It only makes sense that my mental health was declining as much as my physical health. In December 2014, I was rapidly diagnosed with a severe form of ulcerative colitis (UC), specifically ulcerative pancolitis--a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) that affects the entire colon. I began to experience symptoms in October 2014, and was misdiagnosed as having hemorrhoids. I knew that this diagnosis was inaccurate, and was seen by a gastroenterologist (GI). The GI verified