# IBS, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Complex PTSD...



## RailFan

Well, here goes. At the risk of posting about something that's already been covered, I'm going for broke. I searched, but couldn't find anything similar.

As my headline indicates, I'm dealing with all of the above. I have IBS-C that continues to be unresponsive to treatment of any kind. (I'm trying Linzess tomorrow morning.) I've had a recurrence of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and now have recently been diagnosed with Complex PTSD.

Here's the background. I've had IBS-C all my life, but didn't know it until it was first diagnosed in 1989. At that point, it was just an inconvenience. Then, it became intermittently active and more noticeable. 1992 was a bad year for the IBS. Then, I was bad again in 1995. Bad again in 1997. Then, in 2003, it became severe, and has been severe ever since. Also, in 2003, I developed Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I was put on Effexor XR for six months. It helped the immediate anxiety symptoms (e.g., tingling sensations, sudden shooting pains, etc.), but made my constipation much worse than it already was. My work situations at the time were horrific, in terms of stress level and being overextended, so that definitely factored into everything.

Now, here we are in 2013, and I'm now into probably my third or fourth recurrence of GAD. The IBS-C is worse than severe. About a year or so ago, I was diagnosed with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress. The GAD and C-PTSD are a direct result of being stuck in an abusive, hostile, horrific work environment for over six years. Last June, I was finally able to quit the job causing the problems. Took a huge pay cut to take another job in town. Started the new job in mid-June, only to get fired in early July, for political reasons. I am now over six months unemployed, my regular unemployment benefits ran out last week, and I am in limbo for at least another two weeks before I hear whether or not I'll be receiving extended benefits.

Needless to say, all these uproars have made everything worse, in terms of health and symptoms. My IBS is worse than ever, my anxiety is worse, and my PTSD is off the charts. Today is a bad PTSD day. Not only do I deal with triggers associated with the job I left, but now I deal with triggers associated with my firing from the new job. Add in the financial woes, and it makes for a real mess.

Here's my question to the forum. Has anyone dealt with anything like this? The PTSD, in particular? I'm working with both a therapist and a psychiatrist, but it's not helping a whole lot. My biggest physical problem is the relentless constipation, which causes all sorts of other problems, just by itself. My biggest psychological problem is the extreme, all-consuming rage that I experience because of all that's happened to me. My jobs, career, and livelihood were taken away from me, and I am very bitter and angry about it. I think I have every right to be angry, since I did nothing to deserve either fate, but people on the outside will often tell me I have to just "get over it". That, of course, makes me even madder.

I'm getting off the track. The psychological issues fuel the gut problems, which, in turn, fuel the psychological problems, and then I get stuck in the vicious circle. In addition to asking if anyone's dealt with these types of issues before, I would also ask this question: what do I do with all this anger? It's justifiable anger, because of the injustices involved. (I was "constructively discharged" from the original job, in that I was harassed and bullied until I got sick, and was then hassled for being sick. Then, I was told outright that I should quit. And on it went... until I finally did quit. Then, I got fired from my new job.) All the same, I know this anger is totally killing my health. My therapist and psychiatrist both are frustrated; they feel they've hit that brick wall, and don't know what to do for me.

Treating the IBS hasn't worked. Treating the anxiety and PTSD hasn't worked. So, what's left? What do I do with all this anger? How do I deal with well-meaning outsiders who tell me I ought to just "get over it" and "move on"? They haven't been through what I've been through, so how can they pass judgment like this?

I'm hoping for some suggestions and advice. Thanks for listening.


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## healingforward

I can definitely relate. I was fired after being bullied for two years. It was also a pretty hostile place with a lot of bullies. I refused to quit and at the very large company I worked for I had provided enough evidence for an investigation. And my boss did get written up. I refused to quit as I wanted to have unemployment. As a working mom with a young child and a terrible commute I just didn't have time to find another job. My industry is really tough and in this economic climate it is almost unbearable. I think your anger is very healthy, actually. I have experienced a lot of anxiety. I've been in therapy a lot, but I've been working with a new therapist for the past year and it has taken that long for me to realize that my mother is a Narcissist and not only did I suffer from my mentally ill father's emotional abuse but hers as well. I have been targeted by bullies my whole life. And now I understand why.

My IBS is much better than it was in the summer. I've been freelancing and having a lot of problems controlling my IBS at new workplaces. I'm always getting evaluated and scrutinized and these tend to be high pressure situations. I've been at my current gig for about a month and my anxiety and IBS are frustratingly difficult to deal with. I have gas, so it causes everyone problems, plus having to go the bathroom all the time. I feel your pain. It is so frustrating. Any time I feel any kind of anxiety about anything, which is a lot of the time, I start having problems.

