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Understanding IBS & the Gut–Brain Connection
Clear, practical articles to help you understand IBS and other disorders of gut–brain interaction, the gut–brain connection, gut-directed hypnotherapy, anxiety and stress.
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What Is irritable bowel syndrome?
Gut-directed hypnotherapy
- an effective IBS treatement
Your Gut Has Its Own Nervous System
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Your Gut Has Its Own Nervous System
IBS is real. Explore how the gut’s own nervous system and the gut-brain axis help explain IBS symptoms such as pain, bloating, urgency, diarrhoea and constipation. Discover how gut-directed hypnotherapy can help reset gut-brain communication, calm digestive threat responses and rebuild trust in the body again over time, safely.
The Hidden Loop Between Worry, Anxiety, and IBS
For IBS Awareness Month, I’ve written a new article on a pattern I see often, but which is rarely explained clearly:
The loop between digestive worries, IBS-specific anxiety, and anticipatory anxiety.
Many people with IBS are not only dealing with symptoms.
They are also dealing with:
fear of being caught out
fear of urgency, bloating, or pain at the wrong time
fear of the anxiety that symptoms can trigger
Flare-ups and the Survival Switch
If your IBS shows up when you need to be sharp, it can feel like your body is sabotaging you. This post unpacks what is really happening in the gut-brain axis when pressure turns into threat, and why digestion gets downgraded in survival mode.
The 4As of IBS Relief
If you’re struggling with IBS, you’re probably not “managing” it. You’re organising your life around it.
IBS is a gut–brain disorder — so progress often comes from resetting gut–brain communication, not adding more rules.
In this post I share the 4As of IBS Relief I use with clients:
Which “A” are you stuck in right now?
Gut Directed Hypnotherapy for IBS: Why People Stop Scrolling and Why You Might Want to Pause
This article explains gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS in clear, practical terms — without mystique or hype. It explores IBS as a disorder of gut–brain interaction, why insight alone often isn’t enough, and how nervous system learning helps explain lasting change. Written for people who want understanding, not vague reassurance.
The Gut-Brain Axis and its role in IBS
Research suggests that IBS could be the manifestation of a problem within our gut- heart - head - communication cycle. Poorly coordinated signals between the head brain and the gut brain can cause our body to overreact to changes that normally occur in the digestive process, resulting in pain, diarrhoea or constipation.
Why understanding your gut and IBS is important
When you have a sound understanding of how your gut works, and how IBS affects it, you are in a strong position to ask questions of your healthcare provider. You’re also better placed to challenge their decisions regarding your treatment (if you have doubts) and to make your own decisions about your treatment.
You are not your IBS
Being diagnosed with IBS by a doctor or medical specialist can lead some people into taking on an unhelpful identity, that of IBS sufferer. But you are NOT the IBS.
Stress is the number one cause of digestive disorders
Stress is the number one cause of digestive disorders so it pays to know what stress is and where it comes from.
With an understanding of what stress is and how we come to experience it, we are better placed to acquire the skills and tools we need to prevent and to manage our stress to best effect.
Release stress by practicing Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a great way to take time out, be in the present moment, and release tension in your body (and mind).
Is IBS a Psychological Issue? Here’s the Real Story
Is IBS a psychological condition?
No. But it’s not purely biological either. It’s a bio-psycho-social condition — one that asks for a whole-person, personalised approach.
Why Your Gut Symptoms Aren’t Just Digestive — They’re a Nervous System Issue
You don’t have to resign yourself to living with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Experience lasting relief from IBS with evidence-based hypnotherapy designed to reset your gut-brain axis. Our specialized IBS hypnotherapy program helps reduce chronic digestive symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation—without relying on restrictive diets or medications. Discover how targeted gut-directed hypnotherapy can transform your IBS experience today.
How Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy Can Help You Master the Low FODMAP Diet
Are you ready to make your Low FODMAP diet easier?
Research shows that up to 50% of people abandon the Low FODMAP diet within the first few months. Gut directed hypnotherapy can help you comfortably complete the diet.
The link between IBS and Trauma
When Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Trauma Collide - Understanding the Hidden Link
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) carries a massive hidden burden
People experiencing IBS face many challenges trying to manage their condition and they are desperate to find a cure. One survey [1] reported that most IBS patients would give up 10 to 15 years of life expectancy for an instant cure.
What is IBS?
IBS is a syndrome.
A syndrome is simply a collection of symptoms that occur together.
In IBS, the symptoms typically affect the colon (the large bowel) and include abdominal pain, bloating and altered bowel movements - diarrhea or constipation or a mix of both.