Millions of IBS sufferers told it’s ‘psychological’ – and can be treated with mental training

IF you have IBS, you might feel it in your belly – but its route causes might be in your mind. That’s the conclusion of a new study which has found that irritable bowel disease is partly psychological and can be dealt with better through mental training than with drugs. Scientists have found that cognitive […]

IF you have IBS, you might feel it in your belly – but its route causes might be in your mind.

That’s the conclusion of a new study which has found that irritable bowel disease is partly psychological and can be dealt with better through mental training than with drugs.

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Scientists have found that cognitive behavioural therpay (CBT) can vastly improve symptoms.

CBT is a talking therapy that aims to teach people how to overcome certain behaviours and ways of thinking.

And sufferers don’t even have to chat face to face – phone and online chats work just as well.

Up to 20 per cent of people have the gut condition, which can cause belly pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea.

Normally, sufferers are given laxatives, medicines to control diarrhea and antispasmodic drugs.

Mind over matter

But a new trial by scientists at Southampton and King’s College London universities suggest that the condition might actually be more of a mental issue – and should be treated as such.

Docs looked at 558 people who had either had a course of CBT or standard medication.

Those who had CBT had their sessions conducted over the phone or online, rather than in person.

Lead researcher Dr Hazel Everitt, from the University of Southampton, said: “The fact that both telephone and web-based CBT sessions were shown to be effective treatments is a really important and exciting discovery.

Help from afar

“Patients are able to undertake these treatments at a time convenient to them, without having to travel to clinics.”

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) currently recommends CBT for patients whose IBS symptoms have persisted for 12 months despite medications and lifestyle advice.

But mental health services are stretched as it is, so there’s a worry that IBS patients come pretty low down the pecking order for therapy.

Gut-brain connection

The scientists say that the priority now should be to make CBT more available to people with IBS.

They’re currently training a group of NHS therapists to deal with IBS cases.

Scientists have been convinced for a while now that there’s a link between the gut and brain.

Harvard Uni says that a troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a troubled brain and send signals to the gut.

When you think of eating something particularly delicious, your stomach starts to release acids in anticipation for digestion – even before you’ve put something in your mouth.

So it stands to reason that dealing with the mind aspect might have some impact on the gut.

Laura Day was one of the IBS patients who took part in the study and she said that it had changed her life.

“I’d had symptoms for as long as I can remember, but was diagnosed officially around the age of 13.

“Now at 31 years old, I barely think about it because I’m symptom-free 98 per cent of the time.”

“I’ve spent my whole life avoiding certain foods, restaurants and situations thinking I was controlling my IBS when I was actually adding fuel to the flame.

“The CBT techniques I learned and the information I was given on this trial gave me real control in a healthy, manageable way.”

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