Your gut remembers what your mind has forgotten.
For 60% of people with IBS, the root cause isn't what they're eating—it's what they've experienced.
If you've tried every diet, supplement, and medication but still struggle with IBS, this might be the missing piece of your puzzle.
IBS Is Not "All in Your Head" — But It Is in Your Nervous System
For years, IBS treatment focused almost exclusively on the gut: food intolerances, infections, microbiome imbalances.
But modern science has confirmed what many people intuitively knew: IBS is a disorder of gut-brain interaction.
The actual issue lies in the two-way communication between your gut, brain, and nervous system, what we call the gut-brain axis.
When this communication breaks down, often because of prolonged or unresolved trauma or chronic stress, gut functioning is disrupted, and IBS symptoms occur.
Abdominal pain. Altered motility (constipation, diarrhoea, urgency). Bloating. These symptoms can range from mild to severe, and for many people, feel relentless.
The Science: Why Trauma Lives in Your Gut
Let me start with a clear definition.
Trauma refers to any overwhelming event or series of events that exceeds an individual's ability to cope, leading to lasting changes in the nervous system, emotional regulation, and physical health.
It's crucial to understand the difference:
Traumatic Event: The actual occurrence—such as abuse, injury, or intense fear — that exceeded your capacity to manage or integrate the experience at the time.
Trauma Response: The enduring nervous system changes (heightened sensitivity, vigilance, autonomic imbalance) and patterns of re-experiencing (flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, or responses to triggers).
Here's what most doctors miss: IBS isn't just about what's happening in your gut—it's about what your nervous system learned to do decades ago.
What Research Shows
Studies reveal that people with IBS have a significantly higher history of trauma than the general population:
50-60% of IBS patients have experienced trauma—compared to 20-30% of people without IBS
Childhood trauma increases IBS risk by 2-3 times
Trauma types commonly linked to IBS include: Physical or emotional abuse Medical trauma (painful childhood procedures) Parental separation or loss Bullying or social exclusion Chronic stress without support
The connection isn't about the event itself—it's about the trauma response.
Chronic stressor responses, hypervigilance, and altered gut-brain communication are hallmarks of post-traumatic adaptation.
And research directly implicates these patterns in the development and exacerbation of IBS.
How Trauma Sensitises the Gut-Brain Axis
When we experience trauma—especially before our nervous system is fully developed—it sets the stage for a heightened stress (threat) response.
The survival system stays on high alert.
Over time, this creates:
✓ Visceral hypersensitivity (your gut feels pain more intensely)
✓ Altered motility (the gut moves too fast or too slow)
✓ Potentially altered gut microbiota (chronic stress affects the gut environment)
✓ Hypervigilance (constantly scanning for danger—including internal sensations)
This creates what I call the threat-stress-symptom loop:
A flare-up triggers stress and anxiety → The stress heightens sensitivity → The symptoms worsen → And the cycle continues.
"But I've moved on from the past ..."
That may be true mentally—but physiologically, your nervous system might not have.
Even if you're decades past the original trauma event, if your gut is still responding like it's under siege, you'll feel the effects today.
This is not a failure of mindset or willpower.
It's a result of how the nervous system stores unprocessed traumatic events.
And crucially—it's not irreversible.
A Real Example
One client came to me after 7 years of mild/severe IBS. She'd tried every elimination diet imaginable.
We never once talked about food.
Instead, we worked on helping her nervous system feel safe around gut sensations—using gut-directed hypnotherapy and trauma-informed techniques.
Within 10 weeks, her daily symptoms reduced by 70%. Within 6 months, she had her quality of life back.
Relief Is Possible — But It Requires a Different Approach
What helps isn't just managing symptoms.
It's gently helping your nervous system feel safe again—especially around gut sensations.
This is where gut-directed hypnotherapy and trauma-informed mind-body tools come in.
Research shows that gut-directed hypnotherapy has a 70-80% response rate in clinical trials, often with lasting results.
In my work with clients, I combine:
Targeted hypnosis suggestions, metaphors and imagined scenarios to reset the gut-brain axis and reduce visceral hypersensitivity.
Trauma resolution techniques like REWIND (a method that helps the nervous system safely reprocess difficult experiences without re-traumatization) and Integral Eye Movement to break the fear-symptom loop.
Somatic work to restore a felt sense of safety in the body.
This isn't about "fixing" you.
It's about helping your nervous system finally feel safe again.
Final Thoughts
Traumatic events don't just leave emotional scars—they reshape how your body and gut function.
But just as your nervous system was shaped by those experiences, it can be reshaped.
With the right evidence-based, trauma-aware approach that focuses on calming the nervous system and resetting the gut-brain axis, long-term relief from IBS is possible.
What to Do Next
If this resonates with you, here are three steps:
1. Notice when your symptoms spike—is there a stressor or emotional pattern?
2. Consider whether traditional IBS treatments have left gaps in your recovery.
3. Reach out if you'd like to explore whether gut-directed hypnotherapy combined with trauma resolution techniques might help.
If you've been told to "just manage it"—you deserve more than that.
And if you're ready to explore a research-backed, trauma-aware approach to IBS, use the link in the first comment below to schedule a 30-minute Zoom consultation where we can explore how I can help you leave the past where it belongs—in the past.
Because your gut doesn't have to stay stuck in the past.