Hey,

How do you deal with shame? I suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome and it causes a lot of shame and embarrassment for me.. I've become almost a complete hermit because of it.

Next week, a friend is coming over to watch a film and I'm already dreading it. What if my stomach gets upset and I have to keep running to the bathroom, and all the noises and and and.. I know this probably sounds ridiculous, but it's a real issue for me.

I dread 'leaving' the scene, so to speak, psychologically.. dissociating. I dread being ashamed of myself and wanting to hide, but obviously, I won't be able to physically hide from anything, but I can detach emotionally so that I'm not there.. it feels like I'm floating, then. But I HATE it because I KNOW there's nothing wrong with me and I shouldn't be ashamed of myself.. But I don't feel it