this talk: is about the inner-workings of the mind-gut connection - with Lottie Drynan
When we think about irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) most of us probably think about having a bloated stomach, unwanted toilet habits, gas and even a few food intolerances for good measure. Although all of those are often very much true, another big part of the condition is the mental health aspect.
IBS, like many other chronic and “invisible” illnesses falls under the category of a mind-body condition. It’s an umbrella term used for when there’s a dysfunction between the way our gut and our brain communicate. Nobody knows the exact cause and there is no definitive cure, but we do know that stress and anxiety play a big part.
Up until my late teens I had never really understood what it felt like to live with anxiety. When friends told me that they were suffering with it I remember thinking “well yeah, everybody worries don’t they?”. I have always been a big worrier (thanks Mum) but had never felt the feeling of bricks being piled onto my chest one by one to the point of struggling to breathe. I hadn’t felt the dizziness or the overwhelming spiralling thoughts that stopped me from getting out of bed in the morning.
I will never be completely sure what triggered the change or which one came first, my anxiety or IBS, but the troubles I started experiencing with my gut and the regular anxiety I was feeling seemed to charge into my life hand in hand like a couple of elephants in stampede.
I’m now 27 and despite having lived with IBS for around 9 years, it’s only been in the past few years that I’ve felt I’ve really been able to take back control and stop the condition ruling my life.
One of the biggest turning points was understanding the link between our gut and our brain. I went a long time thinking IBS was triggered by diet and diet only. When the word ‘IBS’ was first thrown at me I was told to give the low FODMAP diet a try. With no guidance and very little information online at the time I gave the diet a go and due to not understanding it properly ended up not only over-restricting food but also spending a lot of my time being fearful of it. I was scared to eat as I didn’t know what would trigger the bloating and pain. My relationship with food soon became so poor that it got to the point of being dangerous and I developed an eating disorder.
I would constantly stress about being bloated and in turn, would bloat from the stress. Despite being aware of this vicious cycle I constantly found myself in, the link never really clicked. It wasn’t until I reached breaking point that I decided I needed to start taking control, and it was then that I started looking into how stress and anxiety can affect IBS.
The term “gut feeling” isn’t just a saying; our gut and brain are connected by an entire communication network. When we feel something in our gut it’s our brain trying to tell it something. When we get stressed our body goes into “fight-or-flight” mode, triggering a chain of reactions that affects our digestion rate which can cause things like bloating, cramping and undesired bowel movements.
The first time this really sunk in was a total “DUH” moment. Yes, my gut might not like certain foods, but it also probably doesn’t like being in a permanent state of stress response either. Although the realisation alone isn’t a cure, being conscious of the other lifestyle factors that could be causing my symptoms aside from diet has been a revelation.
Over the past few years I’ve become more mindful of everything I feed my body and mind and although I can’t control everything, I can usually understand it. I now practice mindfulness to try and relax my “gut-brain axis” and have switched from keeping a food diary to keeping a journal that holds everything from my thoughts and feelings, diet, sleep quality, movement levels to any key events of my day. I know that if one or more of those areas is particularly lacking then it’s going to have a knock-on effect and there’s a good chance it could trigger my IBS symptoms.
I still experience IBS flare-ups and still have times when my anxiety is difficult but I understand why and I know I’ve got through them before and I can get through them again.
There is so much more research and advice available from the fantastic experts in the field of gut health and mental health and I so wish I had access to this when I first started experiencing problems with my own stomach. If anyone is finding themselves in the stress-bloating cycle then I really would say, start looking at your lifestyle with a more 360º, holistic approach.
I have now teamed up with some of these experts to create a complete symptom diary and mindfulness journal and you can find out more at @youvegutthis or www.youvegutthis.co.uk.
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