I need to tell you that it’s okay to unbutton those pants.

This post was updated after recording a podcast on Living and Letting Go in October of 2018. On the podcast, I talked about this concept of unbuttoning those pants. If you have IBS and/or IBD, then that podcast episode + this post is for you.

My Worst Bloat Days

On my worst days (back in college and then early on when I moved to California right out of college), waking up was never the problem.

I could (usually) easily put on suit slacks, jeans or yoga pants.

By lunch, heck, sometimes right after breakfast, the demons began pushing against my lower belly, making even subtle movements difficult.

I might sweat or have anxiety.

I could possibly be crying internally or even externally. In fact, oftentimes at lunch, I’d find myself in bathroom stalls, doubled over in pain while crying and even sometimes just sitting in said stall asking, “Why me?!”

But I never unbuttoned my pants.

I had too much pride.

To unbutton them would mean that I’d have to admit something was wrong. If I admitted something was wrong, then I’d need to get help and take it into my own hands to get better.

No way.

Unbutton Those Pants

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Once everything would finally move through me and I could breathe again, only then would I unbutton those pants.

I would tell myself,

I’m unbuttoning now, just because. I’m not doing it because of pain, bloat, or misery.

It was as if I punished myself for things that, at the time, I really had no control over since I had no idea what was wrong or how to help myself.

In those moments I’d find relief, at last.

But when I found relief, I never sought help because I’d always tell myself,

This time it’s going to be different. This time the pain and bloat will never return.

Only it did return, every single time, nearly every single day.

Looking back, I wish I wouldn’t have been so stubborn.

I wish I had just unbuttoned those pants.

More than that, I wish I had simply started being nicer to myself; letting go of things I couldn’t control, then working to change the things I could.

So here’s what I’m giving you permission to do today….go ahead.

Unbutton those pants.

Darling, you do not deserve to stay miserable…..not today, and not ever.

For today, be kind to yourself. Unbutton them or buy some darling bloat pants. You’re worthy when you’re bloated, when diarrhea is pouring out of you, and when you’re feeling optimal.

But in the process, promise me this. Promise you’ll begin to make the changes that will warrant never having to unbutton them again. 

Empower yourself to take action. Start HERE and/or grab your 90-day gut healing journal to take the first steps.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. 1. The Emotional Side of Illness
   2. The Gutsy Girl’s Bible
   3. How to Not Bloat After Breakfast

Xox,
SKH