Have you ever heard that stress in your life is contributing to your IBS?
Has a doctor ever told you that your IBS is just in your mind? Have they told you to de-stress more and that would fix your issue?
That happened to me a lot and it literally made me want to scream. It was so patronizing and dismissive to me. And ultimately so unhelpful.
So, I’m not here today to tell you your IBS is in your head or that stress alone is causing your IBS. That just doesn’t make sense to me and I’m sure it doesn’t make sense to you either.
But I am here to say that I have learned that for me personally I know that my stress was intricately linked to my IBS, and I couldn’t fully see it at the time. I have learned through experience and talking with other women that it’s true for many women with IBS.
And your stress most likely is making your IBS worse. To make matters more complicated, the stress of managing the pain of you IBS symptoms is likely making your symptoms worse as well. It’s an awful cycle.
Today we will talk about this vicious IBS stress cycle and a short practice that you can do to address it, in a way that helps you and in a way that you actually have time for.
Find the full transcript for this episode and other resources at HealingHerIBS.com/2.
How your IBS is Dismissed by the Medical Community
It seems like every time I went to see a general doctor or even a specialist, there was little help being offered. Sometimes doctors would say I was stressed out and that’s what caused my IBS.
I would wonder: Okay, but how does that help me? Have you had that same wondering, that same frustration?
I fully and deeply relate to how truly harmful it is for other people who are not in your shoes to tell you that you just need to “calm down”.
It’s not helpful at all for someone to tell you to lower stress. Of course, if you knew how to do that, you would!
Of course, it’s more complicated than that. But stress does play a role and if you want to heal, seeing your stress and addressing it directly can have a huge impact on getting better over time.
What I am offering you is a little glimpse into how this IBS stress cycle can start and offer you a few tips to help you unravel this maddening cycle in a practical way.
Stress plays a role and if you want to get better, seeing your stress and addressing it directly can have a huge impact on healing.
The Vicious IBS Stress Cycle
What am I talking about when I was referring to this IBS stress cycle earlier? What does that even mean?
I bet if you are like me, when your IBS symptoms come on, you immediately feel a certain way.
Maybe it’s dread? Maybe it’s fear and uncertainty? Maybe you are angry and blaming yourself or others?
Most likely what you feel is some negative emotion that leads you to some stress, which makes perfect sense.
You wonder:
- Oh no, how long is this going to last?
- How am I going to go on with my day like this?
- I don’t know how I can manage this much pain over and over.
And you know that this stress can’t be good for you and can’t be good for your gut. But how can you help it?
The stress feeds the IBS and the IBS is obviously fueling your stress. You instinctively know that this is true, but this cycle takes ahold of you and then you are on it’s ride. You don’t feel like you have any control over it.
First Steps to Address the Vicious IBS Cycle
So what can you do when you start going down the vortex of this IBS stress cycle?
This practice took me a long time to learn and to implement, but every time I take the time to practice it, I am astonished by it’s simplicity and it’s efficacy. Which doesn’t mean that it’s an easy practice, only that’s a simple one and fruitful from my experience.
Try these things:
- Acknowledge your physical sensations as they are coming up, either verbally in your head or writing them down without attaching any judgment to them. Just notice and describe the physical sensations (bloat, gas, stomach pain, etc.)
- Lay down somewhere quiet and calm for a few moments. Notice the thoughts and reactions are having and let those dissipate as much as you can.
- Start by breathing in and out, sending love and calm to your belly and your gut. Acknowledge the pain and send back calm energy.
- If you have a warm electric blanket or heated water sack? You can lay that on your belly as well as you breathe during this practice.
When you experience IBS symptoms, your natural reaction is to tense up and resist them. That is a biologically natural response to pain and it’s totally normal that this would be your first response.
However, take a few moments to slow those thoughts and that pain response down and instead of sending rejection and annoyance to your belly, you send loving thoughts and loving energy.
I promise you that over time this practice can begin to rewire your habitual response and can slow down that vicious stress cycle.
Sometimes it works instantaneously, sometimes it takes more repeated practice in order to help the pain dissipate. What’s important is the intention of caring for your stress instead of feeding it.
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