The power of music

[Apop]

I have ibs(d). Just discovered what a calming effect listening to music has during a bout on the loo (in my case 60s songs). I found it reduced time spent there and the number of times I have to go. I hope this will help others.

[Sparrow58]

I take my tablet and play a game I find it detracts me from what's happening , I then find I relax more.

[Luisa22]

I love music, but for some reason associate it with things. When I have the awful loo dramas I am fairly inconsolable and just kind of soldier through it and don't want to have the memory of feeling unwell associated with the music. But sometimes I have tried to distract myself by listening to some nice classical which I love, usually after my loo issues get a bit calmer.

I usually take some newspaper or magazine and read all the gossip etc while trying to hold as steady as possible on the toilet! None of it really means a thing to me as I'm shaking all over and shivering, but it's an attempt at distraction and finding a link to normality.

[Apop in reply to Luisa22]

In my experience listening to music doesn't lead to negative associations but positive ones because it makes me feel so much better . It might not work for everyone but I think some form of distraction whatever it is, could be beneficial for ibs sufferers.

[Luisa22 in reply to Apop]

I think you're right about distraction. Whatever we can do to distract ourselves does help. I often do some light gardening, just pulling weeds etc which definitely helps me, and just in case...there's a toilet about 20 steps away! Next to my back door. But once I had a bad tummy and decided to climb up and saw off a dead branch from an overhanging tree. I was concentrating so hard and didn't want to fall, and wow, my tummy felt better and so did I in myself after I'd done that.

I'm not saying everyone should climb trees!

But whatever helps us and takes the mind off it is a good thing.

I often do a word puzzle when on the toilet. The one where you have to find a list of words in a grid. That's helpful for me too.