IBS: The Real Culprit Behind Constipation, Diarrhea, and Bloating
For those who live with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), it’s much more than occasional digestive discomfort. Common symptoms like chronic diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and abdominal pain can be disruptive and exhausting. Imagine planning your life around access to bathrooms or constantly feeling uncomfortable, with symptoms that seem to flare up without warning. These daily struggles take a toll, impacting work, relationships, and quality of life.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder that affects the large intestine. It is characterized by a variety of symptoms, including abdominal pain, abdominal cramps, bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, or alternating between the two. While the exact cause of IBS is unknown, it is believed to result from a combination of factors, including gut-brain interactions, food sensitivities, and stress.
A common approach to managing IBS is the Low FODMAP diet, which limits certain carbohydrates to reduce symptoms. While this diet may offer relief for some, it can be super restrictive, challenging to follow, and often doesn’t address the root cause of symptoms.
From my experience with my clients, I’ve found that a simple balanced anti-inflammatory diet can offer similar relief without the need for complicated dietary restrictions. By focusing on nutrient-rich, whole foods and reducing processed items, many clients achieve meaningful symptom reduction without the overwhelming demands of strict dietary guidelines. Research also supports this same finding that a balanced, anti-inflammatory diet can offer similar benefits without the rigid guidelines of Low FODMAP. By simply focusing on nutrient-dense, whole foods and minimizing processed items, many people find symptom relief without needing to overhaul their entire diet.
How IBS Affects Food Digestion
One of the biggest misconceptions in IBS management is that symptoms are primarily due to food sensitivities. While true food allergies or sensitivities cause a predictable reaction each time you consume the food, many IBS sufferers notice that their responses are inconsistent. For instance, you might eat eggs one day and feel fine, then have the same eggs two days later and experience severe bloating or cramping. This inconsistency suggests a digestion issue rather than a true food sensitivity.
Though diet can be important in managing IBS, there’s often an overlooked factor: chronic stress. After working with hundreds of IBS clients, I’ve found a striking commonality among them—they frequently endure highly stressful, often borderline abusive work or life situations that leave them feeling stuck, anxious, and in survival mode daily.
Chronic stress often disrupts the digestive process, reducing digestive enzyme production, and affecting gut motility. When we’re under chronic stress, the body’s fight-or-flight response is constantly activated. This response is meant to help us in times of danger, but when it’s always “on,” it wreaks havoc on digestion. The brain and gut communicate directly via the gut-brain axis, meaning stress can slow digestion, lead to bloating, disrupt bowel movements, and even make the gut hypersensitive to food.
Essentially, our digestive system mirrors our emotional state. When we’re in a prolonged state of survival, our digestion suffers too. When the body is in “survival mode,” it diverts resources away from digestion to prepare for perceived danger. This misalignment between our emotional state and physical needs can exacerbate IBS symptoms, creating a cycle of stress and digestive discomfort.
As a result, poorly digested foods ferment in the gut, causing bloating, discomfort, and irregular bowel movements. In many cases, simply adding digestive enzymes with meals can help break down food more effectively, improving digestion and reducing these unpredictable reactions.
In individuals with IBS, the normal digestive process is disrupted. This can occur in several ways:
Altered Gut Motility: IBS can cause either too fast or too slow movement of food through the digestive tract. Rapid transit can lead to diarrhea, as the body doesn't absorb enough water from the food. Slow transit can cause constipation, as too much water is absorbed, making stool hard and difficult to pass.
Visceral Hypersensitivity: People with IBS often have an increased sensitivity to the stretching of the intestines, which can lead to pain and discomfort even with normal amounts of gas or stool.
Intestinal Inflammation: Low-grade inflammation in the intestines can occur in some cases of IBS, leading to an exaggerated response to certain foods.
Dysbiosis: An imbalance in the gut microbiota can disrupt digestion and cause symptoms like bloating and gas, as certain bacteria ferment undigested food more than usual.A Deeper Look at IBS
While certain foods may exacerbate symptoms, IBS is often a reflection of our emotional state and life experiences. Addressing underlying stress and trauma can lead to life-changing results. In my practice, I've observed that a significant 90% of clients who seek help for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are dealing with major life stressors that directly contribute to their symptoms. This strong emotional connection cannot be overlooked, as stress often acts as a trigger, exacerbating the severity of IBS symptoms. When the mind is overwhelmed, the body responds in kind—especially the digestive system, which is highly sensitive to emotional distress.
For many, stress isn't just a mental burden; it's a physical one that manifests through chronic digestive issues. Whether it's due to unresolved trauma, ongoing anxiety, or life-altering events, these stressors disrupt the delicate balance of the gut-brain axis, leading to flare-ups of IBS. By addressing these underlying emotional triggers alongside dietary and lifestyle changes, we can create a more holistic and effective treatment plan, helping clients find relief from both their emotional and physical discomfort.
The gut-brain connection plays a crucial role in IBS, with emotional stress often triggering or worsening symptoms. Anxiety, depression, and past trauma can impact gut health, leading to a vicious cycle of symptoms.
A Powerful Tool for IBS Symptom Resolution
One of the most effective approaches I use with IBS clients is hypnotherapy, which directly addresses the mind-gut connection. Conversational Hypnosis helps clients become more aware of their emotional triggers and how these stressors impact their bodies, particularly their digestive systems. By incorporating daily mindfulness practice, clients can learn to manage their stress levels more effectively, which in turn reduces the frequency and severity of IBS symptoms. For IBS sufferers, this can mean:
Reduced Pain and Discomfort: Hypnotherapy helps clients manage and reduce pain by training the mind to respond calmly to gut sensations.
Improved Digestive Motility: Hypnosis can influence gut motility, helping those with constipation or diarrhea by encouraging the digestive system to find a balanced rhythm.
Stress Reduction: Hypnotherapy induces deep relaxation, which calms the nervous system, reducing the physical and emotional triggers of IBS symptoms.
Altering the Gut-Brain Interaction: Hypnotherapy can help rewire the brain’s response to triggers, reducing sensitivity and easing symptoms.
In my experience, hypnotherapy has been life-changing for clients with IBS, helping them find relief when other treatments fell short. When combined with personalized nutrition therapy, hypnotherapy addresses both the physical and emotional aspects of IBS. This integrative approach allows clients to not only make healthier food choices that support their digestive health but also develop coping strategies for managing stress. Together, these practices create a powerful synergy that can lead to long-term relief and improved quality of life for those suffering from IBS. Hypnotherapy empowers clients to reclaim control over their bodies and break free from the relentless cycle of digestive discomfort and stress.
A Real-Life Transformation
One of my clients had the most severe constipation I’d encountered. She had been going only once a week, despite taking five scoops of Miralax, and even then, she passed only hard, small pebbles. She’d tried every fad diet out there—carnivore, paleo, vegan, Low FODMAP, high fiber, candida cleanse—and had seen multiple GI specialists over five years without resolution.
During a session, she mentioned that her constipation began after a traumatic event. From there, we shifted focus to addressing her emotional health, using mindfulness-based trauma-release methods rather than restrictive diets. Within three sessions, her results were incredible—she was having normal, soft bowel movements daily and feeling complete relief without laxatives or diets.
If you’re tired of endless diets and supplements with little improvement, consider focusing on the root of the problem. Book a strategy call today to see if my methods are a good fit for you. Together, we’ll work to relieve your IBS symptoms and transform your well-being from the inside out.
If you or someone you know is struggling with IBS, consider scheduling a Strategy Call to explore how tailored dietary and lifestyle changes can improve your symptoms.
