HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Managing Stress - Meditation

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 2/26/2019 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
There’s no doubt that my current year long flare up was triggered in part by stress, it was a tough year!

Has anyone on this forum tried meditation for managing stress, and has it had an positive impact on symptoms at all? I’d like to give meditation a try but I have no idea how to get started with it.
Posted 2/26/2019 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
Prolonged, longterm stress can have a negative impact on us and combined with worse sleeping and eating that generally go with it, it can't do us any good. So, certainly trying to limit those stressors and better cope with them is a good pursuit to begin. Try medication, yoga, mindfullness, and anything healthy to vent your frustrations and use them in a healthy way (go for a jog, the gym, etc etc). It's a long journey, with no easy button.

Tips for coping with stress and anxieties:
https://www.stress-relief-exercises.com
https://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/73076/34334/breathing-lessons
https://www.healthyplace.com

Three Minute Mindfulness Meditation Video
https:///www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdflnqo0tqs
https:///www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2_uffiszky
Posted 2/26/2019 4:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hi MattSu,
I dabbled in meditation for years without really understanding how to do it, getting frustrated and giving up. The book that helped me actually get into it was Joy On Demand by google engineer Chade-Meng Tan. I recommend it for people that are looking for a straight forward explanation of meditation and a practical protocol for getting into it. There are many books on meditation but I liked that one one was less focused on "spiritual enlightenment", and instead took a very basic approach.
I've been dedicating myself to 15-20 mins daily meditation for the past 3 months and I must say it has made a great difference to my stress levels and focus. At the beginning it just felt like work or something I had to check off my to do list for the day, about a month in I felt I had gotten the hang of it, was enjoying it and seeing benefit. Benefits seem to be improving as time goes on.
Posted 2/26/2019 6:55 PM (GMT 0)
At least until recently, stress was definitely a major trigger or my disease, so this year I decided to participate in an 8-week mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) course through my university's mental health office (last chance before I graduate). But I see that there are free online courses available too, like this one https://palousemindfulness.com/

I've only had the introductory session so far, but it sounds promising. They also warned us that there is a steep learning curve (~2 hrs of meditating is a lot!), so I'm a little nervous. Still, seems easier than a complete diet overhaul. I'll check back in 8 weeks once I know more.
Posted 2/26/2019 7:07 PM (GMT 0)
We used to do meditation at the end of yoga class but since I was always flaring in those classes, my overriding memory is of sitting on the floor being desperate for the toilet and hoping it would end soon. ha ha. One time i knew an "accident" was coming if i didn't leg it, so i had to disturb everyone else's meditation to run out of the room, slamming a few doors en route to the toilet. I did make it in time but felt embarrassed for what happened. One girl told me afterwards she assumed i had cystitis. Anyway....meditation is not my thing but indeed others find it helpful....and yoga has not helped my colitis one iota as far as i can tell (i already practised every day before i got sick)...i do like dancing however as an activity to transport my mind and soul to another place.
Posted 2/26/2019 7:23 PM (GMT 0)
Yes I have used it successfully. I don't know if it reduces symptoms but it definitely helps remove all the anxiety related to those symptoms. I compare it to getting laughing gas for dental work. It's not that it gets rid of the pain, it's that you just don't care that it hurts. When my symptoms pop up, I accept it and move on.

The easiest way to learn to meditate is simply count while you breath. I inhale and count to 8 and exhale while counting to 10. The goal is to remove all thoughts from your mind. If you find your mind wandering, picture the thoughts fading away like a passing cloud. It takes practice.

Post Edited (Uniform Charlie) : 2/26/2019 12:27:17 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/26/2019 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
Anxiety is one of those things you do not want to get roots. So for peace-of-mind, you prepare as much as is possible, cover the worstcase scenario, and have distractions to not let your mind run wild.

As an example. Early morning driving is something that normally sets my anxiety levels to DEFCON 5 (aka highest possible). Which is not a baseless fear, as I've crapped myself while driving, and had more close calls then I can count. So, I do what I can do for peace-of-mind before leaving the house in the early morning: I give myself extra time to sit on the toilet, and do so one last time just before leaving just to make sure I don't have to poop. I say to myself "Okay bowels, I know you despise me, know my feeling for you is the same, but we gotta get to work lol!." I have an emergency kit available in the trunk of the car for worstcase scenarios, and I know where some reliable bathrooms will be along the route for peace-of-mind. When driving, I'll have the radio on to distract my crazy, runaway mind from its bathroom worries. I'll put on NPR and have something interesting to listen to, or put on music and sing *badly* along.

It's one of those things where once that anxiety-train gains a full head of steam, it becomes an unstoppable force, and your worries become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I end up getting so darn worried, with sweaty palms, heart racing, and gurgling gut, that stopping to attempt a poop is a more-or-less forgone conclusion. However, keep myself distracted, and not give anxiety roots and I do just fine.
Posted 2/27/2019 1:32 AM (GMT 0)

iPoop said...
Anxiety is one of those things you do not want to get roots. So for peace-of-mind, you prepare as much as is possible, cover the worstcase scenario, and have distractions to not let your mind run wild.

As an example. Early morning driving is something that normally sets my anxiety levels to DEFCON 5 (aka highest possible). Which is not a baseless fear, as I've crapped myself while driving, and had more close calls then I can count. So, I do what I can do for peace-of-mind before leaving the house in the early morning: I give myself extra time to sit on the toilet, and do so one last time just before leaving just to make sure I don't have to poop. I say to myself "Okay bowels, I know you despise me, know my feeling for you is the same, but we gotta get to work lol!." I have an emergency kit available in the trunk of the car for worstcase scenarios, and I know where some reliable bathrooms will be along the route for peace-of-mind. When driving, I'll have the radio on to distract my crazy, runaway mind from its bathroom worries. I'll put on NPR and have something interesting to listen to, or put on music and sing *badly* along.

It's one of those things where once that anxiety-train gains a full head of steam, it becomes an unstoppable force, and your worries become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I end up getting so darn worried, with sweaty palms, heart racing, and gurgling gut, that stopping to attempt a poop is a more-or-less forgone conclusion. However, keep myself distracted, and not give anxiety roots and I do just fine.

Just now reading this response, nodding to every single word, while sitting on the toilet, getting myself mentally and physically ready to tackle taking the kids to school in the car! Roll on the next hour.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply