Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and anxiety are common co-morbidities – around 70-90% of IBS sufferers who seek treatment have psychological disorders. Stress is a common trigger for IBS, so a person with anxiety would be experiencing regular high levels of stress thereby at risk of triggering their IBS more often. However, looking at it from a different perspective, for some people IBS may be the trigger for anxiety. The constant fear that you might eat something that doesn’t agree with you and always having to be aware of where the closest toilet it, is enough to make you anxious.
By seeing a psychologist you will receive guidance on how to better manage your stress and anxiety levels, which can help to relieve the symptoms of IBS. One of our psychologists, Dr Alistair Campbell, has written an article about the growing evidence for one of the latest treatments for IBS, which you can read by clicking on the link.
