"A waiting person is a patient person." - Henri J.M. Nouwen

Argh! Have you ever felt impatient at a red light, or irritated at the end of a long line for your prescription at the pharmacy? You're not alone.

Patience can feel scarce when you don't have control over a situation. It can feel like IBS interrupts your life and brings a slew of frustrations at the worst moments. Finding a tiny bit of control can bring us patience later.

Control might look like self-care: a walk around the block, getting up early for 15 minutes of alone time, spending time each week encouraging others who have IBS or starting a gratitude journal. Don't let anyone (including yourself!) make you feel guilty for taking care of yourself.

Here are recent conversations from myIBSteam:

• "Totally changed my diet. Had a food intolerance test done and eliminated them from my diet. Has taken patience but is paying off."
• "My personal self-care is always being practiced on a daily basis. Trying to find the peace and calm amongst the chaos."
• "It's about day to day...one day at a time. One step at a time and even one moment at a time. We need to be kind to ourselves, not stressing beyond these perimeters, having a day by day perspective, celebrating those small steps or big steps."

Have you found ways to take back control and practice patience? What do you do to be more open to self-care? Share your insights in the comments below or directly on myIBSteam.com.