When I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in my early twenties, I gathered as much information as I could from my doctor, associations like ACCAQ and the internet. I wanted to understand what caused my illness and what I could do to fix it. Of course, I soon discovered that answers do not come that easy!

It has now been nearly 10 years since my diagnosis and I have come a long way (I think) in learning about IBD - not just about tests and medications and possible causes, but also (and sometimes more importantly) what it means to live with IBD. A big turning point was when I read Learning Sickness: A Year with Crohn's Disease by James Lang. I was going through a new phase in my own disease and personal understanding and was reading a lot of books, pamphlets and articles.

They spoke in a measured language about typical and atypical symptoms; the statistical effectiveness of various treatments; and about the need to keep a positive outlook. But they did not (and probably could not in that context) describe how IBD really feels: the churning, uneasy sensation of nausea; the slow waves of cramping abdominal pain; the many varied symptoms of different sufferers; the anger, fear and helplessness that you often feel. This blank in the literature left me wondering if anyone else felt the way I did.

Then I read Learning Sickness in which Lang describes his early frustration with "patients in published books who would describe their troubles with easy euphemisms" and his desire to know whether they, like he, had "lain in bed late at night and wondered whether the disease is slowly burning holes into the wall of your intestines…" p 59. He goes on to say that the discovery of online IBD communities, and reading the stories of others, helped him gain new perspective on his disease. He now seeks out such stories, partly to help him live and cope with his own illness, and partly to help others.

Making contact with other IBDers through online forums and through ACCAQ events has helped me immensely, and has motivated me to start a blog at www.beyondibd.com, where I post a new article each week. There are already quite a few great online resources canvassing the latest research and treatments, and recommendations for related issues such as exercise and diet.

I'll be reviewing these from time to time, and I also want to go beyond a discussion of physical well-being, to encompass life strategies which improve emotional and mental well-being, strategies which help us:

• simplify our lives;
• reduce stress;
• be more productive;
• identify and realise goals and priorities;
• develop self-nurturing habits;
• conserve, extend and best expend our energy; and
• maintain good relationships with family friends and partners.