Anyone with Irritable Bowel Syndrome knows that IBS causes anxiety. Not knowing when bowel symptoms will strike is enough to make the calmest person feel stress and anxiety.

Apart from being unpredictable, IBS symptoms may cause you anxiety in a couple of other ways:

- Chronic diarrhea is dehydrating, and your body reacts to dehydration as a threat to your survival because humans need water. Not having enough is a stress that makes you anxious, depressed and tired. It’s not a psychological problem; it’s a signal from your brain and body that you’re in danger.

- Chronic constipation is another stress that can make you anxious because of the build-up of toxins in the intestines. When your body is holding onto toxins, it can also react with headaches and nausea.

- In my experience, people with digestive disorders are often sensitive to chemicals and scents in common household and personal care products. Some chemicals are neurotoxins which means they disrupt the way signals are sent between your brain and your body. This is another cause of anxiety.

- When you are awake at night because of pain or several trips to the bathroom, you’re not getting the sleep you need. Sleep deprivation is a source of stress and anxiety for people with IBS and for millions of others.

- When you’re stressed by symptoms, anxiety can cause your mind to go blank. This can cause problems with work, school, or in any part of your life where you need mental concentration, which brings on yet more anxiety. It’s a vicious circle.

So what can you do about it?

When you’re feeling anxious because IBS is ruining your day yet again, here are some tips for natural anxiety relief:

1. A study at the University of Miami School of Nursing showed that taking an essence solution for anxiety had a comparable effect to pharmaceutical drugs but with no side effects.

What’s an “essence solution”? It’s a plant- or gemstone-based liquid that rebalances your nervous system for a calming effect. Two good ones are ETS+ by Perelandra Ltd and Rescue Remedy by Bach Flower Essences.

2. With two fingers, firmly hold these acupressure points for one to two minutes:
 
- Heart 7: Find the crease of your wrist at the base of your palm. Imagine drawing a line straight down your palm from your little finger to that wrist crease. Hold the point where that line would meet the crease. Good for fear, nervousness and anxiety.

- Circ 6: On the inside of your forearm, hold the point that is two and a half finger-widths up from the wrist crease. This point is in the middle of the forearm, not to either side. Good for nausea, anxiety and palpitations.

3. Use EFT tapping. EFT, the Emotional Freedom Technique, works for both short- and long-term anxiety relief. You can also use it to relieve the physical symtoms and pain of IBS. If you don’t know how to tap, visit Youtube and look for Instant Anxiety Relief for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

4. Eat soluble fiber foods or take soluble fiber supplements to help with both diarrhea and constipation. Relieving these two digestive stresses will help to relieve the anxiety that comes with them.

5. Clear the chemical and chemically-scented products out of your life, and especially from your bedroom, to stop them from stressing your digestive system, your immune system and your nervous system, and keeping you awake at night. This will help to relieve physical symptoms as well as insomnia and anxiety.

6. Once you’re feeling calmer, drink some good, filtered water to get re-hydrated. Water can be calming all by itself.

7. Breathe deeply and slowly, while you walk slowly through your house, thinking calming thoughts. Your heart races when you are anxious. You can slow it down by taking a deep breath then exhaling more slowly than you inhale. Deep breathing is probably the oldest form of anxiety relief on the planet. And it’s free!

8. When your mind goes blank, breathe deeply and slowly. Now, using your fingers, gently feel your forehead moving from your eyebrows up towards your hairline. Do you feel those slight bumps that curve out about half-way up your forehead above your eyebrows? Hold those bumps with your fingertips or by placing your whole hand across your forehead, and keep breathing with long, slow exhales. Hold for at least one minute.

Holding these points will bring the blood back into the front part of your brain, which is responsible for language and analytical thinking, and will help to calm you down. This technique is especially helpful when you are in a test, exam or other stressful situation and need to be able to think more clearly.

When you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, just the thought of going out can lead to anxiety and stress. What if there are no bathrooms? What if you eat something that triggers an attack? What if you embarrass yourself in front of people who don’t understand?

