Advice on Stress Management

[Student4]

Hi everyone,

First I want to say that I am really happy that so many people have helped me through my journey on this site. Second, I am glad to say I am 27 days out without a relapse after taking Dificid. I have a crazy amount of anxiety in always thinking I’ve relapsed after seeing a loose stool or when I have abdominal pain (likely from post-infectious IBS), but I realized that stress makes my recovery that much more difficult. Because I am starting college again next week, I wanted to ask if anyone has tips on managing my stress so I can get through this. So far, I’ve noticed that CBD has really helped with this but isn’t always a viable option. If anyone has advice, feel free to engage. Thank you and I hope everyone stays safe during this time.

[beth22]

Keeping busy helped me. I teach and when I am working it keeps my mind occupied. Once you start classes, whether on campus or online, it will take your mind off too.

[Elvish2]

Congrats on making it a month out! That's the first mental hurdle in my mind. From my current and past experiences (both when I had c-diff in college and now), talking to a therapist or counselor is helpful. Most colleges have on-campus therapists these days. Besides just having an outlet to talk about things, through therapy one can learn healthier and more productive thought patterns as one grapples with the what-ifs and the anxiety.
Keeping busy is also helpful - besides school, things like light exercise such as walks if you can tolerate it, baking, socializing with friends online, knitting or cross stitching, reading ... whatever makes sense for your situation!

[Student4]

Thank you guys so much for replying! I’ve noticed that school has really distracted me from cdiff but this quarantine has stunted my exercise. I’ll try to find new ways to distract myself and get some cardio in. Here’s to hopefully another healthy month.

[Caligirl]

I’m also a huge advocate for therapy. My anxiety with c diff was horrible and was combined with postpartum depression. Therapy helped so much. It taught me how to feel when the anxiety was coming on, and so many grounding techniques.