Depressive feelings due to flare-up?
Hello everyone, recently I had a sudden flare-up with heart burn, nausea and diarrhea. What I noticed was that a sudden wave of sadness and anxiety came with it.
I know anxiety is a common topic when it comes to IBS, but I haven't heard anyone mentioning any depressive feelings. And I mean it's not just sadness, or crying about it (I don't have any urge to do so) it's more as if a heavy rock is sitting on my chest (just metaphorically) and I feel really exhausted/unmotivated...
Does anyone else feel the same? Is that something common?
Thank you for sharing. I hope others chime in and share their personal experiences with you. Depression and anxiety are certainly tied to IBS and flares. I'd encourage you to speak with your doctor about any new, changing or concerning symptoms, if you haven't already. In addition to speaking with your doctor, this article may be helpful to you: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/depression-connection. Wishing you some relief ahead. Best, Kelly, Irritablebowelsyndrome.net Team Member I am sorry you have had a horrible flare up and felt so down with it. I think it's probably quite natural that we feel emotional pain too when the body is feeling awful. There simply isn't any available energy for a happy mood...to laugh, have any fun, watch a comedy show, play with the kids...all those things. When I have a flare up I feel pretty low too, and often it makes me cry. I have tried to raise up my mood and thoughts and can sometimes do it a tiny bit (gratitude thoughts, appreciation of the beauty of nature, wildlife where I live, beautiful landscapes etc) But it's hard when fighting with a sick-feeling body.
And yes, a flare will always cause a sensation of anxiety. By about the third time I get off the toilet, I am literally shaking all over. Part of that is weakness and exhaustion, but part of it is an anxiety reaction brought about not by worry, but by how my body is feeling.
Also, I think that sometimes it's possible that the hormone serotonin (the 'feel-good' hormone) can get a bit messed up. Too much serotonin in the gut can cause nausea, diarrhea, etc. So if serotonin is responsible for our good moods, and it's out of balance in some way, a mental/emotional effect makes sense too.
Do you have a sympathetic doctor you can chat with about how you feel, who might be able to help?
First of all thank you for your elaborate message 😀 And now to your question: My doctor is fine but he thinks IBS isn't as bad as for example Crohn's disease or other IBD's. So I can't really talk about it that much, but I feel like that is an issue in my country (or maybe just in my city.. i don't know...) and not just the doctors fault. Where I live IBS is quite widespread but it is handled as if it is easy to manage. That's why you're often not taken seriously... Still thank you for your comment 😀 I know what you mean about not being taken seriously by doctors. You're not aline.
from my personal experience living with IBS for over 20 years I can tell you depression is a much more common byproduct of IBS symptoms than most people think. Also, for many individuals (even those without IBS) anxiety and depression go hand in hand. It’s what I like to call the “viscous cycle” of IBS and it can be very hard to understand and be aware of when you’re stuck in the middle of it. Due to the unexpected nature of many IBS flare-ups, especially with IBS-D, we generally feel a looming sense of anxiety. The more we think about having a flare-up, the more our anxiety increases. The more our anxiety increases, the more flare-ups we experience. The more flare ups we experience, the more depressed we feel. Then you go to bed, sleep (although it’s often difficult to get a good nights sleep with anxiety), wake up and start it all over again the next day feeling already physically and mentally exhausted from the day before. That is the viscous cycle of IBS. You are definitely not alone in these feelings.
I know the exact feeling you are experiencing (like a heavy rock is sitting on your chest) because I have experienced it many, many times myself with a combination of anxiety and depression. I also like to use the metaphor of treading water in an open ocean to help people understand the feeling of IBS induced depression. It feels as if you are in the middle of the ocean miles away from any land in site and your only hope of survival is to tread water for as long as you can with your arms tied behind your back while you wait for someone to rescue you. Your head is bobbing in and out of the water, your legs feel exhausted, and your motivation to continue moving your legs back and forth slowly fades. I mention this example to help you understand that many people with IBS also suffer from depression, but it’s entirely up to you to pull yourself out of it (and you certainly can no matter what your depression is telling you right now). When you are in the middle of a depressive state this can be REALLY difficult. I have dealt with depression for various lengths of time on and off for the past 20 years. I have tried numerous antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications, but in the end they all essentially just acted as bandaids that just covered up the root of the problem.
What truly has helped me get control of my depression, especially over the past year, was a combination of reading various books that teach you about how your brain works (as well as the gut-brain connection), and talking regularly to a psychologist. If your primary doctor wants to put you on antidepressants before they suggest you see a psychologist, it’s time to look for a new doctor. The key is to figure out the root of the problem for you as an individual, and psychologist are the best equipped medical professionals to help you figure things out. Your thoughts (which usually run rampant due to anxiety from IBS) have a very strong connection to your body’s physical and emotional reactions.
