IBS SELF HELP PACKAGE
‘YOUR JOURNEY TO HEALTH’

Stress and IBS

(An abridged extract from the IBS Self-Help Package Handbook)

What happens when the body is under stress? Well, a number of very important changes happen - and they happen very quickly indeed. We react as if we are under threat and an ages-old defence system springs into action. Why does it react so quickly to stress (threat)? Because speed of response is essential if a real threat is imminent. Faced with a car speeding towards us, there is no time for the conscious mind to process what is happening. The response is a subconscious pre-programmed one developed over millennia and it is near-instantaneous.

As part of that response all non-essential systems partly close down. This is to save energy and divert all available energy to muscles and vital organs in the preparation for fight or flight. This is why if we are anxious (that is, scared) because of some stressful situation, we get a dry mouth. There is no point in using energy to produce saliva because in an emergency eating would not be a priority. The rest of our digestive system would also partly close down. This obviously interferes substantially with the digestion of food, but remember the body is at battle stations and energy is diverted to more important areas. In fact if we are very frightened we will literally be sick with fear (or need to have an immediate bowel movement). This is normal in the event of a real life-threatening emergency and, by expelling waste (or unprocessed food), makes us better able to fight or escape.

But - and it is a big but - think what is going to happen if we are constantly under stress (anxious). The body is going to be constantly at battle stations. This is very tiring for one thing (which is why very stressed people tend to feel tired a lot of the time). It also means the working of our digestive system, and all our other body systems, is going to be impaired.

This is how, in a nutshell, stress affects the gut (the name gastroenterologists use for the digestive system).

How does knowing this help? Once we understand what may be going on, instead of our body being a mysterious foreign country it makes how it works more understandable and we can then start to make some changes. First, we need to understand why our subconscious is reacting to some situations as if they are a threat when in reality they may not be. It may be, for example, there is a fear of people or social situations, or a lack of confidence, or an unrealistic need to please others (stemming from old childhood programmes). People with a high need to achieve can also put themselves - and their digestive system - under undue pressure.

These old programmes create anxiety (remember anxiety is fear - we just call it anxiety because it sounds better). Once we have some understanding of what is going on we can start to change the programme and at the same time introduce a different experience (e.g. of relaxation instead of tension, or practising being assertive instead of compliant). This causes a break in the vicious circle - and all we have to do to obliterate a vicious circle is to cause a break in it. A circle cannot complete if there is a break in the circle. The aim of the IBS Self-Help Package is to do just that and free the individual from their pattern of symptoms.