Natalie Hayden

They change through the years. With age, with experience, with health. For me, the way I look at myself and what I see looking back has completely changed since my...

I see you. I recently spoke during an Inflammatory Bowel Disease event in Iowa and a woman in front of me couldn’t seem to contain her tears. Her young college-age...

Take a moment. Slow down for a second. If you think of your energy level as a gas tank, where's the gauge? Do you constantly feel as though you're on...

Community. What does it mean to you? Once you're diagnosed with a chronic illness like Crohn's disease, it means the world. It means having a support network. It means knowing...

People often ask, "what does fatigue from a chronic illness feel like?" It can be difficult to describe. It's much different than feeling tired or like you didn't get enough...

As I write this, I am delicately sipping disgusting colonoscopy prep. It's been a beast of a day. I've cried. I've vomited. I've spent hours in the bathroom. It hasn't...

This morning was just like any other day. The alarm went off. My husband and I jumped out of bed to take care of our baby and get the day...

How many times have you sat in a doctor appointment and felt at a loss for words? Then, the moment you're walking to the car everything you wanted to say...

Statistics. Numbers. Research studies. When battling inflammatory bowel disease, it's easy to feel like you're just another number. A patient, but not a person. It's an isolating condition, even when...

Social media runs the world when it comes to the way we communicate, learn about news and express ourselves. While it often gets a bad rap for being all-consuming and...

When's it going to happen next? Oh, you know what I'm talking about. That moment when your inflammatory bowel disease randomly, haphazardly, decides to interrupt your day and your life...

It's so easy to think about life before diagnosis. Reminiscing about that precious time of invincibility. Whether you were going to have a "feel good" day was the furthest thing...

You don't need to wear a cape to be a super hero. You don't personally need to struggle with chronic illness to be a rock for someone else. But you...

It's no surprise, people can't stand the thought of getting a colonoscopy. Whether it's your 60-year-old dad, your grandma or... yourself. Unfortunately for those of us with inflammatory bowel disease...

There's something to be said for connecting with someone who lives your reality. You can go from being perfect strangers to what feels like long lost best friends. Once you're...

Chronic illness has a way of hurting you not just physically, but mentally as well. It’s trying and exhausting to constantly feel bogged down by the fear of your next...

As a new mom with Crohn’s disease there are many decisions and moments where your disease plays a role in how you take care of your child. Before my son...

In the days following the massacre in Las Vegas there are no words to truly capture the heart-wrenching feelings that overcome us all. It’s mind boggling to even try and...

This week marks two years since I had 18 inches of my intestine removed. I’ll always remember the apprehension and fear I felt in the days leading up to bowel...

For those of us afforded the pleasure of battling inflammatory bowel disease it's safe to say there are many universal situations and feelings that come with the territory. No matter...