The secret of controlling the stress and anxiety of going out with IBS is to prepare ahead of time. You may have figured out what foods are safe for you so you know what to eat; you might have packed your self-care kit with digestive enzymes, peppermint tea, wet-wipes or a washcloth in a plastic bag, spare underwear and whatever else you need; and you may have thought of ways to make a quick exit when you need to. But there’s one important preparation you could be missing.

Have you prepared yourself emotionally for the stress of going out? The biggest secret to going out despite IBS is to reduce your anxiety level BEFORE you go. This will help to reduce the possibility of a stress-related flare up.

So how do you do that?

The most effective way I’ve found to relieve anxiety and stress is to use the Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT tapping. If you don’t know how to do EFT, you can watch a Youtube video showing how to tap by clicking on the link for “Instant Pain Relief from IBS” in the resource box with this article. (It’s usually below the article. If the link is not active, simply copy and paste it into your browser.)

In the video, the focus is on IBS pain relief, but the tapping method is the same for any issue. Watch the video to learn the method. Once you’ve learned it, you can tap using the words below instead of the words in the video (feel free to adapt the words to your own situation).

Start tapping on the side of your hand, like Kathy does in the video and say:

Even though I feel stressed about going out, I choose to feel calm and relaxed
Even though I’m worried my IBS will act up and embarrass me, I choose to have a calm, quiet, comfortable body
Even though I feel nervous and anxious about what might happen while I’m out, I prefer to feel calm and relaxed.

Now tap through the points on the face and torso that Kathy taps on, using these reminder phrases. (One reminder phrase for each point you tap.)

Round One:
I feel anxious about going out
I’m worried my IBS will flare up and embarrass me
I’m stressed about going out
What if something happens that I can’t control?
I don’t trust my body
I’m nervous about going out
I’m scared of being embarrassed and humiliated
I’m anxious about going out

Round Two: Repeat Round One

In the video, only two rounds are tapped. But now you know where the points are, you can tap the following Round Three to install some confidence:

What if I don’t have to feel so anxious?
What if I could feel calm and relaxed?
I’ve had problems before
This time can be different
I choose to go out and stay calm and comfortable
I’m willing to release my stress and relax
I prefer to feel calm and relaxed
I choose to have a calm, quiet, comfortable body

Take a deep breath, hold it for a second, and let it out.

To relieve the stress on your body and nervous system and reduce the chance that anxiety will trigger your IBS symptoms, tap every time you feel anxious about going out.

© Results in Healing Inc. 2010

www.thelindenmethod.co.uk Looking at anxiety symptoms and in particular Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS, Indigestion, diarrhea and constipation
Video Rating: 4 / 5

There are numerous symptoms of IBS and the anxiety irritable bowel syndrome link is one of the less discussed.

The symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) will be different from person to person. One of the most common symptoms is bowel dysfunction accompanied by abdominal discomfort or pain. On average it is estimated that someone with IBS will suffer for 12 weeks over the course of a 12 month period.

This does not mean that these 12 weeks have to be consecutive though. It is usual for IBS to come and go, sometimes attacks may only last a few hours. There is also the possibility of suffering a number of other symptoms like depression, stress and anxiety.

There are many disorders that can cause abdominal pain. For this reason it should not be assumed that that you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome if you experience abdominal pain or discomfort. Many people jump to this conclusion thinking they have a form of IBS, but without proper diagnosis it could just as easily be one of the other digestive or gastrointestinal disorders.

One way to identify if you have IBS is the abdominal pain can often be relieved after having bowel movement and sometimes the bowel movement can be abnormally colored.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a bit of a contrary condition as some people can suffer from constipation, while others may suffer with diarrhea and there are some who experience alternating constipation and diarrhea. This is because Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects the function of the colon, therefore the ability to pass a stool.

The colon can also go into spasms, which will push your stool out of your body before all the necessary digestive and waste processing have taken place. Alternating between clenching up and spasming is what causes a person to go from suffering with diarrhea to having the pains that go with constipation.

Another common symptom of Irritable Bowel Syndrome is bloating. This is due to the gas build up in the intestines increasing the pressure in the abdomen.

Of course, all of these symptoms effect the way you live your life, meaning you need to avoid certain trigger foods, and are not able to be too far away from a bathroom.

This impact can lead to a number of mental and emotional symptoms that are commonly seen in IBS sufferers..

Suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome increases the risk of experiencing bouts of depression or feeling more stressed and anxious. There may be nights where you simply cannot sleep, and you may even have panic attacks because you do not know when and where the next bathroom visit is needed.

It is believed that between 50 and 90 percent of people being treated for IBS have psychological conditions, which includes social anxiety, panic disorder, stress disorder or a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

There are a number of ways of relieving the anxiety, the first is to seek the best advice on relieving the IBS symptoms. This should be done in conjunction with your advising physician.

There are also a number of relaxation techniques that you can use to soothe the anxiety symptoms. These should be tried before turning to anxiety medication which could complicate and effect your IBS treatment.

Continue reading to discover natural methods to treat IBS and join up for our free relieve IBS newsletter.

Some people gain pain and anxiety relief through visualization and imagery, and others through using deep breathing techniques. Alternatively listening to your favorite music, meeting with friends or just taking up a hobby can work wonders to make you realize there is more to life than your IBS.

Getting a good night sleep every night can help reduce anxiety, as can carrying out some form of regular exercise, and improving your diet.

The anxiety irritable bowel syndrome connection has been shown to be real concern in many IBS sufferers. Learning methods to relieve anxiety and stress can allow you to concentrate on gaining control over the other IBS symptoms, and live a life that is not controlled by IBS.

Since both the causes and symptoms are very similar, how does one know the difference, much less balance them? Now days, with all of the extra stress in daily life between your job, kids and family, gas prices and just day to day living, how can you tell if you are having an anxiety attack, symptoms of Irritable Bowel Symptom (IBS), or something even more serious and should seek medical advice?

Everyone experiences stress, anxiety and fear at some point in their lifetime, but at some point a professional opinion is not only warranted, but also wise. Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or better known as anxiety attacks or panic attacks, is an incredibly common disorder that affects more than 6,8 million people. The signs and symptoms can affect all aspects of your life and can be debilitating at times. Although there is strong research and evidence most things we experience both physically and mentally are the direct result in our own focus and thought. However, when the symptoms reach levels that are uncontrollable and unacceptable, an outside resource may be the answer.

Irritable bowel syndrome is characterized by a group of symptoms in which abdominal pain or discomfort is associated with a change in bowel pattern, such as loose or more frequent bowel movements or diarrhea, and/or hard or less frequent bowel movements or constipation.

The main triggers of Irritable Bowel Symptom (IBS) include caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and mainly stress. These vary from individual, but the physical “attacks” can be very uncomfortable and frequent. Thus, the very thought of an impeding IBS attack causes even more stress and possible triggering an anxiety attack.

After three different doctors, granted with different specialties and backgrounds, I now had three completely different diagnosis and therefore different opinions and treatments to research. One simply told me to change my diet and sleeping patterns. This I was used to as a long time sufferer of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). I tried several variations on my diet and behaviors including caffeine, alcohol, sugar and smoking. As usually an abundance of anything in life is going to have a negative reaction there my symptoms did change but did not solve the problem as a whole.

The second opinion leaned towards severe depression and wanted to go the route of several medications. One may not be inclined to add any prescriptions to your daily regiment if there is a remote possibility that they are unnecessary, or the wrong type and dosage which results in an adverse reaction to that is worse than the original symptoms themselves.

The last physician suggested that a more holistic approach, which sounded like a much more solid and safe alternative. Over the past 5 months I have learned to love herbal tea again, have tried some traditional meditation, along with a couple of techniques I learned from Joe Barry who developed a program for controlling anxiety attacks. I have had quite a bit of success in controlling not only the number of anxiety attacks and episodes, but have managed to balance my IBS symptoms in the process.

The pressures of modern living are having detrimental affects on our mental an physical stability. The pace of life does not permit time for reflection and meditation where we can still the mind allowing us to view our lives in a proper perspective. We all seem so very busy and so tied up in our material worlds that we are unnecessarily contributing to the levels of anxiety and fear we experience thus blurring our judgement and affecting our overall health.

Anxiety is perhaps one of the most common disorders in the world these days, not to mention one of the most complex. It is considered as being a normal and healthy emotion, until it becomes too serious and unmanageable, and this is where steps should be taken towards relieving the symptoms caused by anxiety, so that the person is able to live a normal life once again.

