You’re welcome, glad it helps at least a bit.

I meant that I don’t have an official diagnosis of IBS. I don’t meet the diagnostic criteria, but I have some symptoms that occur in IBS, such as: intermittent constipation, slowed motility, abdominal distention, abdominal pain, appetite loss and early satiety.

My actual GI diagnosis is for functional dyspepsia (FD), because I have more upper GI symptoms whereas IBS is more lower GI symptoms but both are categorized as functional gastrointestinal disorders that involve brain-gut dysregulation—and those are the types of GI disorders that are a good fit for things like CBT and gut directed hypnotherapy.

But in the big picture, I have other chronic conditions that can trigger either IBS or FD…it just so happens that I have a diagnosis for FD but not IBS and there’s a lot of overlap in symptoms, so also a lot of overlap in treatment options, including CBT. Didn’t meant to confuse you 🙂

I do feel it’s worth trying CBT if you can find a therapist you feel comfortable with, who’s also understanding of GI conditions. That can be tough outside an academic medical center though.

Hope that helps and wishing you all the best!