Do You Suffer Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)? Healing Chronic Illness
Have you heard science’s assertion that your intestines are your second brain? Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a chronic disease that affects the large intestine, meaning some part of your second brain. Many sufferers live impoverished lives years on end without hope for a cure, due to the limiting effects and stigma associated with the symptoms. I have been diagnosed with another chronic disease, Hashimoto. The way I treated my symptoms allowed me to live a medicine-free life. When you recognise the illness and see it as a journey to your Self, the cure may be simpler than you imagine.
Healing an illness is always a process. Sitting with our symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome or any other chronic disease with curiosity, searching for their messages is our path to a more fulfilling and healthy existence.
Symptoms and Prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Even though Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is so common as 1 in 10 people are affected by it, only a small number of people have severe signs and symptoms. The syndrome can vary widely from person to person and often resemble those of other diseases making it difficult to diagnose.
Most common symptoms include unexplained abdominal pain, cramping, discomfort, and bloating in association with gas, diarrhea and constipation. These symptoms can have severe social and mental implications for the person. A TV celebrity Camille Grammer reports:
‘I am always fearful that my IBS symptoms will return at any moment, so I always have to know where the nearest restroom is. I’m afraid that eating will result in stomach pain. Traveling is difficult. And IBS often makes even a simple evening out … to enjoy a concert or movie seem impossible.”
Rock star Kurt Cobain said he had lived with unbearable and “constant” digestive pain for six years. He explained that he abused illegal drugs as an attempt to self-medicate to alleviate the symptoms of IBS.
IBS is experienced mostly by people under age 45. Having a family member with IBS increases the risk of the condition. People with Anxiety, depression, a personality disorder and a history of childhood sexual abuse are more at risk. Twice as many women as men, especially those who suffer domestic abuse have this condition.
For most people, IBS is a chronic condition. There are times when the signs and symptoms are worse and times when they improve or even disappear completely.
Control versus Cure for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Some people can control their symptoms by managing diet, lifestyle and stress. Others will need medication and counseling.
Foods such as chocolate, spices, fats, fruits, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, milk, carbonated beverages and alcohol can be triggers for some people. Stress is known to aggravate symptoms. Many women find that signs and symptoms are worse during or around their menstrual periods.
Gut and Psychology Syndrome
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride an expert on both Neurology and Human Nutrition has cerated the term Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAP Syndrome or GAPS) in 2004. It establishes a connection between the functions of the digestive system and the brain. The purpose of the treatment is ‘to detoxify the person, to lift the toxic fog off the brain to allow it to develop and function properly. In order to achieve that, we need to clean up and heal the digestive tract, so it stops being the major source of toxicity in the body and becomes the source of nourishment, as it is supposed to be.’
As more than 90% of everything toxic floating in our blood (and getting into the brain) comes from the gut, healing it will drop the level of toxicity in the body dramatically.
This target is achieved by means of The Nutritional Programme.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome As A Signpost on Your Journey
The most important effect of IBS is how it might decrease your quality of life. Sure you can live with it, but overtime it leads to hopelessness and depression. And depression is a more serious illness than IBS in terms of its self damage it causes. Therefore I strongly suggest you to look at your IBS as a signpost in your life’s journey.
Consider your illnesses as a scream of your body that wants to be heard. You neglected its needs and memory too long. Until now you have been running away from it rather than face its message. The drugs by removing the symptoms temporarily have prevented you from understanding yourself.
Alice Miller, world known expert in gender, sexuality and issues of health describes how your emotions convey your history to you, often unconsciously and often through the messages of your body: ‘ Your mind can learn to understand these messages and in this way to transform the emotions into conscious feelings. If you know your feelings you have the best protection in your life, whereas by fighting against them you feel constantly in danger, afraid of things that already happened decades ago and are no longer real dangers.’
Recently I have been writing about identifying your core purpose, getting in touch with your Self as a way of improving self confidence. Guess what? It will also help with getting in touch with your feelings, therefore work on your chronic disease!
In addition to following medical advice I suggest you to ask these questions and search for the answers:
- What is my illness trying to communicate with me that I don’t want to hear?
- What truth have I difficulty hearing / accepting?
- What wants to change?
- What am I afraid? What are my worst fears about change?
- What happened before my symptoms got worse?
Healing is always a process. Sitting with our symptoms with curiosity, searching for their messages is our path to a more fulfilling and healthy existence. My post about living in peace with our dark aspects.
Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)image:Thomas Galvez
