I feel for you. Your post reminds me of some symptoms that I have had for years and was ultimately diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I'm not saying it's what you have, but I thought I'd put some info out there in case you can relate in any way. OCD is not what most people think it is... it isn't always repeated motions or washing of hands, etc. It's basically any repeated negative thought that is so insidious that it interferes with your "normal" life. This type is called Obsessive Thinking and doesn't involve the physical ritual part.
The important thing to remember is that if you have these obsessive thoughts and can't get them out of your mind, don't berate yourself because even the mentally strongest person cannot logically think his/her way out of them. It takes medicine or therapy or both. Using the "Stop" method and thinking of other things is terrific and can be very helpful.
I am no doctor, but knowing that anxiety disorders (which OCD is) are seemingly connected to IBS, I thought it might be something to consider. OCD and/or anxiety issues can easily be triggered by one event- i.e. the onset - or relentless continuation- of your IBS symptoms. They are a huge stressor and can set off a lot of things. Obsessive thinking usually only follows one thought pattern- i.e. you can feel very "normal" about most things in your life, but one little issue makes you think over and over again in a negative way- right now, my obsession is my health- I get scared and can't stop thinking about each little ache and pain maybe meaning something life-threatening. But through therapy and meds, I am 97% in control of this stuff and it doesn't have nearly the impact it used to- therefore it doesn't impact my bowels as much either!
I hope I didn't scare anyone, I thought the info might help.
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Re: my ibs and fear connection-long post!
