Anxiety and Irritable Bowel Syndrome/GI Issues w/Dr. Sula Windgassen (Ep 034)
Disordered: Anxiety Help
Josh Fletcher and Drew Linsalata
4.9 • 665 Ratings
🗓️ 3 November 2023
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When anxious, stressed, or afraid, the gut and GI tract are almost instantly impacted. This is true for a huge number of people, anxious or not. This week Josh and Drew are joined by health psychologist Dr. Sula Windgassen to talk about anxiety and IBS. Dr. Sula specializes in a cognitive behavioral approach to supporting people struggling with IBS, Crohn's, colitis, other GI issues, and other chronic illnesses.
In this episode we're talking about:
- The real nature of the gut-brain connection
- Validating the fact that anxiety can and often does have a real physical impact on the GI tract
- How anxiety can not only trigger these issues but can also make them worse than they have to be based on magnified fears surrounding these physical responses
- How a cognitive-behavioral approach is beneficial when struggling to get a grip on the intersection of anxiety and IBS/gut issues.
Find Dr. Sula online:
Instagram (@the_health_psychologist_)
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Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Acid reflux, bloating, my digestive cycle was completely off. Some days I couldn't go to the toilet. |
| 0:11.0 | I mean it's hardwired in our body for our gut to be impacted by feeling stressed or feeling anxious. |
| 0:18.0 | Some days I was frequently urinating. Billions of neurotransmitters from the lower third of our esophagus all the way down to our |
| 0:26.6 | anus essentially. |
| 0:28.6 | I'd be constipateful up to a week sometimes and freak out over that. |
| 0:33.6 | We often feel our feelings, first of all, in our gut. Other days that have to run to the toilet. |
| 0:40.3 | You know, the cognitive brain, the thinking brain then interprets this as what's happening here, which then adds to this. |
| 0:46.3 | And so it ends up being quite a vicious cycle quite quickly. |
| 0:52.3 | Welcome to Disordered. This episode is on the topic of anxiety and IBS. |
| 0:58.0 | My name is Joshua Fletcher, also known as Anxiety Josh, |
| 1:02.0 | and I'm a psychotherapist based in Manchester in the UK and a previous sufferer. |
| 1:07.0 | I am Drew Linzalata, the other co-host of Disordered. |
| 1:10.0 | I'm a grad student in clinical mental health counseling, a therapist and training, author, |
| 1:14.4 | podcaster on the topic, former sufferer of anxiety and depression for many years, |
| 1:18.7 | and I am in New York in the USABA. |
| 1:20.8 | And today we have a special guest to help us talk about anxiety and IBS. |
| 1:24.7 | Take it away, special guest. |
| 1:30.8 | Hi, I'm Sula. I'm a health psychologist, CBT therapist and EMDR therapist, and I work clinically with people with long-term health conditions |
| 1:36.2 | and specialize in working with gut disorders and pelvic pain. Very good. Welcome. Welcome. |
| 1:43.9 | Welcome. Welcome. |
| 1:50.9 | Anyone who's listened to my old podcast, the Panic Pod, one of my favorite episodes was having Dr. Seuler on to talk about IBS. |
| 1:55.9 | And it was fascinating. |
... |
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