IBS, anxiety and phobias

[IBS_Problems]

I just had to cancel a meet up with my best friend and I'm always ill when wanting to leave the house. Counciling doesn't work for me, meds don't work for me and I'm become more and more upset and angrey towards myself over my IBS. I hate it. I feel like I'm not going to have a future without having to plan every last detail and depend on others to help me with my everyday tasks I can't even go to school everyday cause of the anxiety and pain. I don't know what I exspect people to do I just want some opinions and/or tips on how to deal with it.

Thank you for reading,

K, 16

[Hidden]

Know that you are not alone.

You are frustrated and angry and worried about the future. These feelings often just fuel IBS.

I had IBS for years and I have finally beaten it. The first thing you could try is to bring down your stress levels. This looks simple but takes a bit of practice. It could be a good first step in the right direction: sickofibs.com/well-being/a-...

Hope this helps,

Alison

[Popetta]

Hello there,

My recommendation is having a good sense of humour and persistence, because you are going to need both. I am a sufferer too and believe me it's not easy. After my ongoing experience of having to always cancel social arrangements, I have just resorted to not planning anything. This helps take the pressure off. And by this I don't mean you have to stop all activity, not at all, it's just a different way of doing things. So now instead I just take each day and weekend as they come and if it's a slightly good day (I have IBS symptoms on a daily basis) then I just make the most of it. If not, then I just try to get as much rest as possible (mostly because I am always exhausted and in pain). I also sign up to events that are free, so if I do have to cancel last minute, then at least my pocket/budget does not suffer too! There are lots available on websites such as Eventbrite or Meetup. Don't let friends, acquaintances, family or work peers bother you, in my case NONE understand this condition, so I have stopped explaining or making an effort so some can get an understanding. There's no point as they simply don't get it and it's a waste of energy.

It's not an easy ride and I guess the best way I can describe it is that you build more resilience as you go along.

Know that there are many sufferers like you out there and we can have a future, maybe just a "different" one than what you expected.

I hope that you find this useful in some way and best of luck.