So you think that you carry your stress in your abdomen..? It's a common belief.If you have been diagnosed with IBS, it is likely that you have been advised to reduce your stress level. You may have been told to get regular exercise and adequate sleep, and to practice stress reduction techniques such as yoga, meditation, tai chi, deep breathing, journal writing, relaxation therapy, biofeedback, hypnotherapy, or psychotherapy.
All of these practices can indeed improve physical, mental, and emotional health. They provide a host of benefits, from improved personal relationships to enhanced productivity to increased energy and mental clarity, and they just might help with your IBS symptoms.
But chances are they won't cure your IBS.
Most physicians are trained to think of IBS as stress induced or as a type of psychosomatic disorder. Because there has not been a cure for IBS, it has been framed in a way that suggests that it is more your problem than the physicians. Although some cases of IBS are no doubt related to mental or emotional issues, and stress and anxiety can aggravate IBS (as well as most other medical conditions), they are not the predominant causes of IBS. More often, IBS causes you stress rather than the other way around.
Medicine has a long history of blaming medical conditions with no known organic cause on some form of psychological disturbance, such as stress - only to discover later the organic cause of the problem. One excellent recent example of this is stomach ulcers. While stomach ulcers were once thought to be a stress-induced disorder, it is now well accepted that the bacteria Helicobacter pylori cause them, and that they are treatable.
It is true that stress can make the symptoms of IBS worse, and that your digestive system depends on relaxation to function properly. Occasionally stress is the sole cause of IBS. But far more often it is due to something else. If you still have symptoms when you know that there isn't much stress, then there is more to the problem than stress!
--------
More information on treating irritable bowel syndrome at the IBS Treatment Center
Image thanks to thinkquest.org
2 comments:
Dr. Wangen,
Have you looked at the GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) book by Natasha Campbell-McBride? It claims to cure, among other things, food intolances. I have to say that one month on the diet and I am once again able to eat eggs! It's not an easy fix though as the diet must continue 1-2 years (or more) before the gut damage can be repaired. Fascinating book; I highly recommend it!
Thanks for your comment, Anonymous.
Some people can have significant symptom changes, even while they are still allergic to a food they are eating. Sometimes changes in the diet can mask or reduce the overall symptom load.
However, there are long term health problems with people who are 'asymptomatic' with celiac.
Our recommendation is to forever avoid foods to which you develop elevated antibodies.
Post a Comment