[Manick]

I seem to be having a strange pattern here, and see a strong correlation between working hard and then getting gas/bloating in return. For the past month I've been taking a Trigonometry class, which initially I thought was going to be extremely easy, so I slacked off for the first couple of weeks (bad idea). So I quickly fell behind and stopped being able to follow any of the lecture in class, and decided to merely attend class even if I didn't learn anything. Mind you, I am an extremely good student and got an A in my previous College Algebra class, and have a GPA of 3.4, but my overconfidence made me fall behind early on. Regardless, I decided to take the same approach that I took with my College Algebra class; that was, to simply do most of the work at home, teach myself everything, and do as many problems as I could for practice. But for some reason, even though I do not panic in class whenever I am not following the lecture, and simply lay back waiting for it to end, I still get very bad bloating and gas build-up. Similarly, just recently, I had to do some major catch-up homework that was cognitively difficult and stressful to understand at times, and sure enough I get the same bloating/gastric reaction that I do in class. But most of the time I do not have this sort of pain. This has even happened on two separate occasions where I hadn't eaten ANYTHING for the entire day, and had completely empty bowels, but still had that response when I was in class. So I must ask, if anyone here can confirm that anxiety/stress can indeed cause this reaction for IBS patience, or if anyone else has at least had a similar experience. I'd greatly appreciate your input. PSIs it possible that I can be anxious or stressed out unconsciously or without being aware of it, even though I am making an effort to be laid back and relaxed?

 

[BQ]

Stress is known not to cause IBS. But it is known to aggravate symtpoms.

 

[proudLgaser]

*more than 80% of IBS patients "who seek for medical help" have associated psychological problems,i can't remember the exact source of this statement but it was from a reliable medical research(S).**the reason of not considering stress as a cause of IBS is technical,it has to meet some criteria to be regarded as a "cause",the same as cancer/smoking scientifically speaking smoking doesn't cause any type of cancer but is a risk factor,the number of patients who report IBS after major stress outweighs any other cause(e.g infection)...again for academics infection is a type of stress(i.e there are many type of stresses: physical,biological,....).***the bloating of the IBS is due to hyperaesthesia of the colon which can be linked to anxiety.

Is it possible that I can be anxious or stressed out unconsciously or without being aware of it, even though I am making an effort to be laid back and relaxed?

you can't get "A"s without being stressed.,don't you think that?

 

[Constinker]

It depends on how you're trying to be more 'laidback'. If you're thinking 'I've got to relax, cause I'm stressed out,' well that would be counterproductive. If you can meditate or completley get into somepleasurable activity naturally, that would work better I'd imagine.

 

[Manick]

It depends on how you're trying to be more 'laidback'. If you're thinking 'I've got to relax, cause I'm stressed out,' well that would be counterproductive. If you can meditate or completley get into somepleasurable activity naturally, that would work better I'd imagine.

Well, I'm actually naturally laid back and generally lazy, plus I am taking anti-anxiety & anti-depressent medication which also really helps. So I don't really make an effort to relax or try to do it consciously, but rather that is just the way I am normally. I basically have a type B personality. @proudLgaserThanks for the information. I wouldn't say I was academically stressed, because most of the classes I am taking I actually enjoy for the most part and/or are inherently easy for me to grasp/understand, so I am able to quickly finish assignments, and study fairly efficiently and fast with plenty of leisure time left over most days. At the very least, I am not stressed enough to notice it or worry about it, and my psychiatrist thinks I am handling my emotional/mental state of mind very well for the amount of pain I deal with from IBS on most days. I generally try to keep a positive frame of mind, and have done well at managing my anger over this ordeal.

 

[Mary2001]

Manick, I have read your post ( I've not posted here for ages) I find it very interesting that you asked "if its possible to be stressed out unconsciously" as I think I possibly am. I suffer daily with trapped gas abdominal discomfort and the only thing that seems to help with that is listening to opera music very low on a radio, or to sit quietly with my eyes closed just concentrating on my pulse or my breathing. I couldnt figure out why this helps a bit, so its possible it could be that you can be stressed without having an awareness of it. Does anyone else know if that is possible. If I deliberately try to relax it does not work, and someone said that is counterproductive, so how is it that it doesnt work if you try consciously to relax. Thanks for your post. Mary.

 

[KimEatandBe]

I feel like stress/anxiety increases my IBS symptoms, most notably bloating and gassy feelings. It's awful! Like I will go the entire day eating proper foods, exercising, etc. (doing all that we are supposed to do) and will be out with a friend that I feel a bit anxious around and my IBS gets so much worse. It is so frustrating, but I definitely agree with how you are feeling.check out my daily blog at www.eatandbe.com for my daily diet struggle!cheers,kim

 

[il90]

Could be that you were upset the day before when you ate, causing some interruption of the digestive process causing gas the day after...? (gas is caused by undigested food (bacteria in colon), which happens if your digestion is interrupted by for instance activation of the autonomic fight or flight system - anxiety). I am the same, nothing works except to relax, especially good if I am relaxed the day BEFORE. The reflux happens too in bad anxiety situations.

I'm so fed up with all of this. I especially like the scenario when people try to convince me that there is something wrong with me (fungus - candida - worms) that is causing the anxiety and therefore the gas. Huh? I get super anxious when people say these things because then I'll go around thinking that I have some fungus living inside me and then I can even get so anxious that I want to vomit, I'll be nauseous for hours. I'll start itching all over. It all stops once I calm down. I'm pretty irritated when people do this, because I am a pretty smart person but I suffer from bad anxiety so it's like I don't have much control over it, well later I do, but not right away when I get scared.

I think you need to find some strategy to deal with it, like yoga? I run now which helps. If I feel anxious, I go out and run, right away. Breathing exercises irritate me, but sometimes they help. Also, lie down and put your hand on your stomach and breath, yeah this helps.

Good luck.

 

[il90]

Manick, I have read your post ( I've not posted here for ages) I find it very interesting that you asked "if its possible to be stressed out unconsciously" as I think I possibly am. I suffer daily with trapped gas abdominal discomfort and the only thing that seems to help with that is listening to opera music very low on a radio, or to sit quietly with my eyes closed just concentrating on my pulse or my breathing. I couldnt figure out why this helps a bit, so its possible it could be that you can be stressed without having an awareness of it. Does anyone else know if that is possible. If I deliberately try to relax it does not work, and someone said that is counterproductive, so how is it that it doesnt work if you try consciously to relax. Thanks for your post. Mary.

Try to stop during the day and sit down and ask yourself if you're tense somewhere and how you're feeling, do this until you feel like you aren't tense anymore or need to check yourself. I had it for so long I didn't know I was actually stressed out all the time. You learn to relax eventually.