The Role of Emotions and Stress on Our IBD Symptoms
Emotions play a big role in IBD, including the emotional response that can arise after being diagnosed. The personal journey to discovering your diagnosis may have had some ups and downs, and you may now be exploring the meaning of having IBD as well as the challenges of managing symptoms.
In addition to the emotions you may feel about an IBD diagnosis and your IBD symptoms, the emotional response can travel in the other direction as well –and disordered gut-brain interactions can also lead to emotional responses. This can become a challenging and unhelpful feedback loop.
The loop continues by way of the emotions we feel, as they can directly influence digestion through the gut-brain highway.
We’ve likely all experienced that stressful week at work or that unexpected family emergency, causing you to run for the nearest bathroom because your food seems to have made its way through the intestines at hyperspeed.
Or perhaps you’ve experienced intense anger toward a loved one or a situation outside of your control, making you wonder if you’ll ever have a bowel movement again. The speed at which food moves through the gut can become directly tied to how we feel.
Many individuals with IBD also experience generalized anxiety and depression. These frequently co-occurring mental health conditions can also contribute to dysregulation of the mind-body communication highway by increasing pain hypersensitivity and negatively impacting your responses to day-to-day events.
While it may sound like an endlessly vicious cycle, there are simple ways to manage your emotional responses that can have a meaningful impact on IBD symptoms. Diaphragmatic breathing, for instance, is a powerful technique that can help manage stress and improve overall well-being. By practicing deep, controlled breathing, you can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation and helps to reduce the physical symptoms of stress. This technique not only aids in calming the mind but also supports digestive function, making it a valuable tool for those managing IBD.