Crohn's Disease Relief

Trick Yourself into Being Happy?

When you have some major "ouchyness" going on, the happiness kick the world seems to be on might not seem like something you can manage.  And when you're grumpy the last thing you may want to do is read some cheesy life advice from people who tell you that it's your own fault if you're not happy healthy and perfect.  (No, I am not the world's biggest fan of the Secret.)

However, I am a fan of being happy-ish.  I particularly enjoy being content.  I even like being giddy and having fun every once in a while.  I also like giving other people advice, (right?) so when I read an article on HowStuffWorks.com about the "Top 5 Ways to Trick Yourself into Being Happy" I was intrigued.

So I perused the list and have cut it down into a nutshell for you especially for the "Crohnnies."

1.  Hang out around smiling people.  Don't forget the ancillary side of this which is that sometimes you should avoid those people who suck the happiness out of you.  Like Toxic Friends.

2.  Eat a healthy meal.  In specific they note: that complex carbohydrates -- like legumes and whole-grain breads release glucose slowly for a lasting "happy."  Folate from spinach helps the production of serotonin. Proteins like fish, meat and beans have some of the same chemical that make up dopamine - tyrosine and phenylalanine.

So perhaps a happy menu might be:

Lentil Soup

Nice lean steak, fish, or other protein rich entree

Creamed spinach

3.  Try the The 5% trick from zenhabits.com.  It goes like this - say to yourself "If I were 5 percent more responsible today, I would _________" .  This will help identify things in an incremental and bite-sized manner.

4.  Spend money doing something nice for someone else.  I say donate to the World Food Programme or the CCFA.

5.  Workout - even just once. Turns out people who worked out and then stopped were happier than people who didn't try it in the first place.  This is a tough one for me as a lot of workouts leave me exhausted and sore.  That's not happy.  I need to get out and about and get just small amounts of activity.

What to Do When You are Discouraged

Life comes with a lot of ups and downs. Probably one of the most important life skills to have is determination and the ability to overcome frustration.  This is not one of my strong suits.  I generally struggle with something, decide I don't like it, then give up and try something else.  This is great in terms of my ability to try new things.  This is not great in terms of me having to come to terms with being a "quitter."  That's not the way I envision myself as a kick butt tough girl.  (OK, I am not a kick butt tough girl either, but you have to have goals, right?)

 

My 6 year old son Ben is a lot like me.  He's very smart, very sensitive, and does not like criticism or frustration.  I would like to be able to teach him not to get discouraged, and to keep trying something until he gets it.  But how can I teach him a skill that I am not so great at either? 

 

As a person with a chronic illness, it is all too easy to give up to discouragement.  I have a built in excuse.  And when I get depressed, all I want to do is sleep anyway.  I am lucky if I can do the simple normal stuff in life, let alone attack tasks that are tricky and take practice.  I mean lets get real.

 

Probably the ultimate answer here is that you have to pick your battles.  If it is something really important to you, keep going through the frustration and through the discouragement.  When the frustration threatens to get too much, take a break.  After your break, try it another way.  Take your time and don't be afraid to ask for help.  Other times, I think its OK to let go.  If you try something and its not for you, try something else.  You do not have to succeed at everything you do.  Most successful entrepreneurs have had at least one failed business before they make it big with a success.  They keep trying something different until they get it right.  But that doesn't mean they don't have a lot of failures along the way.

 

How do you know when its OK to just give up, and when you have to keep fighting?  Listen to your heart - it always will lead you to what is important. 

28 Feet - One Man Play by Jonathan Mirrin

Jonathan Mirin play deals with his life with Crohn’s - The Boston Globe

If you are in the Boston area check out this one man play by Jonathan Mirrin who discusses (with humor) growing up, and in specific, growing up with Crohn's.  It's called 28 Feet after the length of the intestines.  LOL!

“28 FEET,’’ Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.

For more information about “28 FEET’’ call 866-811-4111 or go to www.ptco.org/solo.

5 things that will make you happier

Some scientists have argued that happiness is largely determined by genetics, health and other factors mostly outside of our control. But recent research suggests people actually can take charge of their own happiness and boost it through certain practices.

via www.msnbc.msn.com

Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California, Riverside has come up with a list of 5 things that can measurably improve your happiness.

There are no surprises here - the list s full of things that your Mother could have told you will make you happy, such as being grateful, optimistic, working with your individual strengths, and being kind to others. What is great though, is that the study results which were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, show that this stuff actually works.

The doctor even wrote an iPhone application you can use to help put these behaviors into use.

Does Your Crohn's Get Worse When the Barometer Changes?

I just read a great email I received from Craig S.  Craig said he has been suffering with Crohn's for over 20 years and wanted to recommend a few things to us.  One, he said that people with Crohn's should in general steer away from dairy, or use Lactaid treated milk.  Also avoid Whey protein.   He also said that he takes a supplement of colloidal silver.  ****EDITED TO ADD*** Read the comments below for warnings about colloidal silver.  It is listed as not only quackery but also having dangerous side effects.

He also noted that his Crohn's gets worse when the weather / barometric pressure changes and asked if I noticed anything like that. 

Thanks for the note, Craig.  I totally notice my Crohn's is worse when the weather/barometer changes.  And I get terrible migraines when the weather changes, as well.  It all goes together for me.

I have heard a lot of people can't have milk, but I swear it does not bother me at all.  Fried foods on the other hand, chocolate and popcorn are killers for me.  :::sad cause I love popcorn and miss it:::

That is cool that colloidal silver helps you.  I had a friend who told me about that years ago.  I am afraid of heavy metals, though so never tried it.  Too scary for me.

I appreciate the story of how it helps you.  I swear by Primadophilous Reuteri by Nature's Way.  Plus my own homemade yogurt which is so good.  I could live off of it.  (Sometimes, do!) LOL.  My Crohn's is pretty mild, but it really does slow me down.  And I not only work full time but have two kids 5 and 6 years old so those joint pains and the fatigue really bring me down.  Oh well, life is never perfect I guess.

So readers -- do any of you notice your Crohn's flares up worse when the weather changes?  Or are Craig and I just out here by ourselves with our weather effects?

Sometimes You Need a Little Help

Check out this adorable video.  Sometimes we all need a helping hand.

16 Year Old with Crohn's to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro

Clinton Shard is 16, and was diagnosed with Crohn's at age 12.  With the group IBD Adventures, Clinton is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro this September.  

I loved this quote from his bio on the IBD Adventures page:

When Clinton was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at the age of 12, he was forced to stop doing all the things he loved: soccer, being with friends, mountain biking, climbing, and hiking. He never imagined being able to begin doing all these things again, let alone climb Mount Kilimanjaro! Crohn’s Disease may have put Clinton’s life on hold, but he sure isn’t going to let it stop him.

 

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

I have days where just taking a shower, getting dressed, and going to work feels like climbing Mt Kilimanjaro.  I have a lot of admiration for this group, which is a mix of people who encounter IBD in their daily lives and want to use their adventuring to foster awareness and raise money.  There's a guy with an ostomy, an IBD Ostomy nurse, a 16 year old kid, a musician, an IT guy, a fitness expert...  What a great team.  The group's NO GUTS KNOW GLORY! Seven Summits campaign plans to climb the tallest summits on all 7 continents.

Here is a link to donate to support No Guts No Glory's fundraising for IBD.

Climber's name is Clinton Shard.

The Stars Came out at Benefit for Pediatric IBD Center at Cedars-Sinai

On June 14th, there was a Rock and Reel benefit for patients and families with pediatric IBD to raise funds for the Pediatric IBD Center at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.  They had a lot of A list stars attend such as Mark Walberg,and Benjamin Mackenzie, Hayden Panettiere.  Thanks to Twitter user @CopingWithIBD for the first two pictures.  Isn't that cool that she got to take pics with the stars?  Her Twitter stream is nice as well if you are looking for IBD themed twittterers. 

The Rock and Reel benefit got nice press from ET Online.  Here is a link to their story on Cedars-Sinai Pediatric IBD Benefit.

Here's a red carpet pic from two of the stars that attended Rock-N-Reel 2009 - Cole and Dylan Sprouse from "Suite Life of Zack and Cody."  (For those of you older than 15 and without kids, this is an extremely popular Disney show.)

 

image courtesy of sprousedylan.com

Coping With Crohn's: The Pain and the Laughter

I so want to check out this book -Coping With Crohn's: The Pain and the Laughter, by Sonia Glover.   I really think its so important to retain your sense of humor and find ways to laugh and live your life as well as you can.    We have a crappy disease (literally - LOL) and its also just really not the most sexy disease out there, so humor can help so much in finding the strength to deal with it on a day to day basis.

From the Amazon.com review page:

Coping with Crohn's has educated me about Crohn's in a way that no text ever could. It tells Sonia's story, but it also tells the story of many others who cope with the same problem. It opens your eyes to a disease that still has no cure, only treatments. This is a personal story that shows the pain and frustration that Sonia experienced, but also the strength, courage and downright pigheadedness she has to keep on going and not give in to defeat. --Dr. Jacqueline M Elliott, BN, MD, CCFP

Click here for my Crohn's Humor category.

Red Balloon: IBD themed music video featuring Mike McCready

I'd like to share a music video called Red Balloon.  The song is written and sung by Lauren Bruno and is from the point of view of a little girl with IBD.  She was inspired to write the song after meeting Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, and he performs in the video.

The song is a bit sad for my tastes, but it is pretty.

Red Balloon: Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis music video featuring Mike McCready