A Colitis Attack. Any Answers?

When the first colitis attack has subsided and once you progress into a period of remission, it is natural to start looking for answers and it is a time for reflection. The two thoughts that readily spring to mind are how and why? How come you have become one of the unlucky ones?

In terms of the total population of your country, you are in a very small minority, so how on earth were you picked out to be on the receiving end of all that colitis can throw at you? Like almost every human disease, aside from infections, there is no simple explanation as to what causes ulcerative colitis. Similarly, the medical profession don’t know the specific causes of diabetes or heart disease or any kind of cancer. This is true for the vast majority of illnesses so those diagnosed with colitis are very similar to people suffering other diseases. There are a lot of questions asked but unfortunately few answers.

Nonetheless, there is a lot of guilt with ulcerative colitis because often the patient thinks they have done something wrong in the past to “catch” the disease. It is vitally important to understand that whatever ulcerative colitis is, it is not the patient’s fault. There is nothing the patient could have possibly done to get it. Currently, medical science suggests that ulcerative colitis is probably a disease that has a genetic disposition, and there is a probability that there is something in our environment which triggers it. There appears to be more a preponderance for the disease to appear in the Western world and the incidences of colitis are slowly increasing in the East and developing world as they become more “Westernised”. Is this something to do with the lifestyle led by those in the “West”? At the current time there is no medical evidence to suggest this.

An example to illustrate the point is hay fever. If you have a genetic disposition to it and you’re exposed to pollen, you get itchy eyes and a runny nose. If you’ve got a genetic disposition and you’re never exposed to pollen, you don’t get it. Likewise, if you don’t have the genetic disposition and you’re exposed to pollen, you still don’t get it. This is not something you can control. At the current time, medical science suggests the same is true for ulcerative colitis.

What you can do is to create a mindset that will see you make the best of what you have been dealt with. Yes, you have had a colitis attack and yes there is every chance that you will be subjected to relapses in the future. What you need to do is create positive thoughts, suggestions and commands that will become embedded within your subconscious mind that will influence the thoughts of your conscious mind. You also need to discover how fellow sufferers manage their remission periods to ensure good health for as long as possible and not to perhaps provoke the appearance of any colitis symptoms. Find out how and why "colitis management" can benefit you at The Colitis Experience