Irritable Bowel Syndrome and my cat

For many years I have had symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This is a condition causing episodes of abdominal cramping, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation.  There is no known cause, and no structural abnormality of the bowel is found on investigations.    I also have Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) of which IBS is a commonly associated symptom.

There is some evidence in the medical literature stating that many people with PoTS are often sensitive to gluten, and therefore a gluten free diet is recommended.  So, this is what I did. However, I was never very strict with it because I love bread, therefore I would treat myself every now and then.

Whenever my bowels complained I would blame it on that scone I ate a few days ago or that freshly baked bread, made by my husband, which was too nice to turn down.

I did notice some inconsistencies though because sometimes I would be fine after eating bread and other times not. For example, when I go abroad I love fresh French croissants, which I would eat daily, yet I never had any IBS symptoms whilst away.  My belief at the time was that it must be due to how the wheat is processed abroad, which is better than in the UK.

Having completed SIRPA practitioner training, I wanted to apply what I had learnt on myself.  So, I picked IBS as something to work on.  I did not try too hard or put pressure on myself to get to the cause, but mindfully asked the question “what is this all about?”, knowing full well now that IBS is a Mindbody Syndrome.

Where do you hold stress in your body?

I went on a course recently, and we were asked “where do you hold stress in your body?”.  My initial thought was “good question… I don’t know”.  However, that week my bowels complained and I blamed the homemade scones I had been enjoying that week.  But then I thought, “Hang on a minute, what else is going on in my life at this moment?”  Immediately I realised that it must be related to Patch’s GPS tracker not working.

Patch is my cat who is a real character, becoming rather famous locally, with her own Facebook page and over 100 fans.  She enjoys an adventure, and we regularly receive calls to say “Have you lost your cat?”.  Often this is from people who live a mile or two away from us, having crossed some major roads to get there. That week, because the GPS tracker wasn’t working, I was feeling worried, not knowing if she would come home at night.  This was a real ‘aha’ moment and I realised that my reaction to the wheat had become a distraction from understanding what the real cause was.

So, I got the answer to my question as I realised that I hold stress in my bowels! That night and for the rest of the week I had no discomfort, despite not holding back from eating the bread I enjoy.

The following Friday my bowels started complaining again so I considered what was going on this time and I realised that I was due to teach Pilates teachers the following day.  I thought about how this made me feel, which consciously was excitement. I love teaching and interacting with others in this way and consciously I did not feel stressed or anxious about it.  I then remembered that I had had a similar bowel response on a previous occasion, resulting in a bad night sleep before teaching.

I then had another light bulb moment.  I remembered that when I was a child I was fearful of speaking out in front of people.   I learned that speaking in public = fear. I remembered a couple of incidents and I therefore did some journaling, allowing myself to feel how speaking in public had made me feel as a child.  I also wrote a letter from my adult self to my little self with words of kindness and compassion.  The next time I taught, I had no symptoms!   I find it so interesting how one of my greatest fears as a child has now become one of my strengths.

Next time my stomach complains, instead of wondering what have I eaten, I will definitely be asking what is going on in my life in the moment and what are my current stressors, in order to address them, rather than just assuming that the IBS symptoms are due to what I have eaten.