For those who suffer from severe anxiety problems find they tend to shy away from day to day problems blowing them out of all proportion , they tend to avoid or even run away from their fears instead of trying to analyse these minor problems seeing them in their true light.. Many are drawn to alcohol and drugs to find temporary relief from their fears, , this only exasperates the condition and quite often leads to relationship breakdowns, deterioration in health and other more major problems.

Anxiety Irritable Bowel Syndrome

There are a number of health problems that anxiety can cause, irritable bowel syndrome being one of the most common. Anxiety irritable bowel syndrome is an often complaint of anxiety sufferers, and when you have anxiety irritable bowel syndrome, the regular symptoms that one would normally experience from the condition are actually increased a great deal and both irritable bowel syndrome and anxiety are crippling enough on their own, let alone together.

If you have anxiety irritable bowel syndrome, you are going to want to seek medical attention as soon as possible, so that you can have your condition properly assessed and diagnosed, and get on the path to recovery. There are quite a few different methods of treatment that are available, and so you will have to work together with your doctor in order to determine what particular type of treatment will be best for you and your condition.

When it comes to treatment for anxiety irritable bowel syndrome, one of the first things you should try is to change your lifestyle. This means eating as healthy and balanced a diet as possible and getting plenty of regular exercise. You should also try out some stress management techniques for your anxiety irritable bowel syndrome, and this includes yoga, meditation, and other relaxation techniques.

If your condition is especially serious then you may even want to consider therapy or counseling as this will be able to help mostly with your anxiety condition and in turn will relieve the symptoms of your irritable bowel syndrome condition. You can also attend a self-help group for people living with irritable bowel syndrome or other digestive disorders, which is a great idea because then you will be able to talk to others who are going through the same thing as you are.

The pressures of modern living are having detrimental affects on our mental an physical stability. The pace of life does not permit time for reflection and meditation where we can still the mind allowing us to view our lives in a proper perspective. We all seem so very busy and so tied up in our material worlds that we are unnecessarily contributing to the levels of anxiety and fear we experience thus blurring our judgement and affecting our overall health.

Anxiety is perhaps one of the most common disorders in the world these days, not to mention one of the most complex. It is considered as being a normal and healthy emotion, until it becomes too serious and unmanageable, and this is where steps should be taken towards relieving the symptoms caused by anxiety, so that the person is able to live a normal life once again.

For those who suffer from severe anxiety problems find they tend to shy away from day to day problems blowing them out of all proportion , they tend to avoid or even run away from their fears instead of trying to analyse these minor problems seeing them in their true light.. Many are drawn to alcohol and drugs to find temporary relief from their fears, , this only exasperates the condition and quite often leads to relationship breakdowns, deterioration in health and other more major problems.

Anxiety Irritable Bowel Syndrome

There are a number of health problems that anxiety can cause, irritable bowel syndrome being one of the most common. Anxiety irritable bowel syndrome is an often complaint of anxiety sufferers, and when you have anxiety irritable bowel syndrome, the regular symptoms that one would normally experience from the condition are actually increased a great deal and both irritable bowel syndrome and anxiety are crippling enough on their own, let alone together.

If you have anxiety irritable bowel syndrome, you are going to want to seek medical attention as soon as possible, so that you can have your condition properly assessed and diagnosed, and get on the path to recovery. There are quite a few different methods of treatment that are available, and so you will have to work together with your doctor in order to determine what particular type of treatment will be best for you and your condition.

When it comes to treatment for anxiety irritable bowel syndrome, one of the first things you should try is to change your lifestyle. This means eating as healthy and balanced a diet as possible and getting plenty of regular exercise. You should also try out some stress management techniques for your anxiety irritable bowel syndrome, and this includes yoga, meditation, and other relaxation techniques.

If your condition is especially serious then you may even want to consider therapy or counseling as this will be able to help mostly with your anxiety condition and in turn will relieve the symptoms of your irritable bowel syndrome condition. You can also attend a self-help group for people living with irritable bowel syndrome or other digestive disorders, which is a great idea because then you will be able to talk to others who are going through the same thing as you are.