A quick trick when you’re feeling tense with IBS

The IBS Interrupt™ Perspective: This post explores how fighting tension keeps your body trapped in a tight loop—and how a quick physical shift can offer a moment of light relief.
The Shift: By leaning into the tension, you can instantly feel the “tension interrupt”, and the tight patterns lighten.
The Hidden Connection: When you’re worked up, forcing yourself to “just relax” often backfires, keeping your nervous system frustrated and maintaining gut reactivity.
Key Takeaway: Moving beyond temporary quick fixes to safely reverse your IBS triggers is the core of my 3-step IBS Interrupt™ Process.

A quick trick when you’re feeling tense with IBS

It’s easy to feel tense with IBS symptoms to contend with! So I thought I would share this quick trick with you if you’re feeling tense, and don’t know how to shake it off.

Feeling tense with IBS? Here’s what you can do

We can all work ourselves up into a funk. We get anxious, worked up, and sometimes none of the usual techniques, such as deep breathing, soothing music, switching off the news, or try trying to distract yourself, do any good.

When you’re feeling tense, this quick technique actually accompanies what you’re feeling – rather than trying to fight it.

Read this through first, so you know what’s involved – and then we’ll put it into action:

Stand up in front of a chair(or couch), and get ready to tighten up all the muscles in your body, from head to toe: 

• First, tighten the muscles in your face as much as you possibly can. Clench your teeth together, wrinkle your nose, squeeze your eyelids nearly shut;

• Next, tighten up your shoulders, pull in and contract your elbows;

• Squeeze your hands into a tight fist;

• Consciously pull in and tighten up your stomach;

• Squeeze your backside;

• Tense the muscles in your feet and legs up as much as you possibly can;

SQUEEZE ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING, and hold for the count of 5!

Then release everything, sigh loudly and drop onto the chair (or couch).

Ready, steady, go!

When you’re feeling tense you may not FEEL like doing this, but give it a try and see what it can do for you:)

(Just reading this won’t give you any relief. You have to actually do it…)

When I say “go”, do all this at once, or in really quick succession. You want all your body to be as tensed up as possible. And hold it for a count of 5.

Ready?

GO!

SQUEEZE EVERYTHING and hold it for 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5!

Now let out a HUGE sigh of relief as you release everything, and flop down onto a chair:)

An Optional Extra

It has been proved that humour is good for your health.

So to finish off, tighten up all the muscles in your face as much as you can…

And then look in the mirror. Just for a giggle!

You could even take a nice selfie and post it on our FB page!

If you got some light relief from that quick tip, give me a heart!