Can Anxiety Cause IBS? Can IBS Cause Anxiety? Why Your Gut and Brain Are Connected

If you’ve ever experienced a “gut feeling” or noticed your stomach churning before a stressful event, you’ve felt the gut-brain connection in action. For people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), this connection is far more than a passing sensation—it’s a daily reality that affects both digestion and emotional wellbeing.

I’m often asked people’s gut problems could be caused by anxiety or stress. The answer is yes, but also, vice versa.

IBS and anxiety are deeply intertwined in what science calls a bi-directional relationship. That means not only can gut issues influence your mood, but your mental state can also trigger or worsen your digestive symptoms. Understanding this dynamic is key to healing—both from the inside out and the outside in.

The Gut-Brain Axis: Your Internal Communication Highway

The gut and brain are in constant communication through a system known as the gut-brain axis. This includes the vagus nerve (a key nerve that sends signals in both directions between the brain and gut), as well as hormonal and immune pathways. When one part of these systems are out of balance, the effects ripple across the entire body.

• Anxiety can disrupt digestion by altering gut motility (movement), increasing inflammation, and changing the composition of the gut microbiome.

• IBS symptoms can increase stress and lead to heightened anxiety, especially when symptoms feel unpredictable, painful, or embarrassing.

• Altered gut microbiome can cause mood changes. Science shows that certain key neurotransmitters are made in the gut.

It’s a loop that can feel hard to escape. That’s why a one-size-fits-all approach often fails—treating just the gut or just the mind misses the full picture.

A Whole-Person Approach: Nutrition + Hypnotherapy

Conventional IBS treatment often focuses on symptom management through diet changes, such as the well known FODMAP diet, or medications. While these can offer short-term relief, they don’t always address the underlying stress response or nervous system dysregulation that contributes to flare-ups. They also don’t correct the underlying imbalances of gut bacteria and inflammation.

That’s where an integrated approach is necessary

As a Certified Practising Nutritionist (CPN) trained in gut-directed hypnotherapy, I work with clients to calm the digestive system from both angles—physiologically through nutrition and individualised supplements (if needed), and neurologically through subconscious repatterning ie. hypnotherapy to address underlying stress response or anxiety.

Here’s how this unique approach can help:

1. Personalised Nutrition That Nourishes the Gut

Many people with IBS feel lost in a sea of conflicting dietary advice. I help you cut through the confusion and tailor a nutrition plan that:

• Identifies trigger foods without over-restricting

• Supports your gut lining and microbiome balance.

• Balances blood sugar and supports nervous system resilience

• Provides essential nutrients that are often depleted in people with IBS or chronic stress. Deficiencies in iron, B12, zinc etc… all of these are. needed for neurotransmitters and healthy moods.

2. Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy to Calm the Nerves

Gut-directed hypnotherapy is a science-backed method proven to reduce IBS symptoms by targeting the brain-gut pathway. Through gentle, relaxing sessions, we work on:

• Reducing visceral hypersensitivity (how strongly the gut reacts)

• Calming the nervous system and vagus nerve

• Releasing subconscious stress patterns that may be contributing to symptoms

• Creating new, positive associations with food and digestion

• Looking at Anxiety, what the triggers are, what the negative belief patterns are and replacing with new positive patterns.
  
  

This isn’t “woo”—it’s evidence-based mind-body medicine, and it’s changing lives.

Why Treating Both Mind and Gut Matters

When we support both your digestive system and your mental wellbeing, you’re no longer just managing symptoms—you’re retraining your gut-brain axis to respond in healthier, calmer ways. That’s where true healing happens.

IBS and anxiety don’t have to rule your life. By working with a practitioner who understands the science and the subtle emotional drivers behind your symptoms, you can finally break the cycle and move toward lasting relief.

Ready to Reset Your Gut and Mind?

I offer personalised support for IBS and anxiety using a combination of nutritional therapy and clinical hypnotherapy—available in-person or online.

If you’re ready to feel at ease in your body again, I’d love to support you.

📞 Book a free discovery call HERE to see if this approach is right for you.

Tammy Footit is a certified practicing Nutritionist (CPN) with a Bachelor of Health Science (NutDMed) and a Clinical Hypnotherapist with an Advanced Dip in Clinical Hypnotherapy.