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IBS: “All in our head?”

A few things to consider from Michael Mahoney……..

Many doctors and gastroenterology specialists have implied , or used the term 'all in your head' to patients in the past in error, and those who are not up to date on current IBS research may still view their patients in this way.  But IBS is a physical disorder and I think they are trying to say that there is nothing organically wrong which they have pinpointed. However, I have had quite a few discussions about this in the past, the problem lies with the fact that doctors are taught to look for disease and illness. We know IBS is a functional disorder and the doctors and researchers have only recently been making progress in the complex condition of IBS, but we can all agree peristalsis is not doing what it should.

'All in the head' is not right, it is an offensive term to those that are looking for solutions. It conjures up the emotion that sufferers are doing it on purpose somehow. Those with this condition wouldn’t wish it on their worst enemy, let alone make it up!

However, the majority of us, tend to run thoughts, and future thoughts out before they happen. So along with stress, there is also a psychological element in our thought patterns that expects us to have difficult IBS days. Running out our worries causes us to have anxiety and added stress, which in turn creates a negative physical response. The annoying thing is, its part of being human, it's a response which we don't have to even try to do, it all happens automatically.

To understand the IBS Audio Program 100™a bit more, we have to understand stress is not 'out there', stress is how we respond internally to real or perceived external demands. What is a stressful event for one can be invigorating or relaxing event for another.

Every thought has a physical response. We can prove this by the feelings of love, anger, jealousy, etc., all emotions start with thought (our interpretation to an event), which then leads to physical response. This is even recognised in legislation by recognition of the term Crime of passion - a person might kill another (an extreme example, granted) because they were firing on emotion, which made them pick up the knife to perform the action. That anger began as a thought which was then interpreted and an action was carried out, all by the release of chemicals and electrical impulses. Police officers see heightened states every Friday and Saturday night when people come out of the pubs and clubs, we even have our own language for heightened emotion, count to ten is a good example. Count to 10 before we say or respond to something that has annoyed us, basically is introducing a bit of time, the response travels through the 7/8ths of the brain that is emotion until it gets to the 1/8th bit of logic and reason, which allows us to stop and think. In effect, time delay changes the chemical releases and electrical impulses - we simmer down.

All these physical reactions, along with the more every day concerns of, getting to work on time, what happens if I need the toilet? Do the shops have toilets, etc. every thought produces a physical reaction, good or bad.

The thing is; we can choose to learn new coping strategies. Our inner resources can be topped up. Users of the program will have noticed that the first session, is time spent topping up the emotional reserves, making sure they can complete the journey through the program. Patients which come to my practice all go through the same thing, in short we have to be able to have the internal emotional resource to deal with everyday living, as well as changing our thoughts regarding IBS. Because IBS has affected the lives of sufferers so deeply, to try and deal with the IBS before we are prepared emotionally would lead to a tougher journey. So taking the time to top up the emotional batteries as it were is time well spent.

In thinking about stress, it helps too if we remember that the only important moment of our lives is the current moment. We are living now, not in the past (although we can change emotions attached to memories to make the past more comfortable for us), nor should we worry about future events or problems that might never come. Being concerned about things is one thing, being worried is another. Worry takes more energy than concern, so when we worry, we are using more energy than we need to.

The other thing that holds us back is the fear that however we are feeling in one moment, is going to last forever - Nothing lasts for ever, if we want to change! When we throw a ball up in the air, there is a point of time which the ball is neither going up nor coming down that is the moment of change. Users of the IBS Audio Program 100™ who are feeling much better are changing the way they think, changing their outlook on life and its events, but I doubt anyone will be able to pinpoint exactly when things started to get better, but they do, and they do so because very gently the subconscious mind, which controls the digestive system, begins to realise, that these thought patterns of IBS are no longer needed, the individual as a whole is reminded that it existed very well thank you, without IBS, and can do so again, simply and gently by changing the thought processes, that kept stress and anxiety, concern, guilt, negative thought patterns and negative expectations etc. in control.

So the sessions are quite complex in their make up, but when I was doing my early days of research, I remembered that people learned more and it was easier for them if they enjoyed what they we're doing, so by using imagery and suggestion we create an environment internally, that allows changes, both emotionally and physically to occur. And because we enjoy what we are doing it doesn't seem difficult, and it isn't, its only when the conscious mind tries to control areas it wasn't designed to, that problems occur.

click here to go to IBS Audio Program 100 page.