Some of the books I would suggest you check out that I have found helpful in my own personal journey with mental health over the past year are:
1. The Molecule of More
2. Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope
3. Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, & Endorphin Levels
4. The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living: A Guide to ACT
Understanding how your brain works and what chemicals are released in different situations can be a huge help in understanding anxiety and depression, and the last book gave me a very different perspective on how I view my thoughts. Take your time reading the last book, and actually complete all of the exercises. Coupled with meditation and therapy, these books will hopefully help provide some much needed relief you have been looking for.
I hope this all helps, but understand that you are not alone in your feelings. There is a whole community of IBS sufferers, including myself, that share your pain.Thank you for your comment! I could see myself in the words that you have written. Especially that vicious cycle that you've mentioned and that metaphor does explain our feelings very well. I do take antidepressants and to me it feels a bit like a bandaid but also helps with my IBS to a certain degree, so I feel like it helps pretty well, but also doesn't take my symptoms away, they're just a bit more mild now and then. Oh, I'm really curious about the gut-brain connection so thank you for your recommendations! I will look through them and see which one I want to read first 😀 I really appreciated your message and it gave me some relief 😀 Your description and advice about IBS is very good. IBS is a demon which evolves from the "brain in your stomach". I'm 71 yo, and have posted my comments elsewhere on this forum some months ago. My "IBS" started circa 1982 when my wife was pregnant with our first child. It came Out of The Blue as all Mental/Nervous issues always do. I was running at the time to get into better shape and lose some weight. Suddenly, one day, I started to experience heart Blips.... my heart would Pause, skip a beat, then beat rapidly. Scared the Crap out of me. I am of European descent but my general daily diet was not best. After a few doctor visits, and he ordering a GI Series (this is B4 MRIs or CT Scans), where you drink barium and a series of Xrays are taken to watch the barium go thru the digestion system. All was Negative. When I asked the doctor what was the problem (at age 31) he responded : "Aren't you the fellow who is buying a house?...I responded no, my wife is pregnant.....😮h That's Your Problem" was the doctor's comments. In other words...Nerves!! You have a nervous stomach. My background as a child includes some traumas. My mother committed suicide after many years of mental breakdowns and Depression! Anxiety and Depression is a Double Edged Sword!
Today, society has learned much about IBS and more IBS related afflictions. The Mind - Body Connection is a very Strong One. I have not read the books that Justin mentions here, and I hope to. I would volunteer a few more : Vagus Nerve Healing ( Paul Coogan), The Mindbody Prescription (Dr. John Sarno who has written a few about this topic after years as a renowned Orthopedic / Spine Surgeon at NYU Langone); and The Body Keeps the Score (Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk). "Science" has begun o focus on the Microbiome affects to the Body and Brain. The gut has a brain. That Gut Brain is affecting the Parasympathetic Nervous System. The Vagus Nerve, the 10th Cranial nerve, the largest in the Body affects all your vital organs: Heart, Lungs, Stomach, Kidneys, Liver, even your Diaphraghm (Breathing). I'll leave with these learned "therapies" : Herbal supplementation does help. I have a multitude of Spinal Issues (which I depicted on other posts) which include Lumbar and Cervical Stenosis, Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD), Disc Bulges in a number of locations, and Dextroscoliosis of 25 degrees (one Spinal surgeon told me that many Doctors Discount scoliosis which affects the nerves that traverse thru the Spinal canal / Spnal cord). So, you can see, IBS and the associated afflictions is acomplicated topic. Is it a Disease of current society? You Betcha!! That's the scary thing about the MIND. The world's Super Computer. Everything felt, seen, smelled, etc. is Logged in the Computer banks and comes out when IT deems necessary. Sorry for being too dramatic .
The Supplements that help me (not cure me but help) : Spirulina, Peppermint oil (IBGuard), Turmeric, Boswellia, Ginger, Cinnamon, and a number of others to help combat tension and anxiety.
I think I also feel something like depression with my IBS. I have never literally suffered from depression as an illness, and was never inclined to it really in the past.
But sometimes I can feel something the IBS brings on...like a dark cloud is hanging over my life. That's the best way to describe it. I might even dream something ominous or anxious, and when I wake up my gut isn't right. So it can be there even before I open my eyes in the morning.
But when my gut goes through a 'normal' phase I never feel that!One effect has been that I now find it harder to tolerate gloomy dark rainy weather, and I think there's a psychological reason. It never used to bother me because I had my anchor in the way I felt about life internally. But IBS shifted my anchor, and now when it's gloomy it makes me worse, or even can sometimes upset my gut a bit!
I keep telling myself how silly I am and to snap out of it, and try to cheer myself up but this is all taking place on a visceral level rather than an everyday thinking level.
