Yes, UC is a complete head-trip and our gasteroenteroligists don't treat the collateral damage done to us regarding anxieties, depression, and the like. We live mostly normal lives with UC (other than occasional flares), have successful careers, wonderful families, pursue our hobbies and dreams, and have an overall good quality of life. It's going to be okay living with UC and having a chronic illness, you will survive, persevere, and thrive despite UC.
I can assure you that "time" helps A LOT, the longer you've had UC the easier it gets. Right now you are new to all of this, at less than a year of chronic illness and that's when you tend to fear the worst-case scenario, and fear new troubles are just around the corner. Remissions can last 3, 5, 8, or more years where we're essentially pre-uc. I've been in-and-out of a remission a few times over the years. Always have anxieties linger for a while after achieving a remission (6-months or more) and they start fading and the fears/anxieties get less and less frequent, and less and less severe, and in time they can go away entirely.
Time helps a lot as you get to know your UC, what to expect from it and when, and what aggravates it. It's kind of like having an annoying sibling growing up, you know what sets them off, when they act up and over what, and you do your best to avoid or mitigate those situations. Same goes with a UC. You learn that certain things might aggravate your UC (like excessive stress, even certain foods or booze), limit those triggers as much as you can. You know the warning signs, are proactive, and treat promptly should signs of regression/flaring appear again. And often we can catch things early when they're a small ember simmering, much easier than stopping a raging inferno.
What helps now is distracting yourself, and finding other things to invest your idle moments into. As nobody can worry about
their health 24/7 and expect to remain sane. Reinvest in hobbies (books, music, and anything you enjoy), various excercise routines help you feel good afterwards (jogging, going to the gym, yoga), consider taking up meditation (ohm lol) or practice mindfulness. Whatever you can do to get your mind off of your UC. You're doing well, so find things that are fun and interesting. Enjoy yourself as remissions are bliss and our big chance to be normal. Whereas flares are misery. We tend to enjoy the highs more!
In the here and now, here's some links that can help. Anxieties and depression go hand-in-hand with an UC, we all suffer from it in varying degrees.
Tips for coping with stress and anxieties:
www.stress-relief-exercises.comwww.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/73076/34334/breathing-lessonswww.healthyplace.comThree Minute Mindfulness Meditation Video
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDflnqo0TQs/www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2_UfFIszkY