During the course of living with U.C. for 8 years, and subsequently healing myself from this dis-ease, I learned a tremendous amount about Ulcerative Colitis. 

My Story of Healing

I was challenged with Ulcerative Colitis for eight years before I discovered the tools to begin healing myself.  Ulcerative Colitis is an auto-immune disease where the immune system continually attacks the intestinal lining of the digestive tract, causing internal bleeding, diarrhea, cramping, weakness, fatigue, and depression.  Western medicine does not know the cause or have a cure for U.C., and treatment involves daily doses of medication to suppress inflammation in the digestive tract.  The symptoms of U.C. were quite challenging to live with and limited the enjoyment of my life for 8 years.

Over the course of those eight years I investigated countless alternative healing modalities and alternative medicines.  There are so many natural remedies for colitis, and natural remedies for healing, that it can be overwhelming to know where to start.  While many of the approaches helped, I was never able to get to the root of my dis-ease.  I eventually began to dig a little deeper, realizing that healing wasn’t going to be a quick fix.  It wasn’t until I started looking at the thoughts in my mind, my ego, and the emotional patterns I was continually repeating, that I began to understand why this dis-ease was manifesting in my body.

Healing began when I started a practice of mindful awareness.  I started to simply watch the thoughts and emotions moving through me over the course of my day, noticing when, where, and why I was having thoughts and emotions relating to self protection, making myself feel better about myself, role playing, and negative emotional reactions (anxiety, annoyance, frustration, worry, and fear).  Over the course of this process I had a powerful awakening, where I realized greater depths of my emotional and mental experience, began to feel the energy within my body and how I was directing it, and see very clearly the root of my dis-ease (maladaptive patterns of thought and behavior developed throughout my life).  Over the course of two months my symptoms went away completely, and I felt a joy, love, and peace return to my life that I had not experienced in a long time.  My path of healing is ongoing, however, as I continue to understand more of who I am, and my connection to all of life.

I now have a greater understanding of the interconnectedness of the body, mind, emotions, and spirit.  The process of healing extends far beyond removing physical dis-ease from the body, but rather, reflects a greater journey of growth and spiritual development that each one of our souls embarks upon during this lifetime.  Bringing love and compassion to ourselves during our journey is one of our greatest tools for growth and positive change.