Stress and IBS. How does getting stressed out affect Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
Stressed Out? That's Not Going to Help Your IBS...
- Along with diet, stress is the greatest trigger for IBS symptoms.
- Obvious culprits? Worries about work, money, family, health.
- Less obvious? Hot and humid weather, travel, lack of sleep.
- Why? Stress inhibits the parasympathetic nervous system, and stimulates excessive adrenaline production, which upsets the rhythmic muscle contractions of the gut.
- What helps?
- Follow the IBS diet cheat sheet to keep your gut calm despite stress.
- Tackle stress directly:
- Direct heat therapy
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Extra sleep
- Need comprehensive help with stress-related IBS? See the First Year IBS.
- Remember that anything that stresses your body, from your physical environment to emotional extremes (even happy anticipation and excitement), will affect your gut. Plan accordingly.
- Best bet? Gut-directed hypnotherapy not only minimizes stress, it physically changes the way your gut reacts to it.
- This is in addition to hypnotherapy's direct regulation of your gut's enteric nervous system, and resulting reduction of IBS symptoms.
Tip Takeaway: Stress directly affects colonic motility and IBS symptoms. Use as many tactics as you need on a daily basis to actively prevent or minimize stress-related attacks.
