Discover how healing your gut can improve digestion, reduce anxiety, and support your mental well-being.
What is IBS — and What Does It Feel Like?
IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) affects how your gut functions. It doesn’t cause physical damage to the intestines, but the symptoms are very real and can deeply affect your daily life.
Common symptoms:
- Stomach pain or cramps
- Bloating or gas
- Diarrhea, constipation, or both
- Feeling like you never fully go to the bathroom
People with IBS also often report:
- Anxiety or depression
- Fatigue
- Sleep issues
- Brain fog
The Gut-Brain Connection: What’s Going On?
Your brain and gut constantly communicate through a system called the gut-brain axis. This connection helps explain why IBS often comes with anxiety or stress — and why treating one can help the other.
Key players:
- The vagus nerve: A direct communication highway between brain and gut
- Gut microbiome: Trillions of bacteria that affect digestion, mood, and immunity
- Stress: Can worsen IBS symptoms, and IBS can increase stress — creating a feedback loop
- Gut lining: If the gut becomes “leaky,” inflammation can affect the brain
Fact: Around 70–90% of people with IBS also experience anxiety or depression.
What is Brain-Gut Therapy?
Brain-gut therapy focuses on calming the nervous system and improving how the gut and brain work together. This helps manage both digestive and emotional symptoms.
Examples:
- Gut-directed hypnotherapy: A special kind of relaxation focused on the digestive system
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Helps you reframe thoughts that trigger gut symptoms
- Mindfulness and stress relief: Breathing exercises, yoga, or meditation
Apps like Nerva now offer evidence-based gut-directed hypnotherapy you can do at home.
Foods That Support Gut Health
What you eat directly affects your gut — and your mood.
Gut-friendly foods:
- Fiber-rich foods: Oats, beans, berries, chia seeds, leafy greens
- Fermented foods: Yogurt (with live cultures), kimchi, kefir, sauerkraut
- Prebiotics: Garlic, onions, bananas, leeks, asparagus
- Omega-3s: Salmon, flaxseeds, walnuts
Some IBS-sensitive foods (like garlic or beans) may trigger symptoms. A dietitian can help tailor your plan.
What About the Low FODMAP Diet?
The Low FODMAP Diet is a short-term plan that removes certain carbohydrates that are hard to digest for people with IBS. It’s been shown to:
- Improve bloating, gas, and pain
- Reduce inflammation in the gut lining
- Improve mood and anxiety symptoms
It’s best done under the guidance of a registered dietitian, as it’s quite restrictive.
Manage Stress to Soothe the Gut
Reducing stress helps calm the gut and ease symptoms.
Try:
- Deep breathing (try inhaling for 4 counts, exhaling for 6)
- Meditation apps like Calm or Headspace
- Yoga or light movement
- Journaling or relaxing music
Sleep Better, Feel Better
Poor sleep can increase IBS symptoms — and IBS can disrupt sleep.
Tips for better sleep:
- Stick to a regular sleep schedule
- Avoid screens 1 hour before bed
- Try relaxing bedtime rituals (light stretching, herbal tea, etc.)
Are Probiotics Worth It?
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that may help restore balance in the gut and improve mental health.
They may:
- Reduce bloating and diarrhea
- Improve anxiety and depression symptoms
- Support your immune system
One study found that probiotics improved both IBS symptoms and mood in women with IBS.
Surprising Gut Health Facts You Might Not Know
✅ 90% of serotonin (your mood chemical) is made in your gut
✅ Gut bacteria can influence depression, which can worsen IBS
✅ Your gut sends 8x more messages to your brain than your brain sends back
✅ Gut-directed hypnotherapy is clinically proven and now available via smartphone apps
✅ More people are developing IBS after COVID due to changes in gut bacteria and immune response
Simple Steps to Support Gut & Mental Health
| Step | What to Do |
| ✅ 1 | Track your symptoms and mood daily |
| ✅ 2 | Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your gut symptoms |
| ✅ 3 | Try brain-gut therapy like CBT or gut-directed hypnotherapy |
| ✅ 4 | Eat more gut-friendly foods and fiber |
| ✅ 5 | Manage stress through breathing, meditation, or movement |
| ✅ 6 | Make sleep a priority |
Final Thoughts: Heal the Gut, Calm the Mind
Your gut and your brain are teammates. When one’s out of balance, the other often suffers too.
By eating well, reducing stress, sleeping better, and trying gut-brain therapies, you may be able to ease your IBS symptoms and improve your mental health at the same time.
You don’t have to fix everything at once — start small. Your gut (and your mind) will thank you.
As always, articles are for educational purposes only and not a substitute for consultation with your physician. This does not constitute medical advice.
📚 References & Sources
- Talley, N. et al. (2025). Low FODMAP diet improves colonic permeability and mast cell activation in IBS with diarrhea. University of Michigan Health Lab.
https://medschool.umich.edu/health-lab/low-fodmap-diet-improves-leaky-gut-study - Wastyk, H.C. et al. (2024). Effect of fermented foods on IBS: A systematic review. Nutrients, 16(20), 3515.
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/20/3515 - Wang, Y. et al. (2024). Effects of probiotics on gut-brain symptoms in female IBS patients. Neurogastroenterology & Motility, 36(1).
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nmo.14751 - Rutten, J. et al. (2024). Efficacy of gut-directed hypnotherapy in group vs. individual settings for IBS. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40179285 - University of Michigan (2024). Mediterranean diet improves IBS symptoms in pilot study.
https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-lab/mediterranean-diet-provides-symptom-relief-patients-ibs-pilot-study - Peters, S. et al. (2024). Digital hypnotherapy reduces IBS symptoms significantly. Monash University.
https://www.monash.edu/medicine/news/latest/2024-articles/hypnotherapy-reduces-irritable-bowel-syndrome-symptoms-and-now-theres-an-app-for-that - Drossman, D. et al. (2024). Functional GI disorders increased post-pandemic, especially in long COVID patients. American Gastroenterological Association.
https://gastro.org/news/study-confirms-post-pandemic-surge-in-gut-brain-disorders - Chen, Z. et al. (2024). Causal relationship between gut microbiota, depression, and IBS: Mendelian randomization study.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38801922 - Ibrahim, A. et al. (2024). Effect of long-term low FODMAP diet on anxiety and depression in IBS.
https://www.reddit.com/r/IBSResearch/comments/1mfnpgc - Zhang, Y. et al. (2025). Gut sensory neurons regulate microbiota-immune signaling to the brain. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 22, Article 5009.
https://jneuroinflammation.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12974-025-03500-9
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