Life with Crohn’s
Episode 30: I took notes so you didn’t have to….Today we are talking with Erik Rokeach about his journey with Crohn’s.
Erik is an incredible entrepreneur, author, business coach and podcast host! Check everything out here! Erik has been living with Crohn’s for many years and is here to share his experience and what worked for him.
Alright let’s dive into this!
First and foremost, we are not medical professionals and please contact your PCP or medical professional before making any changes in your life or diet. We are only sharing our experiences and what works for us. Everyone is different. But if you’re not feeling good make your health a priority in your life. You are worth it!
Let’s start with Stress Management…
We live in a world that is filled with stress and stress triggers that affect us daily. It’s really something that can eat away at us and there are ways we can manage it. This isn’t a one size fits all type thing but I am happy to list what I do to help reduce my stress and maybe it might help you. One thing that I do recommend is picking one or two things, give it a try for about 3 weeks, every day and see how it fits and works into your life.
Exercising daily, about 30 - 60 mins of any type of exercise daily and then maybe bumping it up a few days a week with a harder more calorie burning type workout.
Meditation, I love meditating. I meditate two or three times a day. Any where from 5 - 10 mins up to an hour. It feels so good and allows me some down time because I am always a “go go go” type gal. There are many types of meditation and see what feels good for you and your practice. Try the Calm App, Headspace or Insight Timer
Do something that makes you happy for a half hour. Like go garden, paint, go for a walk with your pup in the woods, take a bath/shower, go for a walk near water (beach, lake, river), cook something yummy…whatever floats your boat! But do it, even for a short amount of time. It’ll help!
Laugh, try to laugh. Watch something funny, have a conversation that friend who can always make you laugh, allow yourself to be silly.
BREATHE, Take 10 breaths. Focus on feelings of anxiety and stress while inhaling and releasing and letting go while exhaling for 6 seconds.
Erik’s tips and what works for him…
Erik had some beautiful suggestions for what worked for him with his Crohn’s but I also feel like this could be applied to many things in life, not just a debilitating autoimmune disease.
Keep a diary of whatever it is that you are trying to mindful about. Maybe it’s a food journal because you are on a discovery journey with your diet and what works for your body. Maybe it’s a manifestation journal and you trying to manifest more in your life but writing things down really help. But physically writing them down. There is something that happens in your brain when you put pen to paper and it just resonates a little more.
Reframing situations. Reframing is HUGE and it’s something I do DAILY with everything that happens in my life. It does mean I have to slow down a little and be more self aware. A simple reframe can make a MASSIVE difference in how I feel. You are identifying your negative emotion (I like to sit with it for a minute to fully feel and acknowledge what I am feeling so I don’t by pass the emotion) and then I like to ask “What else could come of this?” or “What else is here for me?”. If nothing comes up, that’s fine. If it does then I start reframing the situation. I take ownership of my feelings, allow them and then find the “silver lining” to it and try to reframe it in my head.
Here’s a good example…Erik mentioned an experience at a restaurant. He could have looked at this situation as being hard to go out to eat and looking at ‘what I can’t eat’ but instead he viewed going out to eat as a way to savory the moment of being out with friends and family. Being out in the world and enjoying the conversations and the moments he was having with the people verse what he couldn’t eat. To me that is such a more enjoyable way to live in that moment.
Find a specialist that can help you. Maybe it’s a nutritionist, a therapist, a spiritual advisor, trainer, whomever it is. The investment is so worth it.
When traveling, if you have Crohn’s or something else. Sometimes a little planning with meals goes along way. If you can do a little extra research about where you could eat and what they have at the restaurants that you can have. And if you are at a restaurant and run into the issue that they might have accidentally given you a dish that you can’t eat or something in the dish that you can’t eat just let them know you have a medical condition or allergy and they will always remake the dish for you.
Surround yourself with people who understand your needs and who love you. Sometimes you need to be pushed outside of your comfort zone a little with anything you find challenging. When you know you are in a good place, that’s a great time to dip your toe into something new. Try even something small because you never know if it will work for you unless you try.
Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!
Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!
If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!
xoxo
Beth
