Support Group for Students with Chronic Health Conditions

•The following information is my opinion. It is intended to convey some of the themes that may be shared in the support group.

The difficulties and problems that an individual experiences with the combination of having a chronic illness and simultaneously attending college will be similar to the problems that you will experience all of your life. So, I believe that it is very important to learn how to successfully deal with your chronic illness and life while you're in college.

Some thoughts Concerning Chronic Illness (by Dr. Will Collier):

One thing to keep in mind is that suffering is a commonality for the human condition. All human beings suffer or will suffer (the suffering will just vary in terms of when in comes, what kind of suffering it is, and perhaps the intensity of it).

Since we all share suffering, what really distinguishes us and defines our lives is our reaction or response to suffering. We cannot (& no one can) choose a life free of suffering, but we can change our life by controlling our response to suffering.

By choosing a reaction to pain & suffering I'm referring to how we cope and find a meaning for our suffering over the long term. Often with short term pain it's difficult, if not impossible, to control our reaction to it.

However, over the long term we can choose a response to our suffering, such as finding a meaning for it. I do believe that there is meaning to every individual's life and suffering, but no one can tell you what the meaning of your suffering is. You have to determine that for yourself.

There are many historical examples, and even examples in those around you, of how individuals can choose their response to suffering (both positive & negative). A book you can read if you want to go into this in detail is Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. Frankl championed the notion of each individual having to determine the meaning of his or her own life/suffering. Frankl called his approach Logotherapy. [This approach is related to existential psychology - if a person has a reason/meaning, then s/he can bear any circumstance. This approach also builds on the notion of an existential crisis & how a lack of meaning has lead to many modern ills.]

Another important factor in dealing with a chronic illness (and chronic pain) is persistence. Especially when you have a chronic illness, if you want to achieve something, then you have to commit to it over the long-term and concentrate on it in ways that healthy people don't have to and you have to keep pursuing it over time.

Another important factor in dealing with a chronic illness is setting priorities (or compromising). People with chronic illnesses realize more than healthy people that you cannot have everything in life, so you have to make choices.

I had to spend most of my hours in college studying, rather than running around having a social life. I had to read and re-read and re-read material sometimes, because I was in pain (and/or on pain medication) and it was difficult to concentrate. So, I had to be persistent and do whatever it took if I wanted to continue in college and graduate (and then go on to graduate school).

Another important aspect of experiencing a chronic illness is often a greater appreciation of life and of simple pleasures. It is often only after you lose your health that you can appreciate how wonderful it is to wake up rested in the morning, or to be able to fall asleep quickly at night, etc. Or, in my case, once in a while I really appreciate just being able to eat a simple meal without pain.

Since I've had a chronic illness, I believe that I have an understanding of life that I could not have had through any other kind of experience.

The last important aspect of dealing with a chronic illness that I want to mention is the importance of sharing. Now, I still haven't learned to do this very well, but I do believe that reaching out to others for help and also to help them in return can be very rewarding.

When I was an undergraduate, and learning to deal with my chronic illness, for the longest time I really resented my healthy friends writing me notes and trying to cheer my up. Then, one day I realized that even though they didn't know (or exactly understand) what I was experiencing, the important thing is that they were trying to help me and trying to understand. As I said earlier, even though they didn't know my specific suffering, they (as humans) did know some sort of suffering. And, the most important thing is that by reaching out to me they demonstrated that they cared for me (and that was encouraging to me).

Nevertheless, often it is more comforting to reach out to others who also have chronic illnesses. We all need shoulders to cry on, and it can help if those shoulders also know something about what it is like to have a chronic illness.

My Chronic Illness (by Dr. Will Collier):

I was diagnosed in August 1989 (just before my undergraduate sophomore year of college) with Crohn's disease, which is an inflammatory bowel disease. The inflammation was spread throughout my small intestine. For the next year, everything I ate (even simple broth and bread) caused unbelievable amounts of pain.

Crohn's disease can inflame any part of the digestive tract, however, in me it has always inflamed the small intestine. The inflammation makes the small intestine rigid and the passage through it so small that when food tries to pass through the restricted areas of the intestine the normal bowel muscles keep trying to push the food through the tiny, rigid opening in the inflamed part of the bowel. Believe me, it hurts like hell. The cause of Crohn's disease is unknown. It can go into remission, but it has never really gone into remission in me. Although, at times I have not experienced as much symptomology.

Besides pain, the inflamed small intestines do not absorb nutrients like they should, so I take vitamins and sometimes nutritional supplements. My intestines no longer absorb vitamin B-12, so I have to give myself a shot every month of vitamin B-12. In addition, the rigid intestines are susceptible to bleeding, so it's not unusual for me to be anemic.

Over the years since I was diagnosed, I've had 2 major surgeries to remove parts of my small intestine and resect the bowel. One surgery during graduate school & one during my first teaching job at UT-Tyler. Let me tell you, you've never had pain until you wake up from abdominal surgery (that cuts through all your abdominal muscles and then also cuts your intestines). And, of course, the wonderful preps you have to go through to be sure that there is nothing in your intestines prior to surgery are also fabulous experiences.

Anyway, I experienced large amounts of pain throughout my years in college, and I continue to experience pain and other symptoms. It was very difficult to continue attending college, going to class, studying, taking tests, writing papers, etc., and it is difficult to continue pursuing my career too. The difficulties and problems that an individual experiences with the combination of both having a chronic illness and simultaneously attending college will be similar to the problems that you will experience all of your life. So, I believe that it is very important to learn how to successfully deal with your chronic illness and life while you're in college.