What is the mental health impact on adults with IBD in the workplace and daily lives?

Lauren Hayes

Inflammatory Bowel Disease can cause problems from your mouth to your anus. Many Americans are diagnosed each year and feel like a statistic. Few people talk about the mental health impact in the workplace and private life. The two main types of IBD that affect most Americans are Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. These both can cause a person’s mental health to deteriorate more quickly than the normal patient’s. As of right now, there is no cure for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. IBD patients are not able to be diagnosed quickly like others who have different types of disease. The United States is one of the less knowledgeable countries when it comes to IBD. This disease is hard to describe; it can be difficult to tell people what is truly going on with you and for people who do not have IBD to sympathize with you. This project explores the mental health impact of that situation.

• Lauren Hayes is a senior pursuing a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies. Her area of focus was Studies in Early Childhood with Special Needs.