A friend emailed me that my name was being bandied about in a nasty feud on this board so, naturally, I had to check it out.I was disappointed to read the following comment from Peter in his post with the subject "KEN""as for parkview being more IBS related hell all I ever see is jokes overthere by Charlie and Linda and the rest."I realize, Peter, that you also said earlier in that same post that you enjoyed the jokes, but I think that last comment indicates otherwise. You bet I've posted some funnies, but I've also posted many, many times with information relative directly to the medical side of IBS. I'm hoping that your comment was merely the result of your frustration with "Ken/Musem" and not an indication that you don't come to the Parkview board because it is saturated with funnies from me and Charlie. I visit both Jeff's and Parkview's boards as often as I can. I spend more time at Parkview because that's the one I found first, and I received an immediate and gracious response, which made me feel "at home." From reading many of the posts on both boards, it seems that stress is a major contributor to the onset or recurrence of IBS. Have any of you ever read a book by Norman Cousins titled "Anatomy of An Illness"? As I recall, one of the things he mentions is that laughter releases endorphins, which are our body's natural pain killers and healers.Check out this web site from the American Psychological Assn. http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep97/humor.html Please remember, I'm not saying we can laugh all the time, or that we shouldn't ######, 'cause we all need to vent and blow off steam. But we also do our bodies a great deal of good just by laughing - the harder the better!Bad as it is, we are not in a life-threatening condition and will not die *from* IBS but will probably die *with* it. I was very close to a friend for the 3 years it took him to die from ALS (Lou Gherig's disease). When I get really ticked off at my colon and what I can or can't eat, I try to think of him, and I remember something my Dad quoted to me - "I complained because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet."