The Psychology Behind Flare Ups

With Crohn's Disease there comes flare ups at which can happen at any time. Just like there are triggers and relapses for many different diseases, Crohn's Disease can also have one. A flare up is defined as a sudden reactivation of symptoms for people living with Crohn's disease. The most common question people ask is how one minute we can be fine and then all of a sudden we are crouching over with unbearable pain. While that is just the price you pay for living with this incurable disease, there is one factor in particular that relates to everyone: stress. Stress is one of those things that no matter how hard we try to escape, it always finds its way back to us. With Crohn's patients, stressful situations can cause us to relapse very bad, essentially making it hard to live our daily life.

Stress with Crohn’s Disease is a big no no, but stress is inevitable and you can only moderate stress but not rid yourself of it. The association between stress and your stomach have been presented acknowledging the idea of the “second brain” called the ENS, also known as the Enteric Nervous System. The ENS regulates a variety of gastrointestinal functions and communicates bidirectionally with the CNS (Central Nervous System). The ENS and CNS both work together along the gastrointestinal tract where there are millions of neurons linking the idea of your mind and body. Many of you have gotten that gut feeling and this is in fact where this comes from. Take the idea of when you get that gut feeling about something. When you think of this gut feeling, it is essentially your subconscious' realization of the connection between your mind and body. This is also as to why Crohn’s patients suffer from flare ups when stress is presented. A Crohn’s patient suffers frequent and/or urgent bowel movements, diarrhea, bloody stool, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and weight loss during flare up. People may also report symptoms such as fatigue, lack of appetite, joint aches, body aches, rashes, and eye problems, including pain, red- ness, or loss of vision. Depending on the severity and case of Crohn’s Disease and where in the gastric tract there is inflammation, the symptoms of flare ups vary from person to person.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The best ways in which Crohn's patients deal with stress is by meditation. Breathing techniques calm the body and put the body in a relaxed state in which the body can regenerate. Even though it is hard to relax your mind at which it is the most active and just focus on your breathing, I challenge you, the reader, to try it out once a day in order to just examine your body's feelings. Find where there is the most pressure and acknowledge that. My last thought here is to remind you that feeling stressed is a natural feeling and with that comes natural ways of healing.