# Eric, Another Question or 2 on Anxiety



## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Ok, one more time........







Could you go thru the chain of events one more time? Or _is_ there a chain of events? When, exactly, is the anxiety fight/flight mechanism engaged in us? Like what happens first (does a stressful event take place? or, is it about to? Or do emotions, like lets say fear, come to into play 1st, or our thinking etc.) And, how, or does, that response differ from Non-IBS'ers? Also, let's say I'm experiencing a known trigger, like heat, is that anxiety engaged because I experienced that heat? Am I having that anxiety kick in as well as D or pain? Or am I having D or pain _because_ that anxiety kicked in?I know, for myself that I can have anxiety kick in, that I'm aware of, once I already have the pain. But I wondered is that anxiety thing kicking in independently of stress, thinking or emotions?Thanks







BQ


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## AZmom1 (Dec 6, 1999)

BQ,I hope you don't mind if I respond here.







The fight or flight response may be triggered by a thought. Let's say that over time, we have D attacks when it is hot outside. We make a connection in our mind, whether accurate or not, that the heat has caused this IBS attack. Eventually your subconscious thinks heat=IBS, ok, I know what to do here, and as expected, IBS kicks in. So we have to override these old thought patterns. It is difficult to do with conscious effort. The conscious is the critical part of mind, and does not believe the things we say to ourselves. That is why hypnosis is more effective, it changes subconscious thought patterns, using the language of the subconscious, imagery and metaphor. Hypnosis bypasses the critical conscious mind, and suggestions are accepted. However, the job of the subconscious is to keep us safe, and thinks that what you want is IBS symptoms. This is where those mind armies kick in. Try to stop those conscious thoughts of IBS when you have them. Notice if you say, "It's hot today, I wonder if I'll have an IBS attack." Stop those thoughts as soon as you notice them, and replace them with Mike's imagery. Think and picture instead "No, the Starflakes cause my digestive tract to relax and my wheel of comfort is properly adjusted, and the river is moving gently..." or whatever works for you. You have to keep at it, use the imagery, stop those old thoughts, and replace them.AZ


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Ok AZ, I think I got it. So it is critically important to nip these kinds of thoughts in the bud. To immediately replace them with the imagery or "calming gut positive speak". Thus avoiding the "IBS response" and using the new neural pathways developed by the hypno instead; which trigger a "Non-IBS" response. Positive breeds positive/Negative breeds negative.AZ







respond anytime!! Remind me anytime







Thanks! BQ[This message has been edited by BQ (edited 09-01-2001).]


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## AZmom1 (Dec 6, 1999)

BQ,Remember, you're trying to replace the old thought patterns with the new ones from Mike's tapes. The mind armies try to infiltrate and make their way back in, bringing along the old thought patterns. This is why it is important to stop them, replace them, and allow the new thought patterns to take hold.I think you've got it.







