5 Ways to Share Your Experience Living With IBD
*Post sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb. Opinions expressed belong to the Gut It Out Foundation.
1. Use Your Social Media
We're a little biased at the Gut It Out Foundation on the power of social media. Our Foundation was created in part due to the overwhelming support we got from our online community that we created through @gutitout on Instagram. Since we spend so much time on our phones, on social media, why not use your account to be a place where others can feel seen and less isolated in their experience with IBD?
You can share your scars, your medication, your infusions, or just share if you're having a good or bad day and why. Use popular hashtags within the IBD community in your captions, to help others who are looking for content like yours. Examples of hashtags include: #ibd #ibdawareness #ibdwarrior #crohns #crohnsdisease #crohnswarrior #ulcerativecolitis #colitis and #gutitout of course!
2. Find an Online Support Group
Attending in-person support groups can be intimidating, but online support groups can be way less daunting. You don't have to leave your home and you can arrive in your pjs!
To find an online support group near you, consider using the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation's Support Group search tool on their website. There are support groups all across the country and you can connect with a group of locals near you!
3. Participate in a Patient Panel or Research Study
There are many organizations doing tremendous work in the IBD research space, from non-profit organizations, to private universities, to pharmaceutical companies. Many of these organizations host patient panels or recruit patients for research studies.
It can be so rewarding to share your personal experience and help others who are living with IBD. For example, some patients with ulcerative colitis could join Bristol Myers Squibb's upcoming Virtual Patient Panel Discussion. This panel allows you to lend your voice to help reshape the conversation about living with UC. If you're interested, you can find additional details below this blog post!
4. Volunteer for an IBD Nonprofit
Your experience as an IBD patient is priceless to a nonprofit dedicated to the IBD community. While the Gut It Out Foundation doesn't currently have in-person volunteer opportunities, we do accept volunteers to contribute to our digital content. You can email us your #GotGuts story or send in a question for one of our #TalkItOut posts. If there's a topic surrounding IBD that you're really passionate about, we always welcome guest writers for our blog!