Abbott Elementary star Tyler James Williams can vividly remember the early discomfort of navigating Crohn's disease.
The 32-year-old actor, who partnered with AbbVie for their "Beyond a Gut Feeling" campaign, spoke to People about his years-long battle with the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and striving to find an "actionable way" to detail his journey. Williams was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in August 2015, just two months before turning 23.
"I spent a portion of my life and career in wild amounts of discomfort and pain, only to find out that had I had a more in-depth conversation with a gastroenterologist, a lot of that could have either been treated more directly or avoided," Williams told the outlet. "So I don’t want anybody who’s in the position that I was in previously to have to go through the same things."
But years before his diagnosis, Williams recounts that one of his earliest flare-ups occurred when he was 19, around the time he starred in 2012 Disney Channel film Let It Shine.
"I've experienced some of the milder symptoms of the disease, but then also some of the very extremes as well," the Golden Globe winner explained. "But so much of that was due to the neglect of not treating the disease ahead of time."
According to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, Crohn's a is a form of IBD that causes chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. More than half a million people in the U.S. suffer from the disease, which includes symptoms such as abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea and fatigue.
Williams added that during one of his first hospitalizations, he didn't understand the "seriousness" of Crohn's disease, although he expected a "big, really scary diagnosis."
“I thought I could just work through it until ultimately I ended up in such an acute position of pain because the disease was kind of running wild," he said.
By January 2016, the actor was in the hospital every two weeks and he required extensive surgery to remove a damaged part of his digestive tract and reconnect healthy portions.
“I needed to have three surgeries over the course of three months and was hospitalized on both the east and west coast for the better part of a year," Williams said.
The former Everybody Hates Chris star also said there was "a unique type of depression" in feeling loneliness with the disease. "I think that was, from a mental health point of view, one of the lowest places I've ever been," he said.
"A combination of feeling very alone in something and then also the mental toll that comes with dealing with a physical disease. I was in a really dark place for a while feeling like there was no way to get over this hump or to ever feel better."
But with an improved workout routine, medication and eating habits, Williams has become "in tune" with his health as the fifth season of Abbott Elementary is set to premiere next month.
"It took a while to get here though. There was a long time I didn't think I could get to this place where I felt what other people feel, what I describe as normal," he said. “And it's a beautiful place to be now.”