"Being quite a driven person I didn't want to change! I just wanted my stomach to get better. Having IBS was a whole education in a way. I really had to re-think how I was living my life. For me, achievement was everything. I was a good enough person - as long as I kept on achieving. Making just a few changes made a huge difference. My IBS responded in kind and has settled down and is a big improvement on what it was. But I notice the symptoms do come back if I occasionally revert to my old pattern". - Mr G.K.

"For me the pain was the worst thing about IBS. Often I would be doubled up with it. The pain would be excruciating, in my stomach, sometimes spreading to my back. At the time I was in a difficult relationship but seemed to think that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, I could make it work. But I think now that if you really want other people to respect you, you have to respect yourself first. I still struggle with being assertive and saying no, but even making some changes has noticeably lessened my IBS. Following the steps in the IBS 'Journey To Health' package was an interesting experience. Would I recommend it? Definitely. You have to work at it though if you want a real cure (as opposed to taking medication which helps a bit but mostly just covers up the problem). I do think my IBS was trying to tell me something valuable about the changes I needed to make". - Mrs R.T.

"I always worried about what other people would think. In fact, most of my life was spent worrying. What if that, or what if this. I thought this was how you should be. Having IBS and listening to the 'Journey To Health' package made me question this. Not at first because I 'didn't want to trouble anyone' with telling them about my symptoms. I felt it would be a 'burden' to them. As someone once said to me: 'You don't put yourself second, you put yourself last'. And it was true. I think all this built up resentment in me - but I couldn't express it because that would have meant 'upsetting people'. The fact I might be upset never entered into it. Learning to be assertive was important for me - and for my IBS. It was like going back to school really, learning a lesson I should have learned years ago. But the rewards - and not just in my IBS which is now much improved - have been really good. I stand up for myself more and am not nearly so scared of 'doing the wrong thing'". - Mrs J.P.