Mental Health
When living with a chronic disease it can be easy to prioritise your physical symptoms. However it is important to recognise the mental challenges that come with having a chronic illness. Your IBD team is here to support you throughout this and if you are struggling you should contact your IBD team who will try to help. The Crohn’s and Colitis UK charity has trained counsellors on their helpline who may be able to help you and they can be contacted on 0300 222 5700 where you can arrange a 40 min appointment with them Monday-Friday. We have also included below some helpful links to different charities that help people with their mental health.
- www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/about-crohns-and-colitis/publications/mental-wellbeing
- www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/support/emotional-support-
- www.breathingspace.scot/
- www.mind.org.uk/
Diet
With Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s disease you may need to make some changes to your diet, to work out what works well for you which may change over time. It’s important to stress that there is no single diet that works well for everyone and that we would advise a healthy, nutritious well balanced diet. We do know from experience that avoiding processed foods such as fast foods can help to avoid flares of the disease and that reducing your fibre intake can help if you are having a flare. For more information we have included below some helpful dietary information from the Crohn’s and Colitis UK website.
Fatigue
Many people with inflammatory bowel diseases can suffer from fatigue. It can be described as an overwhelming sense of continuing tiredness, lack of energy, or feeling of exhaustion that is not relived after rest or sleep. It is far more than the ordinary tiredness that anyone may feel after having done a lot of mental or physical activity. If this is something you are struggling with then you should get in touch with your IBD team we are here to help. We have included a link below to the CCUK website information on how to cope with Fatigue and living with IBD.
