ibs

It’s important for you to understand that only a medically trained doctor can diagnose IBS. You should always consult your doctor if you just suspect that you have IBS, but don’t know for sure. Symptoms can include diarrhoea and/or constipation and feelings of bloatedness. So for a proper diagnosis consult your doctor.

Currently there is no consensus as to what exactly causes IBS, although we know that high levels of stress can sometimes bring it on and symptoms tend to flare up during times of higher than normal stress. This is why regular deep rest and relaxation is going to be so good for you.
How, you may ask, would stress bring about or worsen IBS?

Well, your stress response is basically there to keep you safe. Stress is there to get us running from or fighting off a predator. That’s really why you evolved to get stressed – to keep safe and alert. In the first couple of seconds after you perceive a threat (even before you have consciously noticed it) your adrenal glands produce adrenaline. This sets off your ‘fight or flight’ response. This is sometimes called the panic or stress response. During this time, certain things in the body are ‘switched on’, so to speak, such as sweating, quicker breathing, accelerated heart rate and so forth. But what also happens is that certain functions in your body that are not essential to short term survival get ‘switched off’. For example, the sex drive stops functioning if you are extremely frightened. A person doesn’t need to be sexually excited when running from a lion! The stress response also causes your immune system to be sidelined.

After all, you don’t need to be fighting tiny germs when you may have the bigger, more immediate task of fighting off a lion. This is why people under longterm stress tend to get more physically illnesses. And, of course, the digestive system practically shuts down altogether during times of high stress. You don’t need to be eating a hamburger when running from a hungry lion. Eating is a long term survival function. Running away is to do with immediate survival.So one response, in this case digestion, gets switched off in favour of another – running!

This is fine in a short term situation, of course, but if you feel stressed for longer than two minutes your adrenal glands produce something called cortisol, which is a long term stress hormone. And if you feel stressed for hours, days, weeks or even months, your adrenals will continually sideline digestion. So what was an adaptive response (switching off non-essential functions for short term survival) becomes maladaptive as immune system, sex drive and digestion become damped down over long stretches of time.

When you relax deeply you counteract all this. Your immune system works better and your stomach begins to get the oxygen and blood it needs in order to work better. Deep relaxation makes a great contribution as an antidote to ongoing stress.