I once read a post on an IBS forum titled “I don’t feel fine!” that I REALLY related to. It went something like this:
I don’t feel fine. Despite IBS, I managed to get my qualifications.
And every day I do this delicate balancing act, trying to keep it all together. Trying to keep going.
I look fine on paper. I look fine in person, so much so that no one sees this invisible condition I am battling with.
Even my doctor tells me that I have nothing wrong with me… But I don’t feel fine at all!
That post resonated with me so much.
There are a huge number of us out there, trying and even succeeding to look as if we have it all together, while we are fighting a hard battle. Every day.
Do you feel like that too?
I don’t feel fine – I have IBS
Although I didn’t feel fine, I was a Product Manager for food products.
However, I couldn’t even digest the food products I was marketing anymore.
How about that for irony!
I put on my mask and kept going, pushing my IBS aside and forging ahead. I felt that was the right, courageous thing to do.
Until that didn’t work anymore.
One week I went to a trade fair in Germany. I was there to meet potential suppliers and taste their new products.
I managed the first tasting…
But then came the chocolate-covered macadamia nuts.
Followed by a huge IBS flare-up that knocked me out for the next 2 days.
Using your energy and courage wisely
Pushing your IBS aside and carrying on anyway will not cut it. It seems a commendable and courageous way of living.
But it won’t work. Your IBS won’t just disappear on its own.
Why not use all your courage to swim in a direction that will get you to shore?
If your doctor is just giving you medication, ask yourself one thing:
Have they ever had IBS? And have they ever fully recovered from it?