Psychological Concerns Of Crohn's Disease

Once considered by some health-care professionals as psychosomatic illnesses, we now know that Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are not caused by personality or other psychological factors. Although we have learned a great deal about the experience of living with inflammatory bowel disease, there is much that we don't yet understand about the relationship between mind and body. One thing is certain, if you have inflammatory bowel disease, you should pay attention to what is happening to you emotionally during the course of your illness and how the illness affects your life and your relationships.

 

The range of psychological issues relevant to IBD is large. Some challenges affect almost everybody with IBD to some extent. These include finding ways to live with the uncertainty inherent in the disease. Other common challenges are tolerating physical symptoms, such as fatigue and pain, and dealing with the ways the disease affects relationships, ranging from concerns about the way that embarrassment may affect day-to-day relationships to concerns about burdening friends and family at times when you need to depend on them. Some challenges may not affect all people with IBD but require extra attention, such as the role of stress in triggering a flare of inflammation or complications leading to depression.

 

Developing strategies for relieving and preventing stress and depression is important for managing IBD and improving your quality of life. The fundamental strategy is to know yourself. Think about your experience with health problems and with other challenges in your life. What have you done that has helped in the past? What has been less successful? Who in your life has been most supportive? Where can you turn for support? We'll help you answer these questions.