4 ms·

I'm just asking, but is there any chance the connection is the reverse? Stress and anxiety can cause digestive symptoms.

bignaj 12y ago
I have Crohn's disease (similar) and you have a good point. In reality it's a vicious feedback loop where 1) you get stressed out 2) your symptoms flare as a result of stress 3) you get more stressed out because of the symptoms. Works both ways and there's no easy way around it.
bdamm 12y ago
The interesting part is that even if that's the case, treating the digestive symptoms in an effective way could provide meaningful relief, cascading back into the emotional state that caused the initial problem. I've had it described to me in the following way; stress creates physical manifestations of that stress, those physical manifestations create discomfort, that discomfort creates stress. The feedback loop, once in place, can accelerate the anxiety. It can also be used to shut the anxiety down. It is possible to focus on the physical manifestations and "cut the strings" of the cycle by relieving those symptoms through meditation and treatment. You're left with the original stressor, but the feedback cycle doesn't help you get better as long as it is active.
- cpncrunch 12y ago
  So essentially changing diet is partly (or mostly) a placebo effect. IMO it is better to understand the causes of IBS/anxiety/stress and make changes to your lifestyle that address the root cause, rather than believing dubious science about gluten. (I'm not saying that you personally believe this crap science, but there are a lot of people out there who do). That has certainly worked well for me. I still do have IBS on occasion, but after doing some research into the HPA axis and ANS (and how the control gastric emptying, colonic transit and absorption) I now understand exactly why I have the symptoms, and they are very manageable. I don't have CFS, burnout, fatigue, anxiety or depression any more, but mild IBS seems to be a fact of life. Working for myself at home certainly helps a lot.
  - gouggoug 12y ago
    > So essentially changing diet is partly (or mostly) a placebo effect. IMO it is better to understand the causes of IBS/anxiety/stress and make changes to your lifestyle that address the root cause, rather than believing dubious science about gluten. That sounds very much like the approach a software/hardware engineer would have towards a bug. And it's great! However, I'd say that the human body can't really be approached that way because of its, very much, inconstant nature (at least until we've figured out 100% how our bodies function). In the current state of knowledge human kind has about biology, it would be very hard to pin-point a "bug" (IBS/stress/anxiety for example) to a specific root cause (bacteria x or y). On the opposite end, a software bug ultimately has one (or multiple) very much identifiable root causes. All that to say that, it might not be possible to understand the causes of IBS/anxiety/stress, and thus, treating the symptoms might actually be the cure. (who knows, maybe treating a "biological bug" fixes the actual bug?) It's also a chicken and egg problem: which started first? IBS or stress/anxiety?
    - cpncrunch 12y ago
      Yes, it's a little more difficult pinning down problems with the human body than in a piece of code, and these kind of functional problems even seem to have stumped most of the medical profession. However I see it as an engineering challenge. Essentially you are looking at a complex system and trying to solve a problem in a piece of machinery that you don't have any information about. Sometimes working around bugs in android or iOS can involve similar detective work. In terms of IBS, there is very little doubt that in my own situation that stress causes the IBS rather than the other way around. Diarrhea during the week, followed by constipation during weekends. Or diarrhea preceeding before a novel event. These are repeatable and predictable - it just requires taking a close look at your situation and seeing if you can see any correlations. Unfortunately it can be easy to get fooled into seeing correlations that don't exist.
calinet6 12y ago
I think this vicious cycle is one of the biggest human bugs around. It's a malfunctioning recursive negative feedback loop.

bignaj 12y ago

I have Crohn's disease (similar) and you have a good point. In reality it's a vicious feedback loop where 1) you get stressed out 2) your symptoms flare as a result of stress 3) you get more stressed out because of the symptoms. Works both ways and there's no easy way around it.

bdamm 12y ago

The interesting part is that even if that's the case, treating the digestive symptoms in an effective way could provide meaningful relief, cascading back into the emotional state that caused the initial problem. I've had it described to me in the following way; stress creates physical manifestations of that stress, those physical manifestations create discomfort, that discomfort creates stress. The feedback loop, once in place, can accelerate the anxiety. It can also be used to shut the anxiety down. It is possible to focus on the physical manifestations and "cut the strings" of the cycle by relieving those symptoms through meditation and treatment. You're left with the original stressor, but the feedback cycle doesn't help you get better as long as it is active.

cpncrunch 12y ago
So essentially changing diet is partly (or mostly) a placebo effect. IMO it is better to understand the causes of IBS/anxiety/stress and make changes to your lifestyle that address the root cause, rather than believing dubious science about gluten. (I'm not saying that you personally believe this crap science, but there are a lot of people out there who do). That has certainly worked well for me. I still do have IBS on occasion, but after doing some research into the HPA axis and ANS (and how the control gastric emptying, colonic transit and absorption) I now understand exactly why I have the symptoms, and they are very manageable. I don't have CFS, burnout, fatigue, anxiety or depression any more, but mild IBS seems to be a fact of life. Working for myself at home certainly helps a lot.
- gouggoug 12y ago
  > So essentially changing diet is partly (or mostly) a placebo effect. IMO it is better to understand the causes of IBS/anxiety/stress and make changes to your lifestyle that address the root cause, rather than believing dubious science about gluten. That sounds very much like the approach a software/hardware engineer would have towards a bug. And it's great! However, I'd say that the human body can't really be approached that way because of its, very much, inconstant nature (at least until we've figured out 100% how our bodies function). In the current state of knowledge human kind has about biology, it would be very hard to pin-point a "bug" (IBS/stress/anxiety for example) to a specific root cause (bacteria x or y). On the opposite end, a software bug ultimately has one (or multiple) very much identifiable root causes. All that to say that, it might not be possible to understand the causes of IBS/anxiety/stress, and thus, treating the symptoms might actually be the cure. (who knows, maybe treating a "biological bug" fixes the actual bug?) It's also a chicken and egg problem: which started first? IBS or stress/anxiety?
  - cpncrunch 12y ago
    Yes, it's a little more difficult pinning down problems with the human body than in a piece of code, and these kind of functional problems even seem to have stumped most of the medical profession. However I see it as an engineering challenge. Essentially you are looking at a complex system and trying to solve a problem in a piece of machinery that you don't have any information about. Sometimes working around bugs in android or iOS can involve similar detective work. In terms of IBS, there is very little doubt that in my own situation that stress causes the IBS rather than the other way around. Diarrhea during the week, followed by constipation during weekends. Or diarrhea preceeding before a novel event. These are repeatable and predictable - it just requires taking a close look at your situation and seeing if you can see any correlations. Unfortunately it can be easy to get fooled into seeing correlations that don't exist.

calinet6 12y ago

I think this vicious cycle is one of the biggest human bugs around. It's a malfunctioning recursive negative feedback loop.