How the psychologist helps reduce the symptoms of irritable bowel

Gastrointestinal disorders usually pose a real problem for people who suffer from them daily, since they are generally associated with special care with eating habits and diet daily.

Irritable bowel syndrome is one of the most frequent alterations of this type, since approximately 20% of the Western population suffers from it. However, it is a problem that usually presents with mild symptoms and can even be treated from the field of psychology.

In this sense, here you will see the ways in which a psychology professional helps reduce the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

• Related article: "What is anxiety: how to recognize it and what to do"

Irritable bowel syndrome and its link to anxiety

Irritable bowel syndrome or irritable bowel is a chronic type disorder that affects thousands of people in our country and that significantly conditions their level of life in various aspects, including their daily diet and their tendency to avoid certain stressors.

This alteration affects the large intestine of the person and is related to an excessive sensitization of the nerves responsible for normal intestinal contractions that help push food through the tract digestive.

In people with irritable bowel, the inside wall of your large intestine reacts excessively and abnormally to mild stimuli such as dairy products or emotional stress, which triggers a series of spasms that cause in turn colic-type pain and in other cases problems of diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, swelling or constipation.

In most people, this phenomenon has mild symptoms and is mainly related to stress or high levels of anxiety they may have at any given time, an aspect of the disorder in which psychologists can to intervene.

• You may be interested: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"

How can a psychologist help us reduce the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome?

For several years, in the field of psychology, cases of irritable bowel have been successfully treated, an affectation that has a very particular emotional component, related to the appearance of cases of anxiety or stress in the person who rapidly affect the functioning of the digestive system both immediately and in the long term.

Both psychological research and research in the field of health and medicine have established that irritable bowel syndrome can be composed, in its psychological aspect, of emotional factors, cognitive or behavioral, in addition to the aforementioned physical symptoms of all kinds and stomach pain.

To successfully address and overcome all these factors, especially those of an emotional nature, is now increasingly common in those with irritable bowel go to a psychology professional and go through a process of psychological therapy to treat stress and anxiety management.

• Related article: "Digestive system: anatomy, parts and function"

What techniques and therapies are used?

The therapies that have been most effective in reducing the symptoms of anxiety and stress have been those of the cognitive-behavioral current, one of the most used by psychology professionals. Through this type of intervention, psychologists can help people modify their behavior patterns. behavior and how you manage your beliefs and thoughts to better adapt to the difficulties of the day a day.

Secondly, Mindfulness and clinical hypnosis They have also shown a significant level of efficacy as support resources for the treatment of anxiety problems.

In cases of irritable colon, the psychologist's job is to intervene in the anxiety or depression problems that the person may have and also in any other emotional alteration, discomfort, fear or anguish associated with this syndrome, either because they are causes or because they are consequences (or both at the time).

This can be achieved by equipping the person with useful cognitive strategies that allow them to reduce their levels of anxiety, stress or worry. For example, training more positive thought models that help her overcome her discomfort and steer her away from mental states that are likely to cause cramps or abdominal pain.