re taking the time to dig deep, regardless of how uncomfortable it is, And, on top of that, you’re showing yourself that you want to work out whatever’s going on with you***
* avoid comparing yourself to others
* practice gratitude
* Seek out opportunities for growth
* Creating a safe zone all your own is an act of self-love because it gives you a designated area where you can focus on your needs and emotions instead of other people’s. The key here is creating a space that feels good and peaceful when life is neither of those things.
#MentalHealth #Mindfulness #Selflove #Selfcare #Selfharm #SuicideAttemptSurvivors #SuicidalIdeation #SuicidalThoughts #Suicide #Trauma #MajorDepressiveDisorder #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #Depression #Anxiety #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #Agoraphobia #BingeEatingDisorder #EatingDisorders #EatingDisorder #ChronicIllness #ChronicFatigue #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #LymeDisease #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #PostTraumaticStressDisorder #PTSDSupportAndRecovery #PTSD #BipolarDisorder #BipolarDepression #AutonomicDysfunction #AuditoryProcessingDisorder #Deafness #ADHDInGirls #ADHD #AspergersSyndrome #AutismSpectrumDisorder #Addiction #CerebralPalsy #IntellectualDisability #Disability #Blindness #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #BorderlinePersonalityDisorderBPD #Fibromyalgia #ChronicPain #Migraine #IfYouFeelHopeless #BrainInjury #MotorDisorders #MultipleSclerosis #RheumatoidArthritis #Arthritis #Grief #Loneliness #AnorexiaNervosa #Relationships #SocialAnxiety #FamilyAndFriends #Caregiving #CrohnsDisease #CysticFibrosis #AlopeciaAreata #Cancers #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #ParkinsonsDisease #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #POTS #Stroke #Diabetes #SelfharmRecovery #RareDisease #DownSyndrome #AddisonsDisease #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #ObsessiveCompulsiveandRelatedDisorders #ObsessiveCompulsivePersonalityDisorder #DissociativeIdentityDisorder

Chronic pain, a persistent and often misunderstood condition, affects millions worldwide. Unlike acute pain, which is temporary, chronic pain endures for months or even years, significantly impacting a person’s quality of life. This persistent discomfort can impair a person's ability to work, socialize, and maintain relationships.

In my practice, I often work with people who struggle with chronic migraines. I also work with a significant number of people who struggle with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), as well. The invisible nature of chronic pain often leads to misconceptions, exacerbating feelings of isolation and frustration for those affected. Beyond the physical toll, people can experience anxiety, depression, struggles within relationships -- chronic pain can impact the day-to-day and sexual functioning of relationships -- and an overall diminished quality of life.

The Emotional Impact

Living with chronic pain can have a significant impact on your emotional wellbeing. For example, you may experience feelings of frustration, anger, anxiety, or depression as you struggle to cope with persistent discomfort, as well as the threat of the next occurrence.

It is also common for relationships to suffer as partners may struggle to fully understand the extent of your chronic pain. Many have been told things such as, "Your migraine is just a headache," or, "It's all in your head," or even, "You would stop getting them if you really wanted to," and so on. These kinds of comments can leave people feeling ashamed, misunderstood, angry, and alone as they continue to struggle.

Common Myths Associated With Chronic Pain

If Your Pain is Invisible, You Must Be Fine

Chronic pain often lurks beneath the surface, invisible to the naked eye. You may appear fine externally, but internally, you’re battling constant discomfort. This disconnect between appearance and reality can lead to harmful misconceptions and judgments. People might assume that you can’t suffer that much if you don’t look like you’re in pain. These kinds of assumptions not only come from people out in the world, but often even from close family members.

If You Can Function, It Must Not Be Bad

Another pervasive myth is that if you can work or attend events, your pain can’t be severe. However, people with chronic pain often push through immense discomfort to maintain some semblance of normalcy. Every activity requires careful consideration, knowing there's a risk of the pain coming on or getting worse. The ability to function doesn’t negate the constant presence of pain. For the most part, people with chronic pain have essentially learned to function in spite of their pain.

The Idea that Chronic Pain is Only Physical

Chronic pain’s impact goes beyond the physical. It affects your mental health, intimate relationships, sex life, social relationships, and overall quality of life. It is important for people who struggle with chronic pain to not only receive support in these areas, but also that their supports are able to understand the ripple effect of chronic pain beyond the physical.

Chronic Pain is Medical Only

This is a myth that doesn't get enough attention. While some elements of migraines and certain other types of chronic pain can have medical bases, chronic pain is often caused and exacerbated by body responses to emotional struggles. For example, the impacts of old traumas carried with you over time, or recent or ongoing traumas can all have a significant impact on the mind and body. Anxiety, depression, and stress can also cause the body to physiologically respond with debilitating migraines, GI symptoms, back pain, and more. Unless there is a clearly identified medical basis for one's chronic pain, chronic pain has often shown to be interconnected between medical and mental health.

Living With and Working Through Chronic Pain

One of the things that people struggle with the most with chronic migraines is that they never know when the next migraine is going to strike. This goes to show that even the pain-free days can often hold the most anxiety, while the painful days are the most physically debilitating. Either way, it is all emotionally and physically exhausting and draining for people who struggle with chronic pain.

Much of what I do in my practice for chronic migraines and pain is help people work through the emotional side of the struggle -- both the emotional impacts of dealing with chronic pain, as well as what may be exacerbating it on a deeper level. I have seen people whose chronic pain has mostly (and even fully) subsided after working through deeper carried traumas. When the body can release stored tensions, anxieties, and the impact of painful experiences, it can lighten the weight of chronic pain with it.

#MentalHealth #ChronicPain #Headache #Migraine #Anxiety #Depression #Stress #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS