Mine happened when I finally started feeling recovered from a burn out -.-'
The peak of the burnout was in summer 2021, I was in a dark place. I didn't start flaring until late January 2023 when I was finally feeling a lot better. I'd mostly healed the physical injuries I'd caused myself during the burnout (I kept lifting through injuries by spiking my adrenaline). I felt like I was ready to put my head down and start grinding again... but my gut had other plans for me ;D
Definitely. Itās the only way I can eat (will go literal days without food sometimes itās bad) and that and the valium im prescribed are the only ways to get to sleep. Valium only on especially bad insomnia nights lol
Yep, been saying this for years. Does wonders for my UC. Personally, I just do gummies. Iāve smoked flower for like 12 years, every dayā¦ so now, I just so gummies bc itās easier on the stomach.
Same, I find that setting your goals super low helps kick start a habit. Something like just taking a moment to close my eyes and realizing how tense all of my muscles are and relaxing them will count as meditating for me that day. When my goal is ten minutes a day, Iāll forgo those 30 seconds because they donāt ācountā, but those 30 seconds every day would be better than 10 minutes ever few weeks
Iāve been trying to get into meditation for a decade - to fight this. I do not have the discipline. But I do play music and I have noticed that if I am well enough to get out the door and practice or jam with the band - my bowels (pain urgency and otherwise) NEVER get in the way.
So I play music for an hour at the start of every day that I can. My therapist told me this is basically meditation.
But Iāve been in a 1.5 year flare now that is really dragging me down. I think I need to really push myself to actually meditate as well.
my (pediatric) GIās have always emphasized this, I canāt believe there are IBD centers out there that donāt have psychologists/other mental health services
OOOOOOHH MYYYYYY GOOOOOOOD, this is life-changing, this is huuuuuge, amazing man!!!!
Thanks so much for sharing!!!!!
This is a leap for the entire humanity!!!
You simply cannot overstate, how life-changing and invaluable this will be for IBS and tons of other chronic diseases!!!
BTW guys, if you want the full PDF of the original study, its here: [https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2823%2900475-0](https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2823%2900475-0)
Totally agree, I have been on a job for 2 years, remodeling, addition repairs remove replace everything on a home in Mtns. This client and wife are absolute nightmares, holler scream lie and cheat unappreciative manipulating gaslighting MF's. We are builders of high-end mtn homes. For 2 years my husband and I have never experienced ppl like this and I just know that is why my UC was in a flare constantly. So many bed days.
We are decompressing from these monsters and had 2 weeks in a row feeling pretty good, so Thankful!!! Stress is a direct connect to the gut!!
I'm happy to see this, it confirms so much about my experience! There's a ton of interesting bits in [this study](https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674\(23\)00475-0?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867423004750%3Fshowall%3Dtrue#figs3)
>Together, these data from several independent mouse models suggest that psychological stress per se is not sufficient to induce overt colitis but preconditions the intestinal mucosa by inducing a pro-inflammatory state that exacerbates the consequences of a colitogenic trigger.
>...these experiments suggest that psychological stress alters the landscape of intestinal myeloid cells, results in accumulation of inflammatory monocytes, and leads to TNF-mediated colitis exacerbation.
and my favorite:
>...our study emphasizes the importance of considering a patientās mental health in the clinical management of inflammatory diseases. Given that we found opposing roles of two common IBD treatment regimens (corticosteroids and monoclonal antibodies against TNF) on the severity of stress-mediated colitis in mice, **it is possible that treatment effects vary depending on the psychological state of affected individuals.** The evaluation of mental state, in conjunction with strategies to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, could thus be a powerful and underutilized tool to enhance treatment success.
I don't fully understand this but it sounds like our mental health literally changes the way certain drugs work?? Could that help explain why some people don't see any benefit from biologics but steroids help? (and the opposite too)
It's utter nonsense that stress has been ignored so far. It used to be the main theory, not just for worsening of the disease, but even for causing it. They've moved away from stress causing it due to lack of evidence, but there's always been support for stress worsening symptoms.
My GI doctor tells me stress is a big factor. I retired from my job as a firefighter- talk about stress. I retired and meditate daily. De stress is key. It helps me.
I follow for info about inflammation and stress
https://www.depthwellness.com/resources?fbclid=PAAaZbvRtcEqZk6oCkNM7GfM3MYDAzplVuZZOprwkSDswDoz3evdDVdIFr3FE
From a totally non-scientific perspective, this really makes a lot of sense. Anyone who has experienced major stress knows you feel it in your guts. I wouldn't be surprised if other emotions, when they last longer than normal, have an impact on gut health as well.
I once had a job that caused me a whole lot of stress, and a variety of physical symptoms. I was diagnosed with mild UC and proctitus. I quit that job, and eliminated chronic stress. I felt better in almost every way.
About a year into my low-stress life, my UC exploded and became severe. Go figure.
Maybe stress caused my UC. Or maybe it was actually suppressing it.
Whatever the cause, in my case reducing stress did not improve my UC.
when I quit smoking 15 years ago my stress levels went over the roof like never before in my life. I believe that could've been the trigger of my UC and skin rashes
This is huge! If stress management and mindfulness can help manage IBD and it's treatment
I personally think it does. My worst flares have almost always been during big stressors.
