Mindfulness for IBS

[howarddavies]

I'm tentatively starting to try doing some Mindfulness, but I'm sceptical about how it can help someone with IBS. Has anyone else tried it & if so, how effective was it for you?

[Hidden]

What do you mean by mindfulness for ibs?

[Bungiecat]

I do it all the time I have been going to a relaxation class once a week it is actually to help me cope with my mother’s cancer diagnosis but also helps with my IBS Gail

[DemonEyes]

I try relaxing breathing exercises when I'm feeling overwhelmed because of a flare up. Staying clam does help me cope better overall - relaxing means I get less cramps because I'm not tensing as many muscles, but it doesn't really make any of the other symptoms go away.

[AmandaJW]

I've been doing yoga since August, I can't believe how much it has helped. You might need to try a few different things to see what works for you, before yoga I tried meditating listening to music and following instructions on how to breathe and what to imagine but I didn't like it and used to get stressed out listening to it so I gave up on it.

[Hidden]

I read an interesting article recently that said a GP surgery ran a mindfulness course and experienced great results across a wide range of ailments. When the course finished, the surgery ran a gardening course and the improvement in various ailments was exactly the same. The difference was that once the gardening course was finished the patients continued to practice whereas within a very short period of time none of them were still practicing mindfulness. The conclusion of the article was that any activity you could "lose" yourself in would be beneficial and that something like gardening brought added benefits as there was a tangible result at the end - your home grown veggies to eat, you beautiful flower bed to look at!