I have openly talked about how my mental health has been affected by not only having my stoma bag but also through everything I have went through to get here.
For me, I wasn’t prepared at all to have my stoma bag, it was an emergency surgery and I was told just before I went down that I may wake up with a stoma so adapting to life afterwards was quite tough.
At the beginning, I was finding my way with my stoma and clinging to the hope it would be reversed and I think that’s what got me through the first three months but when I was told that it wouldn’t be reversed my mental health really went downhill. My anxiety was sky high, I felt really low mood-wise and as it was during the full lockdown during COVID, I felt completely alone and as if I had no one to help or support me through this journey.
I eventually reached out and got help. I attended CPT where I spoke to a counsellor weekly and was put on medication to help me deal with how I was feeling. I slowly began to find ways that helped me cope and make me stronger both physically and mentally.
Working out at home was one of the things I did to help. Fitness has always been a huge part of my life so knowing I could still do this really helped me and helped me feel better after each workout; I think that was the beginning of overcoming everything I was afraid of, that gave me anxiety around having my stoma bag.
Reaching out to the online community definitely helped me so much being able to ask others who have went through similar or were going through similar was a huge help. Knowing I wasn’t going through this alone definitely was a huge support and helped me understand life with a stoma a lot better.
Everyone gets their stomas for different reasons. Some people prep for getting them and others get them under emergencies and I feel this can really change how you feel about your stoma. For a lot of people that may be struggling with IBD, getting a stoma can help improve their quality of life and therefore their journey may differ. Just remember it’s ok to feel whatever you feel about your stoma. Some days may be good and others may be bad never compare your journey to anyone else’s.
