How to Build Intuition With IBS
Does it seem impossible to trust and fully understand your body with IBS?
Feeling disconnected from your body means that you don’t know what the signals (aka symptoms) your body gives you mean, how to take care of your body each day to resolve the signals, and what expectations you should have on how your body will respond or react to certain situations.
This is what we consider a lack of intuition, because intuition is defined as to ability to understand something without the need for conscious reasoning. When it comes to health, that means you are able to respond to signals from your body each day without much thought, taking care of your needs as they come up, keeping your body calm and stable.
A lack of intuition is common in those with chronic health conditions, including IBS, because your body may not be functioning as it should. So it can seem like your body has betrayed you first and that can lead to a disconnect. This can worsen when you try to respond to your symptoms without success, or when you do try to take care of yourself it backfires into more symptoms.
This not only leads to poor intuition, but will also lead to self-sabotage cycles, where you feel at war with your body and begin to work against it out of conscious or subconscious spite from how it has treated you.
All of this leads to poor symptom control and poor management of IBS, because communication with your body isn’t healthy or effective.
So how do we fix this?
What’s your poop personality? Find out here!
Want to learn more about IBS? Sign up for a free IBS mini course here!
I will admit that building intuition with IBS is much easier said than done. This work takes time and won’t happen perfectly - there will be bumps along the road.
But this work is important. Because this is the work that will help you actually feel confident in your body, treat your body well, and improve how well you manage your IBS. If you don’t believe me, that’s okay. I challenge you to start the work and keep an open mind before you call B-S.
Start with self talk
When it comes to intuition, the number one thing that will sabotage this work is putting your body down. So you have to start by challenging the words you say to yourself your body.
Journal through what you truly think about your body, as if you are having a conversation with your body like you would another person. Bring out the words you are saying beneath the surface into the open so you are aware of them. Without judging yourself for those thoughts and words, use the awareness to stop yourself when the thoughts and words come up.
As you work on your self-talk, begin the work of treating yourself and your body with kindness. The work of self compassion can help with this, and you can find that through this book from Kristin Neff.
Gain knowledge
With IBS and other health conditions, your body’s signals may not always represent what you think they should. Because your body may not be working as it should and the signals may be hard to decipher.
This is why it’s important to learn what these signals may mean and what needs your body will specifically have with IBS. Intuition can only come from knowledge and understanding.
Our MASTER Method Membership is designed to give you this knowledge so you can build this part!
Explore and reflect
Once you have knowledge and you’ve begun to treat your body with more kindness, start exploring what it means to respond to the knowledge you gained. Be curious and be open to trying new things.
And as you do, take time to reflect. Instead of saying “this worked” or “this didn’t work,” take time to dig deeper. What did you notice with what you tried? How did your body respond? How did that response change from the first time versus with repetition? What could this mean going forward?
Getting out of the mindset that one change you make will either resolve all symptoms or not work at all - and moving to the mindset of curiosity that each thing you try may have a unique impact on your body - will help you actually develop a tool kit that is intuitive and sustainable over time.
Again, if you need help with what these strategies are… the MASTER Method Membership is the resource for you!
Are you frustrated with your IBS symptoms? Do you desire to be confident in your food choices? Do you want to have a healthier relationship with your body and diet? Are you ready to take control of your IBS?
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