If you experience IBS symptoms regularly, chances are that IBS is weighing you down. What if the burden of IBS is actually linked to a specific trigger?
Sounds strange? Read on and see if this applies to you.
IBS as a burden
I have a privileged view of IBS. Having lived with chronic symptoms, and having reversed them, I now get a birdseye view of the clients I work with. And get to see more and more IBS triggers.
What I have noticed as a repeating pattern is the feeling of being burdened.
Yes, of course we are weighed down by IBS symptoms.
But this goes deeper. Much deeper.
What else is weighing you down?
The IBS symptoms themselves sure weigh us down.
But you may have also noticed other things weighing you down other than IBS:
- Situations that always need more of your energy
- People that feel needy
- Maybe financial burden
- Work or family obligations weighing heavily on you
In your body you may find yourself:
- Feeling particularly drained, no matter how much sleep you get
- Putting on weight and feeling heavy
- Losing a lot of weight
Yes we can blame the symptoms. Losing weight because we’re scared to eat. Feeling drained because we toss and turn during the night. And this can be the case.
However there may be a deeper issue.
Everybody is different and has different triggers. But here is a common theme I am finding:
Deep down inside, do you feel like a burden? (You’ll know because you’ll feel a little uneasy or a upset reading this. And if it’s the case, it’s OK. There are a lot of us.)
As a child, did you feel like you were a burden?
Emotionally?
Financially?
Even well meaning, caring parents can give that impression if they were busy all the time.
But if you had a narcissistic parent, your parents divorced, you believe you were unwanted, or if you spent time in hospital, this can be a deep wound.
If you hold the belief (and it is a belief) that you are a burden, you may well attract situations at school, at work, at home where you feel like you are a burden.
And/or situations where THEY (the situation itself or the people around you) feel draining.
Maybe you relate.
Burden as an IBS trigger
For me, and some clients, feeling like a burden at some level can actually trigger IBS symptoms – and reinforce that original difficult yet familar feeling.
When I had IBS symptoms to handle I used to feel a burden.
To my husband because I was always in a bad mood and felt overwhelmed.
To my children because I kept having to cancel outings, or they would have to go without me.
At work because I constantly felt drained behind the mask of “Everything’s fine:)”
Your body can mirror this too:
- comfort eating when you feel a burden/not enough (this was an invisible trigger for me)
- losing weight in an unconscious attempt take up less space
How to start unburdening yourself
Feeling like you are a burden can be a tricky, delicate feeling. It’s likely that you started feeling this a long time ago. But there are some simple first steps you can take to improving it.
The first step is to acknowledge that this is a trigger for you (if it is).
Then take some time to notice when you feel that feeling during the day.
Allow the feeling to be there. And allow yourself to feel it if you can.
Want some expert help to unburden yourself and reverse your IBS?
I can help you see what’s in your blindspot. Why not work with me?