Barbara Bolen - Ibs: 365 Tips for Living Well

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ISBN: 978-1-936303-86-1

e-book ISBN: 978-1-61705-250-7

Acquisitions Editor: Julia Pastore

Compositor: diacriTech

2016 by Barbara Bolen. All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Medical information provided by Demos Health, in the absence of a visit with a health care professional, must be considered as an educational service only. This book is not designed to replace a physicians independent judgment about the appropriateness or risks of a procedure or therapy for a given patient. Our purpose is to provide you with information that will help you make your own health care decisions.

The information and opinions provided here are believed to be accurate and sound, based on the best judgment available to the authors, editors, and publisher, but readers who fail to consult appropriate health authorities assume the risk of injuries. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions. The editors and publisher welcome any reader to report to the publisher any discrepancies or inaccuracies noticed.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bolen, Barbara Bradley.

IBS : 365 tips for living well / Barbara B. Bolen, PhD.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-936303-86-1

1. Irritable colonPopular works. 2. Irritable colonDiet therapy. I. Title. II. Title: Irritable bowel syndrome.

RC862.I77B66 2015

616.342dc23

2015036142

Printed in the United States of America by McNaughton & Gunn.

15 16 17 18 19 / 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to all of the people who bravely face the challenges of living a life with IBS. This includes those who stumble upon my work during desperate Internet searches, my loyal readers and social media followers, and those who took that big step to prioritize their health and work directly with me. I pledge to continue to walk side by side with you on your journey toward improved digestive health.

As a clinical psychologist, I have helped people with all sorts of life difficulties, most of which my education prepared me to handle. In the early days of my career, one problem kept popping up with my patientsa problem I had never heard ofthat of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). I was shocked by what my patients were telling methey couldnt work a morning shift, they never went out to dinner, they only wore black pants (!?) and were often in crippling pain. They were frustrated by the fact that their doctors could find nothing wrong with them.

Of course, I wanted to be of help. I was gratified to find that the type of therapy I was trained incognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)had some research support for its effectiveness in reducing these disabling IBS symptoms. I was surprised to see that there was no self-help book that I could recommend to my patients. So I took it upon myself to write one.

Since the publication of my first book, I have continued to learn everything that I can about IBS so as to offer help to those whose lives have been turned upside down by this complicated health problem. Doors have opened to me and I have been blessed to be able to share my knowledge on a worldwide scale. However, IBS is a tricky problem; a comprehensive approach is necessary to bring about symptom relief. It can be challenging to try to put all these pieces together in a way that feels manageable.

IBS: 365 Tips for Living Well is thus offered as a one-stop shop, if you will. The book is filled with easy-to-find nuggets of information, covering every aspect of life with IBS. With this easy-to-dip-into format is that there is no need to be overwhelmed by the amount of information. You can take it in at your own comfortable pace. I trust that this comprehensive guide will serve you well in finding solutions to the challenges that IBS brings into your life.