When armchair experts attack!

armchair: often applied to persons who are addicted to home-made views of matters in which they have no first-hand knowledge The Oxford English Dictionary

I have met many people who have no real knowledge of IBD or the accompanying treatments, but who nonetheless feel qualified to offer (unsolicited) advice on my disease, medication, diet and lifestyle.

Most of these people are simply misinformed, and do not understand how their ‘well-meant’ comments are often very unsettling and upsetting. Here are my thoughts on how to identify and tame a wild armchair expert.

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The art of idleness

It has been quiet at beyondibd.com in the last month or so, following my novel writing month in November. The title of this post may give you some idea why – I have been exploring the art of idleness.

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Reducing stress

My Nanowrimo novelling adventure continues and it is going well!

Normal posting on beyondibd.com will resume in December but in the meantime here are two very useful reminders about how our choices can increase or decrease our stress levels.

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Are you exuberantly imperfect?

This week I will be joining tens of thousands of writers around the world and endeavouring to write a novel in 30 days. It’s the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and this will be my first year.

I don’t know if I will reach my goal of 50,000 words by midnight 30 November 2007. I do know that whatever I produce in this intensive month of creation will not be ‘the world’s greatest novel’. So why do it? I do it because writing, in any form, gives me a great deal of satisfaction and enjoyment. NaNoWriMo gives writers the opportunity to come together and celebrate the simple good fun they have when writing freely and without judgment. Continue reading →

Sleeping your way to better health

Common sense tells us that sleep (and also non-sleeping rest time) is important to our health, particularly for those with chronic illnesses.

IBD is an inflammatory disease and when we are flaring (and sometimes even when we are not) our digestive system is inflamed and/or ulcerated. This places our entire system under stress, as our body works hard to heal itself. In addition to whatever medications or treatments we may be receiving, we also need to give our bodies the best chance of healing by supplying it with good fuel (diet) and by focusing our available energy on the priority of getting well (by sleeping, resting and reducing external stress). So here are some tips on sleeping your way to better health… Continue reading →