Celiac disease is a lifelong condition that requires careful management with a gluten-free diet. Even with careful management, discomfort or pain can still occur. For some people, this pain may be caused by consuming gluten. For others, stress related to celiac disease or management can cause stomach pain or other pain. The following guided meditations can help you cope with physical and emotional pain or discomfort.
How to use: This audio meditation helps you explore and bring comfort to an unwanted thought or an area of physical or emotional discomfort. Use this meditation when you are feeling overwhelmed or experiencing physical discomfort. Follow along, focusing with kindness and curiosity on an uncomfortable area of your body.
How to use: This audio meditation helps you identify pleasant or neutral experiences in the middle of discomfort. When you are overwhelmed, feeling pain or discomfort or going through any unwanted experience, use this guided meditation to help you recognize pleasant experiences, no matter how small. Follow along with the meditation to find areas that bring you comfort.
Remind yourself that you can get used to your condition and won’t feel sad, worried (or any other unwanted feeling) forever. The opposite is also true: just as tough moments pass, happiness doesn’t last forever either. Everybody goes through a wide range of feelings and experiences as part of a full and rich life.
How to use: This audio meditation helps you visualize your pain. When you are struggling with pain, use this meditation to help discover a new way to experience and respond to it. Follow along with the meditation so you can move from resisting and feeling frustrated about your pain to being open and curious and exploring it in detail without judgment.
Talk to others
Talk to your family, friends and healthcare team about how you feel. Talking about your feelings can help you feel better, learn to cope and get support if you need it.
Take time to understand your condition
How to use: This audio meditation helps you soften towards discomfort. Instead of resisting uncomfortable experiences or distracting yourself when they arise, use this meditation to help you develop an attitude of tenderness towards your suffering. As you follow the meditation, take time to allow your discomfort to come and go. If you become too uncomfortable, bring yourself back to your breath.
Give yourself time to get to know your symptoms and figure out when you need to contact your healthcare team.
When you are diagnosed with a chronic condition, you are hearing and reading a lot of new information. This can take some time to get used to, so don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if you asked them before but forgot the answers. Your healthcare team is there to help.
How to use: This audio meditation helps you find a new way to experience discomfort. Use this meditation to explore the thoughts, feelings or sensations that come with being upset or feeling physical pain. Holding an ice cube in the palm of your hand, follow along with the meditation to explore any feelings of discomfort. Have a towel handy to clean up the melted ice once the meditation is finished.
