Roommates: Blessing or Curse | Part 2

Living with someone isn't the easiest thing to do. I wrote more about that in Part 1. I don't imagine having a chronic illness would ever make things any easier. As much as I get annoyed by the burden of someone hanging outside of the bathroom for me, random knocks on the door or even people worrying about what I eat... There are still a lot of perks.

I can't isolate myself

Having Inflammatory Bowel Disease can become very isolating, very fast. It's hard living with any chronic condition, but living with a digestive disease that causes you to constantly question your bowels...Let's just say you're not always motivated to go out and make a new friend or have a "few drinks." Having a roommate relieves that pressure a little bit. At least for me, it does.

Even if I did want to isolate myself, I can't. I have people surrounding me. Literally. They live here too. Other than short breaks away or vacations, there are not many times that we don't see each other. Reading this back, it sounds a bit annoying. Having someone around you at all times?! I mean, to be honest, it is. For years I was someone who was 100% independent. My mom lived with Schizophrenia and my father chose to be absent from my life. I never had anyone to rely on. I could only count on myself and if I failed, I failed myself. I would suffer the consequences. Having IBD complicated things.

The support

When my condition flared, I had no other choice, I had to become dependent. I had to depend on others. Really, it was prescribed by my surgeon! I wasn't even allowed to leave the hospital until I had someone confirm they would be providing my care for at least a few weeks after my first major surgery. It was tough. That was one of the first times I had the full "roommate experience" in my adult life. I didn't love it, but there was a lot of support involved.

To sum it up, IBD may not make living with someone else easier on you. It may complicate things and involve a lot of questions. But with that accompanies support, friendships and unbreakable bonds. I'm not sure if I prefer living solo as opposed to living with roommates. That's a hard choice. I love being alone. It's something I've really grown to love over the years. But I also love having people to talk to. Having someone to cry to when I'm sad. Someone to eat with when I'm lonely. I'm not always well enough to go out. There have been times I was bedridden for weeks. Living solo, it's lonely. Having roommates gave me someone to experience it with. It prevented me from isolating myself and also helped a lot with my mental health.

It's helped with my depression

I've noticed when I'm living alone and flaring, I tend to be more susceptible to depression. Once I'm there, I'm not coming out of that hole for a while. While I can't say having roommates cured that for me, I can for sure say it's helped.