And thank you, Terri!

I am 70 years old and was diagnosed with bipolar in my early thirties,
I my case, the psyche meds to do seem to affect the IBS.
I have IBS and am still working on getting the right laxatives and diet for it. i hae been definitely worse for the past 5 years and I'm starting to get discouraged. I hope to see an IBS specialists in 2 months.

Thank you for sharing this, Steph!

Hi, I feel like anxiety and stress are the reason I have flare ups. It doesn’t need to be much to get me going, sometime just a change in my schedule or that I have to be somewhere at a certain time. I take a very small dosage of anti-anxiety medication because I don’t do well with pills. It helps me sleep and keeps my anxiety at an even level. Does it always work, no. Sometimes the flare ups win.

Fortunately, I do not have sustained depression or anxiety requiring medication. I can understand how IBS can cause both and I do find myself heading into those directions sometimes.
I am not giving any medical advice, but I’m listing the methods that have worked for me. Of course, I’ve not experienced devastating or tragic challenges, for which I am thankful, but everyday life throws obstacles in our path that could trigger a barrage of emotions, including anxiety and depression.
The words of my mother (a nurse) resonate with me when I start feeling sorry for myself and could potentially get depressed or dysthymic…”You’re much bigger and better than that. Put yourself beyond it.” It worked for the entire 64 years that I had her with me and now that she is gone, I still hear her. I’m fortunate in that I snap out of it in a short time. I realize that not everyone can do that.
With anxiety, she would get very clinical with me. She would remind me that the physical feeling you get is largely due to an outpouring of adrenaline which we need for fight or flight situations…like when there’s a tiger in the room with you. It’s merely a mechanical function of the body. Sometimes adrenaline gets pumped out without a trigger or too much gets pumped out when you’re faced with a challenge. You will have the “fight or flight” feeling, but there’s no tiger in the room. I do get it sometimes, but I can control this feeling by doing the 4-7-8 breathing exercise for three times. Inhale for a count of 4, hold your breath for the count of 7 then exhale like you’re blowing out a candle to the count of 8. While you’re holding your breath, you put a little pressure on the vagus nerve and carotid arteries in your neck. This causes the pounding heart to slow down a bit. This will be my process until I’m actually in a room with a tiger. Until then, I am asking myself, “Where’s the tiger?”
Again, I’m just relating what works for me and if you already have a slow heartbeat (bradycardia) or any heart condition, this breathing technique may not be for you. Check with your MD before trying it.
We are all wired differently…except for those GI nerves that have a mind of their own. I wish my mother had a quick fix for that! In my case, emotional distress seems more workable without meds than the ills of the GI system.