Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis Support Group

Crohn's disease is a systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) of unknown cause, that results in chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract. It can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, and can also cause complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract. There is no known medical or surgical cure for Crohn's disease, but there are many medical...

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taking a gap year/break to relax

jonge
jonge
hey guys,

i was recently diagnosed with UC 2 months ago. i have just started my final year of university and am very stressed which is making the UC worse as i am passing blood etc. im sure anxiety caused me to get the illness in the first place as i was doing exams and very, very stressed. i just feel like i need to take a year out to relax and get adjusted to having the disease.

can some one please give me some advice, id appreciate it a lot,

Jon
deleted_user
deleted_user
I am also in my final year at University and was diagnosed 3 years ago ( i was in my first year) my UC became serious in my second year however. I did not take a whole year off I just took an easier course load. However, fourth year is so hard and of course it can be harder if you are sick. My husband and I have actually agreed that if i start a bad flare up that i will stop school for the rest of the year. My advice to you is to take at least an easier course load if not the whole year off, these first couple of months to a year are so crucial and it is so hard to be sick at first... Give yourself time to adjust to this difficult disease, don't try to push yourself too hard because then you'll end up sick and burnt out... best of luck
jonge
jonge
hey kay,

thanks for your reply. i think your right. ive only been diagnosed recently and the stress of this together with a heavey workload isnt very healthy. i just spoke with my professor and a counsellor he recommended i see and they both agree a year out would be beneficial for me. it was at exam time last year when i first fell sick and ive noticed i get worse the more i stress, so it sounds like the right thing to do.

thanks,

Jon
deleted_user
deleted_user
Hi Jon,

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I think that taking a year off to get some rest and focus on your health is probably the best thing that you can do. School will always be there and it is a good idea not to push yourself and make yourself sicker. I was diagnosed last December while I was finishing up my Master's Degree - and planning a wedding for June - I ended up hospitalized twice and I think the stress I was under definitely had something to do with that. If you are able to take that time off, I would definitely recommend it - it certainly can't hurt and you can deal with getting your disease under control. Best of luck to you - I hope you start feeling better very soon!