So far what has helped is cutting out dairy. But that pretty much just means it doesn't smell as bad. Exercise. Taking Metamucil. And then I started listening to hypnotherapy for IBS. I was able to get rid of my nightmares that way, so I tried it for IBS and it worked. The problem is just finding enough time to do it everyday in my crazy busy schedule. I'm definitely not rid of the problem, or I wouldn't be here.

I totally understand the work anxiety. I always can't tell if people are saying stuff or if I'm just imagining that people are saying stuff.


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## RailFan

Thanks so much for replying, Healingforward. Interesting that you mention having your workplace investigated. I have done the same thing. I spent years complaining in-house at "Job #1", with minimal results, at best. Once HR got in on the act, though, as well as management at large, I had no further recourse. I'd had stellar performance evaluations every year since 2006. That is, until 2011, when I was completely ripped to shreds. All lies and misrepresentations of my own words. Interesting that you mentioned a Narcissist. I had to deal with one at Job #1, and this individual played a key role in my horrific 2011 eval. Anyway, having exhausted all means of complaining in-house, I contacted the EEOC. That turned out to be a complete waste of time, so I filed a complaint with the state's Human Rights Commission. Actually ended up filing two complaints, because so much stuff was happening. The investigation is complete, and my complaints are now headed to a Commissioner for a ruling. I'm bracing for the worst. Where I live, bad behavior is rewarded. Very much so.

Thanks, also, for the suggestions on things to try. Can you tell me more about the hypnotherapy you use? I have nightmares, as well. Many of my dreams/nightmares involve situations where I am immersed in a trigger-filled environment, I have no control over the environment, and I can't escape. Just had one of those dreams last night.


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## healingforward

For the IBS, I used Anne Morrison's "Manage Your IBS" audio book from Itunes. There are some others, but I choose someone whose voice does not annoy me. For the nightmares, I used Rachael Meddows, "Control Your Dreams: Lucid Dreaming Guided Meditation for Beginners" and Anna Thompson's "Lucid Dreaming Hypnosis". They are on Itunes.

I was planning a lawsuit in my case, but it was just too hard to prove and I was just too spent from the series of traumas I had been through. I had a combination of anger, depression, and anxiety. The anger has gone away. It took about a year for the anger to subside and another year for the depression. The anxiety is still an issue for me, obviously.

I don't know much about your therapists, but if they aren't helping I recommend finding new ones if you can. I liked my last therapist, but her focus on CBT was not going deep enough. When you start having a lot of uncontrollable symptoms like IBS, I think the problem is fairly subconscious. That has been what my current therapist has really helped me with. My last T would try to help me with meditation, but I just had a hard time having much impact from it. I couldn't calm down enough. When I do the hypnosis, it is like meditation in that I don't really get hypnotized, but the messages they send seem to have an impact on my subconscious. I think I grew up in such a negative environment with so many negative messages sent my way, that I really need someone else to actually come up with the positive thoughts for me. I also think what has really helped me is that my current therapist has a very good understanding of personality disorders. Unfortunately I've had to pay for her with my PPO as she won't take insurance. It has cost more, but I'm finally finding the benefits.

I've spent a lot of time here lately: http://www.daughtersofnarcissisticmothers.com/ If you're on Facebook, you might try After-Narcissistic-Abuse-There-is-Light-Life-Love. I'm finding recovering from Narcissistic abuse involves really understanding what it is. What is projection, invalidation, triangulation, etc. Here's a link to a list of some of the behaviors. http://www.outofthefog.net/CommonBehaviors/Top100Traits.html I'm finding that understanding Narcissistic behavior, understanding why I am a target (because I was a scapegoat as a child and I still send off doormat messages) has made me feel that I am capable of having more control of my life and keeping myself from being a target. If it happens again, I will do whatever I can to get out, even if it's a low paying job in the wrong field.


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## shejests

healingforward said:


> For the IBS, I used Anne Morrison's "Manage Your IBS" audio book from Itunes. There are some others, but I choose someone whose voice does not annoy me. For the nightmares, I used Rachael Meddows, "Control Your Dreams: Lucid Dreaming Guided Meditation for Beginners" and Anna Thompson's "Lucid Dreaming Hypnosis". They are on Itunes.


Wow, thanks for all of your recommendations, healingfoward! I have found a lot of benefit from audio hypnosis for anxiety but had never really seriously thought it could help my IBS. Now I am starting to wonder more about the connection my IBS had with my childhood (a few mildly traumatic experiences, and not exactly child abuse but a lack of control over my own body {I was spanked, I was not allowed much control over myself etc} and lack of trust in my parents because of their behaviour which can be collectively traumatic although there isn't a big traumatic event ) and I think that hypnosis and its relationship with the sub-conscious might really help my IBS...
In case anyone is interested, the hypnosis that I've found helpful is on a site called Uncommon Knowledge.


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