Is there a way out of IBS? I believe there is for anyone who is really sick of their IBS, and more than ready for change.
The IBS Maze
Have you ever been in a maze somewhere and just couldn’t find the way out? The walls are much too high and all you can see is straight ahead?
And as you try this way, then that way, you get more and more tired and frustrated. And wish you had never gone in!
It’s one thing when you are doing this on holiday for fun. It’s another when you feel you are in this IBS maze every day, and feel really stuck.
You’re persistant and smart, and keep trying to figure it out. But you keep coming to dead ends.
[And there seems like there’s no way of getting rid of your IBS, whatever you do.]
Then you see a group of people who tell you they think they know how to get out. And you follow them. But after a while you realise they don’t really know either!
So what’s the solution? You need someone who has been in that maze. Someone who is not inside it with you, but can see it from high up, so they can see the maze, the dead ends, and guide you how to get out.
It is my belief and my experience that you can find a way out of the IBS maze.
If you have decided that enough is enough. However, to find the way out more quickly you might need to challenge some of your beliefs first:
1) If you don’t believe that you can get out of the maze, you probably won’t find the way out. It will be difficult to move forward. [And that would be a real shame!]
2) If you rely solely on your doctor’s perspective of the problem, and are not open to seeing things from a different perspective, your options will stay limited to medical solutions.
3) If you are counting on well-intentioned people who “know”, but they are in the maze with you, or they cannot see over the walls, then you could be stuck for a while.
Better find someone with a different perspective.
Someone who is sitting up on that hill, with a view of you in the maze – and what is holding you back.
How I found a way out of IBS
To recover completely from IBS, I decided to give up running round in circles and open myself up. While everyone was going in one direction and not getting very far, I decided to boldly turn around and challenge the status quo. My IBS had got so bad, I had absolutely nothing to lose.
If I hadn’t, I would no doubt still be suffering, still be having a fight with food, still being embarrassed because my body just wouldn’t get it’s act together.
My doctor and GI specialist were adamant that physical problems could only have physical causes. Some physical problems do indeed have purely physical causes. But it is my belief that IBS has causes unique to each of us, and they can lie anywhere in the body, mind, emotions and energy.
By only considering physical causes, we are only considering only 25% of the equation. – and are MUCH LESS LIKELY to find real improvement.
How I recovered
I, like you, had a lot of different IBS symptoms ruining my life. And at that time there were no IBS coaches out there. So I had to take the long route. I spent several years researching and experimenting.
1) I looked for the triggers behind my IBS (clue: these were not physical ones). They were unique to me, and came from my story, from my specific life experiences and my reactions to them. I needed help finding some of these because I had been living with them for years and I just couldn’t see them.
2) Once I had found the triggers, I could set about interrupting the often unconscious trigger loops, those loops of triggers and behavioural patterns that keep on repeating themselves (I was inspired by research on how to treat people with compulsive-obsessive disorders).
3) By releasing each of those trigger loops, (I trained in this) I progressively got fewer and fewer flare-ups, and my body finally had a chance to heal. And our bodies are VERY good at healing when they get a chance.
This is why I don’t write many articles about tweaking diet and taking meds or probiotics. Because for me, that won’t get you where you want to go. They may help you manage your symptoms, but you will not be free.
Having IBS is embarrassing, painful and depressing
Unfortunately it’s not about how hard you try.
I help smart, courageous IBS sufferers who, like me “had tried everything” and just don’t know what to do next. They have tried tweaking diet, taking meds and different enzymes and supplements, and they are not getting relief.
Their body seems to have a mind of it’s own. And in many ways it does…
Want expert coaching to find the way out of your IBS maze?
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