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Resources
There are many excellent resources available for IC patients, these are just a few examples of ones we are familiar with and like. Many more can be found through Google searches, and at the websites of the ICA http://www.ichelp.org/ and ICN http://www.ic-network.com/.
Please pick and choose what works best for you, but do take some actions to make your life happier.
You can also download a printable copy of this resource list by clicking here (MS Word document) or here (PDF file).
Recrafting a Life, by C. Johnson, D. Webster
Chronic pain and chronic illness can be overwhelming for both patients and the clinicians who treat them. Patients must navigate an unfamiliar psychological and physiological landscape with few (initially) recognizable resources. These challenging circumstances, in turn, require that the clinician develop an integrated skill set that addresses the patient's painful physical symptoms while effectively dealing with the feelings of hopelessness, defeat, and fear that inevitably accompany the experience of chronic pain and illness.
Engaging the reader with the transformational metaphor of Robinson Crusoe , the authors describe the five stages patients pass through to recraft lives that transcend their chronic condition. Clinicians also can utilize this framework to construct therapeutic strategies that best fit each stage, substantially improving treatment outcomes. The rich case examples that illustrate this process are accompanied by specific hypnotic and clinical interventions. Readily accessible for both IC clinicians and patients, the clinical material is supplemented by a virtual "self-care toolkit," offering interactive scales and inventories, solution-finding interview interventions, self-hypnosis protocols, self-care experiments, and healing homework assignments.
Stressmap : Personal Diary Edition : The Ultimate Stress Management, Self-Assessment and Coping Guide Developed by Essi Systems, by Esther M. Orioli
The only stress measurement tool that integrates all major stress research--medical, psychological, and interpersonal. Includes a self-scoring questionnaire, self-scoring grid, and an "Action Planning Guide." This is an excellent resource to help identify stressors that activate IC symptoms.
Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions: Self-Management of Heart Disease, Arthritis, Diabetes, Asthma, Bronchitis, Emphysema & Others,
by Kate Lorig, Halsted Holman, David Sobel, Diana Laurent, Virginia Gonzalez, Marian Minor
Information for this text was gathered during a 5-year study at Stanford Univ., CA. This book includes revised sections on exercise, nutrition, power of the mind to manage symptoms, and sexual intimacy that provide guidance for achieving the best possible life under the circumstances created by chronic health conditions.
The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook, by Martha Davis, Matthew McKay, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman
The many self-assessment tools and calming techniques presented in book can help overcome anxiety and promote physical and emotional well-being. After providing guidance for identifying elements that trigger unpleasant responses, it offers guidance for in reacting differently to these elements to defuse perceived threats conflicts. Its well-organized chapters on breathing, relaxation, meditation, thought stopping, and body awareness offer the reader a variety of self-help techniques to consider, so the ones most appealing to them can be tried and eventually mastered. Other chapters, including job stress management, goal setting and time management, and assertiveness training, focus on daily scenarios people often find distressing Additional topics include worry control, anger management, and eye-movement therapy.
The Lost Art of Healing: Practicing Compassion in Medicine, by Bernard Lown
From Publishers Weekly - Too many well-trained, well-credentialed doctors fail to take a careful patient history, indulge in rampant overuse of technology and excessively prescribe drugs that result in death or disability, charges Lown, a cardiologist and professor emeritus at Harvard Medical School. In these gracefully written essays, full of interesting vignettes and case studies drawn from his 45 years of practice, he urges doctors to practice attentive listening, to desist from using intimidating language and to pay attention to the emotional stresses in patients' lives. Keeping an open mind toward alternative medicine, Lown describes his partially successful treatment in China with acupuncture for his severe back pain. He also looks at the challenges of caring for the elderly and shares helpful insights on death and dying. His stimulating inquiry is sound medicine for doctors and patients alike.
Writing to Heal: A Guided Journal for Recovering from Trauma and Emotional Upheaval,
by James W. Pennebaker
Clinical trials indicate that writing about painful experiences can enhance immune response, reduce recovery times, and promote physical, psychological, and social well-being. This book is the first guided journal written by the preeminent psychologist working in the field of expressive emotions therapy: a step-by-step guide to emotionally expressive writing. Designed to be the perfect gift for someone struggling with trauma or emotional difficulty, the package of this book is attractive; it is certain to become a valued keepsake
For the first time, a leading authority on expressive emotions therapy, or EET, translates these powerful techniques for emotional healing into a book accessible to general readers. Through guided journal writing exercises, this book helps readers translate their traumatic, emotionally disturbing experiences into powerful writing that is clinically proven to promote recovery.
Managing Pain Before It Manages You, Revised Edition, by Margaret A. Caudill-Slosberg, Margaret A. Caudill
This popular workbook teaches coping skills proven to decrease the discomfort, depression, and anxiety associated with chronic pain. The information and techniques presented have been used by tens of thousands of people over nearly two decades, and have been demonstrated to empower pain sufferers and decrease pain-related disability and distress. The approach is also valuable for people coping with other chronic illness-related problems, such as fatigue. Through hands-on exercises and homework assignments, readers are helped to understand the pain process, learn about medications and their effects, and recognize factors that exacerbate or relieve symptoms. The revised edition features updated coverage of commonly used pain medications and specific pain disorders, current nutritional recommendations, and a new appendix on complementary alternative medicine. Also included are a wealth of helpful new ideas on coping with pain flare-ups, staying active, accomplishing personal goals, and more.
The Interstitial Cystitis Survival Guide: Your Guide to the Latest Treatment Options and Coping Strategies, by Robert M. Moldwin
This handbook reviews the IC treatment medications and their side effects, surgeries, and alternative treatment options.
Woman's Comfort Book: A Self-Nurturing Guide for Restoring Balance in Your Life, by Jennifer Louden
If the pace of your life or depths of your depression leave you lacking in body and soul, this book can help you feel whole again. Jennifer Louden encourages you to assemble and draw on personal rituals, journals and sanctuaries that can add comfort and breathing space to your life. Some are obvious (herbal baths, flowers) or seem too silly, New Age, or time-consuming to tickle every fancy (blow bubbles in traffic jams, chant affirmations). Many more seem sublime and creative. But that's her point: pick and choose what works best for you, but do take some actions to make your life happier.
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