My IBS Team Sheet – Are you breathing correctly? (How it helps my IBS and anxiety)

[MountainHare1]

You may be thinking that this is a bit of dumb post as we breath every day of our lives! True! But there is always a 'but'! Are you breathing correctly?

First of all, I want to acknowledge that there will be people, like myself who have some form of IBS who have breathing difficulties due to some other health issue and that may not be able to breath in the normally through their nose and mouth. I hope that they have been advised by their GP on how best to manage their breathing properly.

As I have mentioned in my last post about Anxiety, I have struggled with a number of different forms of anxiety for a while now. However, totally by accident I came across a book on 'Breathing', thanks to my wife who is a librarian in a local library. From what I have read so far it appears that a lot of us humans are breathing incorrectly by breathing through our mouths and not through our noses, as it is leading to breathing problems later in life such as sleep apnea for example. It appears that key is to breath 'in' and 'out' through your nose if you want to become healthier and also manage your IBS.

How breathing helps my anxiety…

…simply, when I start to feel any kind of anxiety, I focus on taking slow, deep breaths in and out through my nose and after less than 30 seconds I begin to feel calmer and I am no longer anxious! The good news also is that I tend not to get nausea in the process which is an added bonus.

After I have read the whole book, I will share my findings with our IBS group. I am confident it will transform my life and it could transform yours!

Breathing exercises – what you could do!

In the mean time why not spend some time researching into how doing some breathing exercise could help you manage your anxiety that will in turn calm your IBS flare up!

Remember you will never be able to get rid of your anxiety completely as it is part of the human condition. However you can stop anxiety in its tracks by slow, deep breaths until you feel calmer which shouldn't take long!

Keep breathing…correctly!!

Take care. x

[Dolly38]

Dear Mountain Hare,I too have the book. It's not actually the easiest book in the world to acquaint oneself with. I'm gradually working through it. If only IBS was just about anxiety.

I was diagnosed after 30 years or more of being told my anxiety was the cause of my IBS until a wonderful locum GP said let's test you for coeliac and hey presto result off the scale. However, when saw consultant he said right iliac fossa pain was nothing to do with coeliac or IBS......it's a long boring story but I'm managing as one needs to.

Warmest regards Dolly

[MountainHare1 in reply to Dolly38]

Dear Dolly38 I so hear what you are saying. I think it is very much about trying to best manage IBS flare ups when they happen. It isn’t always easy but it is possible. Take care.x

[dordle]

Thank you so much for your interesting post. I have dreadful anxiety over anything medical, which in turn upsets my IBS. I have two days of tests (MRI, CT scan and LFT) up at the Royal Free in February and am already anxious! I shall be following your breathing instructions 😀

[MountainHare1 in reply to dordle]

Thank you so much for your feedback. Already in only two days my anxiety has decreased enormously simply by breathing in and out through my nose. I had to go to the dentist this morning and normally l would feel quite anxious before hand as l had a really bad experience last time l went. I focused on my breathing before the appointment and felt really calm and almost felt confident in going to the appointment. I continued to breathe through my nose whilst my mouth was being inspected and l still felt reasonably calm.

I think it is often the uncertainty of an upcoming event that makes us anxious but all l know focussing on breathing through my nose in a slow and deliberate way is helping me enormously to stay calm and anxious free.

Take care. x

[Ambazac]

I find mindfulness breathing helps when I have a windy tummy! Concentrate on a pleasant memory place m hand lightly on my tummy then breath in to count if through my nose hold for a couple of seconds then exhale through my mouth to count of 10.Gradually I feel relaxed and can feel the wind start to move