Once a person has struggled through treatment and has been able to regain a healthy
balance in his or her body, he or she may find themselves reflecting on the sacrifices
and losses that were endured during the years of suffering.
These things may include loss of sexuality and sexual encounters, loss of friends due to
fear surrounding social settings, loss of good relationships with family members due to
feeling misunderstood, loss of education due to having to drop out of university because
of lack of ability to concentrate or sit in a room without having to urinate, the loss of money due to the inability to hold a job, the loss of vitality that a person may have felt over the years, the vibrance that comes from being in good healthy balance-only to be regained years later.
All of these things may have affected marriages or intimate relationships and may even have culminated into divorces that would not have otherwise occurred.
Dealing with such a sense of loss is really a difficult thing. Finding help to cope and developing good coping mechanisms is very important to that the pain that one may feel in one's heart
can be dealt with.
A bit of advice on this tender subject is to embrace the improvements achieved thus far so that you may not take any moments for granted and know that each day that you have gotten back without pain or with very little symptoms is a gift. Let go of the past because you cannot change it. But do reflect on how happy you feel that you are no longer living it.
Embrace your intimate partner and love him or her to the fullest, thrive in your job, express your voice and make sure that it says everything you feel. Don't be silent, live your life with
the new version of yourself and your new tools for eating well and living in a balanced manner.
Hold your head up high amongst others that may mock you for your "health nut" kind of eating and attitude and be an example of someone who has worked hard to regain his or her
healthy balance. And most of all-teach your children all that you have learned so that
you might successfully prevent them from going down the same road that you once traveled.
Life is today and then comes again tomorrow so live it with your hearts wide open.
Comments
Don't look back!
Just wanted to say thank you for that very timely article about embracing life and not looking back. I've tried to maintain that attitude my whole life but with IC it's been a very different story. I do take my time with each day and try to enjoy what I can...my family, my friends, my otherwise very pleasant life. I may not be able to do all the things I had hoped to be doing right now, like traveling, eating out, celebrating the way I used to (with a glass of red wine or a piece of chocolate cake), but I will do my best to follow a healing path and look forward to a new and happy life without these horrible symptoms, one day....soon?! And, I also hope to one day be able to say that I am grateful for this experience which has taught me to slow down and appreciate all that i do have. Thanks, Matia, for a start on the right path to eating well and hopefully, living a healthier life, symptom-free from IC.
The Path
I am glad it was something that helped! Life is filled with these struggles that really challenge our ability to keep our perspective on things. I try hard to share my thoughts with everyone on this subject from time to time bc it just continues to beso relevant. I have had some big challenges in my own life of late, and just yesterday found myself getting pulled off the road in the wrong direction so to speak.Then I remembered my own words and I thought of the worst things that COULD be happening and are not happening. And this reality check put me back into beinggrateful for all that I do have and allowed me to realize that if the worst happened, I would pray for my current problems. Then everything seemed like I couldhandle it again! How we get through our life challenges is everything! These are thelessons that allow us to grow as human beings. I am glad these thoughts reached youin a positive way. I too look forward to you being one of those people who feels your life haschanged as a consequence of this treatment.