How to Think Positively About Food and Eating With IBD
Breaking the pattern of those three states is often easier said than done, but there are a few approaches you can take to help banish negative thoughts about food.
Create a Support Team of Specialists
Besides your gastroenterologist, other experts can help you manage the physical and mental aspects of IBD. For example, a dietitian who understands the condition can help you figure out which foods to restrict or avoid during flares. And, given the close relationship between the gut and the brain, it can be highly beneficial to work with a mental health professional to help you manage depressive and anxious thoughts associated with IBD, says Navidi.
Therapists can use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a type of talk therapy that involves changing negative thought patterns and unhelpful behaviors. “CBT teaches [someone] how to identify dysfunctional patterns of thinking like hypervigilance and catastrophizing, so they can make changes in those patterns,” says Navidi. CBT has also been shown to help calm disorders of gut-brain interaction like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which often co-occur with IBD and also feature visceral hypersensitivity.
Some therapists also use clinical hypnosis. With this type of therapy, you’ll learn how to go into a trancelike state, which increases your levels of absorption and suggestibility. “When you’re in that state, you have more access to the mind-body connection, and you can turn down the volume on [feelings of visceral] hypersensitivity,” says Navidi.
To rethink how you view specific foods, try dividing them into three categories that correspond to the meanings of traffic signal colors: Green-light foods are those you regard as safe to eat, as they don’t cause fear or anxiety. Yellow-light foods are those you tend to consume with caution, because they sometimes trigger symptoms. Red-light foods you may associate with symptoms and flares, and so you steer clear of them altogether.
But, working with a GI dietitian, says Bedell, you may be able to transform many of the yellow- and red-light foods into green-light foods. This way, she says, “What you eat will largely be based on preference, not fear.”
Be Patient
Gradually expose yourself to foods you’ve been avoiding. The first few times you eat one of these foods, it may trigger your body’s stress response, says Bedell. But, over time, your brain will learn that the food isn’t dangerous, and you’ll be able to enjoy it again.
Keep a Journal
As you add foods back into your diet, write down your experience eating each one. Make note of whether it triggered symptoms or a flare, for example, and in what ways. Be as detailed as possible. “What you measure, you can manage,” Navidi says.
Join a Support Group
Whether in-person or virtual, regular meet-ups with others dealing with IBD can play a valuable role in managing the condition. Your care team may be able to point you toward a support group that aligns with your experience; the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation website also features a page on their website that connects people to support groups throughout the United States and in Canada.