AZ


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

BQ, it is a complicated matter, but here is some info.This is the full text to read. http://www.medscape.com/medscape/cno/2001/...m?story_id=2277 "Possible Mechanisms Several studies presented during this meeting offered insights into possible mechanisms by which psychological distress may affect a patient's illness and behavior. Britta Dikhaus and colleagues[5] from UCLA reported on a crossover study examining the effect of (auditory-induced) psychological stress on perceptual sensitivity and emotional responses to rectal balloon distention in diarrhea-predominant IBS patients and healthy controls. Induced psychological stress was found to be associated with increased visceral sensitivity and stronger emotional response in the IBS group, but not in the controls. Lloyd Gregory and coworkers[6] from the United Kingdom reported the results of a study in which functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to identify changes in brain activation in response to simultaneous presentation of visceral (ie, esophageal) and visual stimuli. When patients were asked to selectively concentrate on the visceral stimuli, there was greater cerebral activation in specific brain regions compared with cerebral activation during selective attention to visual stimuli. These investigators concluded that conscious selective attention to visceral stimuli recruits more neural resources, which then led to greater brain activation than visceral sensation during nonvisceral selective attention. They suggested that exaggeration of this phenomenon may form the basis for the hypervigilance to visceral sensation that is observed in patients with FGIDs. Regardless of the mechanisms by which psychosocial factors relate to the diagnosis of IBS, their high prevalence and effect on patient status, illness severity, and outcome[7,8] provides the rationale for using treatments directed towards central mechanisms for management of IBS and other FGIDs."This is an important part of that quote."These investigators concluded that conscious selective attention to visceral stimuli recruits more neural resources, which then led to greater brain activation than visceral sensation during nonvisceral selective attention. They suggested that exaggeration of this phenomenon may form the basis for the hypervigilance to visceral sensation that is observed in patients with FGIDs."This is an old post from Mike on this.Many doctors and gastro specialists use this term 'all in your head'. I think they are trying to say, that there is nothing organically wrong. However I have had quite a few discussions about this in the past, the problem lies with the fact that doctors are taught to look for disease and illness. We know IBS is a functional disorder, so I argue that by definition there is something wrong becuase peristalsis is not doing what it should. 'All in the head' is not right, it is an offensive term to those that are looking for solutions.It conjures up the emotion that sufferers are doing it on purpose somehow. However, the majority of us, tend to run things out, before they happen. So along with Stress, there is also a psychological element in our thought patterns that expects us to have dificult IBS days. Running out worries causes us to have anxiety and added stress, which creates a negative physical response. The annoying thing is, this is part of being a human being, its a response which we don't have to even try to do, it all happens automaically. To understand the tapes a bit more, we have to understand stress is not 'out there', stress is how we respond internally to real or perceived external demands. What is a stressful event for one, can be invigorating or relaxing for another. Every thought has a physical response, exactly as Eric says. We can prove this by the  feelings of love, anger, jealousy,etc all emotions start with thought ( our interpretation to an event ) , which then leads to physical response. This is even recognised in legislation by recognition of the term Crime of passion - a person might kill another ( an extreme example, granted) becuase they were firing on emotion, which made them pick up the knife to perform the action. That anger began in the thoughts, was interpreted and an action was carried out. All by the release of chemicals and electrical impulses. Police officers see hightened states every Saturday night when people come out of the pubs, we even have our own language for heightend emotion, count to ten is a good example. Count to 10 before we say or respond to something that has annoyed us, basically by giving a bit of time, the response travels through the 7/8ths of the brain that is emotion until it gets to the 1/8th bit of logic and reason, which allows us to stop and think. In effect changes the chemical releases and electricsl impulses - we simmer down. All these physical reactions, along with the more every day concerns of, getting to work on time, what happens if I need the toilet?, do the shops have toilets, etc. every thought produces a physical reaction, good or bad. The thing is, we can choose to learn new coping strategies. Our inner resources can be topped up. Users of the program will have noticed that the first session, is time spent topping up the emotional reserves, making sure they can complete the journey through the program. Patients that come to my practice all go through the same thing, in short we have to be able to have the interal emotional resource to deal with everyday living, as well as changing our thoughts towards IBS. Becuase IBS has affected lives of sufferers so deeply, to try and deal with the IBS before we are prepared would lead to a tougher jouney. So taking the time to top up the emotial batteries as it were is time well spent. Still on stress, it helps too if we remember that the only important moment of our lives is the moment we are living, not the past (although we can change emotions attached to memories to make the past more comfortable for us), or the future that might never come. The other thing that holds us back is the fear that however we are feeling is going to last forever - Nothing lasts for ever, if we want to change! When we throw a ball up in the air, there is a point of time which the ball is neither going up or coming down, that is the moment of change. Users of the program who are feeling much better are changing the way they think, their outlook on life and its events, but I doubt anyone will be able to pinpoint exactly when things started to get better, but they do, and they do so becuase very gently the subconsious mind, which controls the digestive system, begins to realise, that these thought patterns of IBS are no longer needed, the individual as a whole is reminded that it existed very well thank you, without IBS, and can do so again, simply and gently by changing the thought processes, that kept Stress and Anxiety, Guilt etc in control. So the tapes are quite complex in their make up, but when I was doing my early days of research, I remembered that people learn more and easier if we enjoy what we are doing, so by using imagery and suggestion we create the enviroment internally, that allows changes, both emotionally and physically to occur. And becuase we enjoy what we are doing it doesn't seem difficult, and it isn't, its only when the conscious mind tries to control areas it wasn't designed to that problems occur. I might have babbled a bit, but don't expect a doctor to tell you this in this way, becuase their skills are in the organic, and they might just not know how to say what they mean! Hope it helps Regards MikeHope this helps, if you still have questions let me know.------------------Moderator of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Anxiety and Hypnotherapy forum.I work with Mike building his websites. www.ibsaudioprogram and www.healthyaudio.com I also work with Mike in IBS clinical trials using Mikes tapes at an IBS research facility.My own website on IBS is www.ibshealth.com Please visit for accurate information on IBS.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

By the way AZ good post.







------------------Moderator of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Anxiety and Hypnotherapy forum.I work with Mike building his websites. www.ibsaudioprogram and www.healthyaudio.com I also work with Mike in IBS clinical trials using Mikes tapes at an IBS research facility.My own website on IBS is www.ibshealth.com Please visit for accurate information on IBS.


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