Do you have any advice on how to stay positive? I was diagnosed about 8 months ago but I still find it hard to accept..Where do you find the motivation to be active and bring yourself out of depression?
I'm not sure where my positive side comes from... I guess I've always been that kind of person. I grew up poor (and still am kinda poor) so really the only way to get things that I wanted was to work hard and earn it, even things like happiness. I've come to learn that happiness, positivity, and motivation is hard work and also a choice. If you can choose to be sad, you can choose to be happy as well!
I once saw a pie chart that blew my mind. It said that our genes make up 50% of our happiness. Which means you are born either an optimist or a pessimist. Next on the pie chart, it said that only 10% of our happiness is determined by life circumstances! This means, for example, your illness isn't even a major part of determining your level of happiness. Its just a minor role in your total level of happiness. The last thing on the pie chart was that the remaining 40% is "What you do and how you think". This is HUGE! That means you can control the outcome of your life! You can choose to become happy.
When I figured that out, it made me want to get better and do things. It didn't happen overnight. It took me years! Honestly I do have a lot of down days and there are times when I have to force myself out of it. I read a lot of sites and books on the topic of happiness, how to reduce stress, self-help books and anything related. It helped a lot. I also got rid of a lot of negative things and people in my life.
I write a lot of my frustrations down, even if no one (including myself) will read it. Its just a way of releasing some steam. I've been doing this for half of my life so far. I also write about things I want to do, so I have things to look forward to.
A new thing I took on was exercising. At first I could barely walk a mile. Now I walk 12-20 miles a month! Focusing on a physical task not only strengthened my body but also my mind. It gave me small goals that I knew I could accomplish.
A lot of the things I tried are trial and error. I've come a long way but I'm still learning a lot of things and I enjoy doing it too. Those are just some of the ways I've been handling it. I'm sure there's more that I still have to learn about and I'll share them when I figure them out.
p.s. Yikes! I just counted the years... I've had ulcerative colitis for about 8 years now! If I could do it, you totally can do it :) Good luck!
