Gut-brain connection
Stress, anxiety, sleep and the gut-brain axis, explained with the research behind it.
Gut-brain connectionDoes Lack of Sleep Make IBS Worse? The Evidence
Yes, for many people. In four diary studies a worse night predicted worse IBS symptoms the next day, more clearly for pain than for diarrhea. Here is why.
33 min read
Gut-brain connectionIBS and Depression: The Link and What Helps
About 1 in 4 people with IBS has depression, and the link runs both ways. What causes what, why doctors prescribe antidepressants for IBS, and what helps.
31 min read
Gut-brain connectionIBS and Health Anxiety: Breaking the Checking Loop
IBS symptoms overlap the cancer checklist, so health anxiety finds easy fuel. Why clear tests stop reassuring, what the cancer data says, and what helps.
37 min read
Gut-brain connectionCan Stress and Anxiety Cause a Crohn's Flare-Up?
Stress can trigger a Crohn's flare-up of symptoms within hours, but evidence it starts new inflammation is mixed, and it does not cause Crohn's. How to tell.
29 min read
Gut-brain connectionCan Stress Cause an IBS Flare Up? Stress and IBS
Yes, stress can cause an IBS flare up within hours by speeding the colon and lowering pain thresholds. Stress-induced IBS symptoms, how long they last, what helps.
33 min read
Gut-brain connectionDating With IBS: Disclosure, Dates, Intimacy
Dating with IBS is mostly a disclosure problem, not a symptom problem. What the stigma, intimacy and treatment research says, and how to plan dates around it.
31 min read
Gut-brain connectionDoes Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy Work for IBS?
Gut-directed hypnotherapy helps a real minority of people with IBS. The trials, the response rates, and why the 70 to 80% figure everyone quotes is misread.
28 min read
Gut-brain connectionIBS Accommodations at Work: How to Ask
How to ask for IBS accommodations at work: what the law actually covers, what to put in the request, what your doctor's note should say, and what to do if it is refused.
35 min read
Gut-brain connectionIBS Anxiety About Leaving the House: How to Cope
Fear of leaving home with IBS is avoidance, and avoidance is the thing IBS therapy research targets first. What the evidence says, and how to widen your range.
31 min read
Gut-brain connectionIBS in College: Accommodations and Dorm Life
IBS in college is mostly a logistics problem, not a willpower one. The accommodations you can request, the law behind them, and what the evidence supports.
37 min read
Gut-brain connectionWhy Does My IBS Go Away on Vacation?
IBS often quietens on holiday and returns within hours of getting home. The speed of that return rules out most food theories. Here is what the evidence supports.
29 min read