Although research to date has not firmly established a relationship between stress and irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, the condition often affects people who also suffer from anxiety, depression or both, and stress does seem to aggravate it.

Symptoms of IBS can include bloating as well as frequent, often-urgent diarrhea, constipation, or alternating episodes of both. Related problems are also sometimes seen.

Eating certain foods (in many cases, milk and other dairy products) can cause symptoms. Sometimes, celiac disease, an inability to digest gluten (a component of many bread products and other foods), is found to be the cause of IBS symptoms. Other conditions can sometimes be responsible, as well.

What to Do

Of course, staying in touch with your doctor and reading up on IBS and related conditions is a good idea. You may also want to keep a food diary or at least mental notes, about which foods, if any, seem to aggravate the problem. Some of the newer medications have shown effectiveness against it. Several of these can help with related conditions, as well.

If you can learn stress management, visualization, or cognitive behavioral techniques to help minimize your symptoms, you should be able to enjoy life more and worry about dealing with the extreme nuisance of IBS less.