When I was 15 years old, I got diagnosed with crohn’s
disease and colitis. The doctor was not so sure which of both I really had, so
he diagnosed me with both. For years before that diagnosis I struggled with
increasing stomach pain, diarrhea and missed many days at school. Finally I got
treated with prednisone and felt better initially, but the drug made me feel
worse in the long run.
I started my search for health and diet on the internet,
read many books and was hooked on the path to get well by myself ever since. I
saw immediate benefits of the healthy lifestyle and the healthy diet in
particular. I drastically reduced the occasions when I drank alcohol and
avoided junk food for the most part, because everytime I indulged in it, I felt
the immediate negative effects.
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| Challenges come to us in many ways. Consciously chosen or not. |
Finding what works
I have to say though that it was not an easy journey to find
out what works and what does not and I am still tweaking my diet around on a
regular basis, trying out new things. But I also tend to forget from time to
time what did not work and deviate from my protocols and diets, only to find
myself in pain all over again. But those periods have become less frequent and
shorter. I am now more stable in my good eating habits and avoid big
“failures”.
Can you become happier through a disease?
But I have learned a positive lesson from this disease. I
am actually very thankful for the path that this condition has pushed me
towards. I know this sounds mad to someone who is suffering badly from this
or any disease. But I have found that this disease has pushed myself to grow
mentally. To learn and grow in areas that I would probably have neglected
otherwise. If you would ask me if I wanted to relive the past 10 years without
having this disease, I would tend to answer no. Of course you never know how an
alternative reality would have turned out to be, but as I am in a pretty happy
state right now, I do not wanted anything to be different. I can imagine many
different realities without this disease that would not have turned out so
well. Without the interest in eating healthy, I would probably have continued
to eat meat and junk food. Ending up less healthy overall in the end.
And the things I learned about healthy living were only the
start of a much greater journey into personal development. This path I might
also not have taken without all that I learned through the research on this
condition. And serious personal development work has probably been the biggest
factor in increasing my happiness over the last couple of years. Meditation,
inner work and contemplation of death for example have shifted my mental
outlook in profound ways. Listening to great teachers like Alan Watts and
contemplating on his teachings have paved my way to discover greatly helpful
concepts to cope with life’s struggles. And I can honestly say I am much happier
since implementing several mental practices into my daily life.