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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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RECENT POSTS
The Gut–Brain Axis — How Your Gut and Brain Communicate
The Gut–Brain Axis — How Your Gut and Brain Communicate
If IBS is a disorder of gut–brain interaction, what does that actually mean in practice?
In the second article in my 3-part series, I look at the gut–brain axis — the biological communication network linking your digestive system, nervous system and brain. I explain:
• why communication travels in both directions
• why the vagus nerve is only one part of the story
• what “gut–brain communication” really means
• why this matters for understanding IBS
• and why working through the brain can be a biologically plausible part of IBS treatment
Most importantly, this isn’t about suggesting IBS is psychological or “all in your head”. It’s about understanding the gut and brain as parts of one continuously interacting biological system. If you’d like a clearer, evidence-based explanation of how that system works, you can read the latest issue of my blog
The meeting isn’t the problem…
The meeting isn’t the problem. The possibility of your gut hijacking it is.
You can lead a 60-minute meeting.
But can you trust your gut for 60 minutes?
That’s a very different question.
For many professionals with IBS, the challenge isn’t capability.
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.
What Is Anxiety Really? And Why Does It Matter When You Have IBS?
Most people feel anxious from time to time.
· Before a job interview.
· While waiting for test results.
· When something important is uncertain.
That kind of anxiety is normal. It is your survival system doing its job, flagging a possible risk and nudging you to pay attention.
But when you live with IBS, anxiety can become much more specific.
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?