Information technology: is it good or bad for our health?
We can talk to each other from wherever we are in the world, obtain information about anything at the touch of a button, hold virtual meetings with colleagues, get … Continue reading
The Importance of a Good Ending
This week I left The IBS Network. I had been involved with the charity for 25 years as medical adviser, editor of Gut Reaction, volunteer CEO and chair of trustees. … Continue reading
Escaping from the tyranny of what happened: a message of hope.
Over a hundred years ago, Joseph Breuer and Sigmund Freud wrote that ‘hysterics suffer mainly from reminiscences’. Hysteria, as a medical diagnosis, has gone out of fashion, outlawed by the … Continue reading
Diarrhoea; the stress and meaning of it.
We have all experienced it; an important interview, the fear of being out of control, an unfair accusation, shocking news; they can all trigger an urge to evacuate our bowels. … Continue reading
Nothing in, nothing out: but is there more to constipation?
Doctors tend not to consider IBS a serious condition; that would be a mistake. Although most people seem to cope with the occasional inconvenience of it and live a normal … Continue reading
No, it’s not all in your head, but at least you can do something about that.
If IBS is all is your head, can somebody tell me how dietary fibre cures depression? … Continue reading
The things that happen: childhood trauma and IBS later in life.
Two weeks ago I received a letter from Judith. This led to the following correspondence, which, with her permission, I have reproduced here with just a few minor edits. Over … Continue reading
Hypnotherapy: recruiting the healing potential of the mind.
Hypnosis is an altered state of mind, which captures the imagination and brings about changes in perception and behaviour. We are all susceptible to hypnosis. Brief states of hypnosis may … Continue reading
IBS: How can diarrhoea and constipation coexist in the same illness
This is one of the biggest mysteries of IBS. Alternating diarrhoea and constipation is a well known subset of IBS, but it is not always balanced. Many people with diarrhoea … Continue reading
When it all becomes too much.
Jenny was waiting outside in the street when I arrived, enjoying one last cigarette. Even though we had only communicated by email, I recognised the tragedy etched on her face. … Continue reading
The Sensitive Gut 