Hi Disrupted,

Yes, there does seem to be a surprisingly high correlation between anxiety/ depression sufferers and IBS.

Some doctors talk about IBS as if it were to do with diet and lifestyle, but others accept that the smooth muscle of the bowel is prone to spasm when we are anxious and that these spasms can become troublesome and painful. This is what causes the bowel to stopworking properly and then the discomfort is compounded - we get bloating and stuff like that.

In a healthy person, the autonomous functions, like the smooth muscle contractions, will happen automatically, but in an anxious person, they seem to cramp up. You just to need to see students before an exam, or actors before going on stage, to see how this happens.

That's my take on it anyway, and I am a sufferer of GAD and IBS myself.

Cheers, M