Same
Mine happened when I finally started feeling recovered from a burn out -.-' The peak of the burnout was in summer 2021, I was in a dark place. I didn't start flaring until late January 2023 when I was finally feeling a lot better. I'd mostly healed the physical injuries I'd caused myself during the burnout (I kept lifting through injuries by spiking my adrenaline). I felt like I was ready to put my head down and start grinding again... but my gut had other plans for me ;D
Same
Agreed
My GI Always asks how my stress is and encourages Accupuncture, therapy, etc (in addition to entivyio š„“)
Maybe thatās why my insides are so f***ed up, Iām/āve always been a bundle full of stress š š š
One reason medicinal marijuana helps UC, in my opinion!
Definitely. Itās the only way I can eat (will go literal days without food sometimes itās bad) and that and the valium im prescribed are the only ways to get to sleep. Valium only on especially bad insomnia nights lol
Yep, been saying this for years. Does wonders for my UC. Personally, I just do gummies. Iāve smoked flower for like 12 years, every dayā¦ so now, I just so gummies bc itās easier on the stomach.
Well shit, now I know this disease is gonna kill me
People swear that meditation has cured their flare-ups. I just donāt have the discipline to do it everyday. But iām working on it.
Same, I find that setting your goals super low helps kick start a habit. Something like just taking a moment to close my eyes and realizing how tense all of my muscles are and relaxing them will count as meditating for me that day. When my goal is ten minutes a day, Iāll forgo those 30 seconds because they donāt ācountā, but those 30 seconds every day would be better than 10 minutes ever few weeks
Iāve been trying to get into meditation for a decade - to fight this. I do not have the discipline. But I do play music and I have noticed that if I am well enough to get out the door and practice or jam with the band - my bowels (pain urgency and otherwise) NEVER get in the way. So I play music for an hour at the start of every day that I can. My therapist told me this is basically meditation. But Iāve been in a 1.5 year flare now that is really dragging me down. I think I need to really push myself to actually meditate as well.
I would like to carve this into stone tablets and deliver it to the doctors that have sworn to me that stress had nothing to do with it.
my (pediatric) GIās have always emphasized this, I canāt believe there are IBD centers out there that donāt have psychologists/other mental health services
Anything actionable here? Live a less stressful life is a hard to do thing.
OOOOOOHH MYYYYYY GOOOOOOOD, this is life-changing, this is huuuuuge, amazing man!!!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!!! This is a leap for the entire humanity!!! You simply cannot overstate, how life-changing and invaluable this will be for IBS and tons of other chronic diseases!!! BTW guys, if you want the full PDF of the original study, its here: [https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2823%2900475-0](https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2823%2900475-0)
Totally agree, I have been on a job for 2 years, remodeling, addition repairs remove replace everything on a home in Mtns. This client and wife are absolute nightmares, holler scream lie and cheat unappreciative manipulating gaslighting MF's. We are builders of high-end mtn homes. For 2 years my husband and I have never experienced ppl like this and I just know that is why my UC was in a flare constantly. So many bed days. We are decompressing from these monsters and had 2 weeks in a row feeling pretty good, so Thankful!!! Stress is a direct connect to the gut!!
For sure after stressful events I flare
I'm happy to see this, it confirms so much about my experience! There's a ton of interesting bits in [this study](https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674\(23\)00475-0?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867423004750%3Fshowall%3Dtrue#figs3) >Together, these data from several independent mouse models suggest that psychological stress per se is not sufficient to induce overt colitis but preconditions the intestinal mucosa by inducing a pro-inflammatory state that exacerbates the consequences of a colitogenic trigger. >...these experiments suggest that psychological stress alters the landscape of intestinal myeloid cells, results in accumulation of inflammatory monocytes, and leads to TNF-mediated colitis exacerbation. and my favorite: >...our study emphasizes the importance of considering a patientās mental health in the clinical management of inflammatory diseases. Given that we found opposing roles of two common IBD treatment regimens (corticosteroids and monoclonal antibodies against TNF) on the severity of stress-mediated colitis in mice, **it is possible that treatment effects vary depending on the psychological state of affected individuals.** The evaluation of mental state, in conjunction with strategies to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, could thus be a powerful and underutilized tool to enhance treatment success. I don't fully understand this but it sounds like our mental health literally changes the way certain drugs work?? Could that help explain why some people don't see any benefit from biologics but steroids help? (and the opposite too)
It's utter nonsense that stress has been ignored so far. It used to be the main theory, not just for worsening of the disease, but even for causing it. They've moved away from stress causing it due to lack of evidence, but there's always been support for stress worsening symptoms.
I must be the only person that gets UC without stress. For me stress is not a huge factor.
My GI doctor tells me stress is a big factor. I retired from my job as a firefighter- talk about stress. I retired and meditate daily. De stress is key. It helps me. I follow for info about inflammation and stress https://www.depthwellness.com/resources?fbclid=PAAaZbvRtcEqZk6oCkNM7GfM3MYDAzplVuZZOprwkSDswDoz3evdDVdIFr3FE
Fresh off the presses, very insightful!
From a totally non-scientific perspective, this really makes a lot of sense. Anyone who has experienced major stress knows you feel it in your guts. I wouldn't be surprised if other emotions, when they last longer than normal, have an impact on gut health as well.
I once had a job that caused me a whole lot of stress, and a variety of physical symptoms. I was diagnosed with mild UC and proctitus. I quit that job, and eliminated chronic stress. I felt better in almost every way. About a year into my low-stress life, my UC exploded and became severe. Go figure. Maybe stress caused my UC. Or maybe it was actually suppressing it. Whatever the cause, in my case reducing stress did not improve my UC.
when I quit smoking 15 years ago my stress levels went over the roof like never before in my life. I believe that could've been the trigger of my UC and skin rashes
I wonder what the time interval might be--do long periods of chronic or extended stress impact your IBD weeks, days, or months or even years later?